I had same situation or worst than you. Felt really shit and demotivated. To be honest this kind of practice by HR offer salary based on your last paycheck is really stupid. Once u joined new company and found out that ur salary is way below ur peers thats gonna hit u like a rock. You will feel very demotivated and felt cheated at times too. What make matter worst is that ur peer have lesser jobs and less capable than you are. Managers/boss knows you are good & efficient staff but they cant simply raise your salary without the other staff complaining/protest. I prefer basic salary based on position is fixed and then your good work performance is paid by bonus.

justify based on the interbiu, exams, test, and even probation period

alot reasons. HR like those who just keep quiet and don't ask so much. take what we give you.

if you are top performer, HR's job is to make you feel you are probably not. and the increment we gives you are much better than outside world.

but don't compare among your peers!

our range of top performer is x to y. but another company range of top perform is a to b. same job scope different company.

and whether the company is SME or MNC. SME largely cannot afford to pay you even if you are top top performer.

but MNC if they have such policy of knowing your last drawn salary, can still give you the lowest range and justify.

Not all company is same and can simply raise ur salary even you outperformed. U can try to work in Japanese MNC, ur payscale got range based on ur years of experience and level. So even you outperformed ur senior or u have more important role in the company, the company wont increase ur salary to match ur senior and ur increment has limit based on ur level. Thats why turnover rate in Japanse MNC is very high, after 1 year you can see 30%-50% executive resigned. In Msia HR tend to decide salary based on seniority instead of performance. So your logic saying high salary = good worker is bullshit. I have joined various company, the one with higher salary usually the one with cables and charisma but tend to do sloppy job and make others work shittier.

Its not hard to define good performance, ur manager knows u r a good performer, but most of Msian managers are incapable to support u and to help u get better salary. In Msia, most manager become manager because they work with the company for XX years (seniority). They dont become manager because of their capability.

HR want to see your payslip because its the most straight forward reason to justify the candidates expected salary to their boss. So when boss asked why should we pay this guy 10K? HR provide payslip of the candidate and say he is currently earning 8K so 20% increment is justified.

I have a close friend recently joined a company 3 months ago. His new salary is 110% more compared to previous salary. His salary from 4 figures become 5 figures. So how did he managed to get it? His new company is his ex-company client. His new company CEO see my friend work very good, and 1 day the new company CEO asked him if he want to join his new company. He let my friend write down what his salary he want. Note that this new company is not a small company, its a multi-billion worth company based in UK but recently open new factory in Msia. So why my friend old company unable to pay him 5 figures eventho he is performing very well? If my friend were to join via HR, definitely he wont get 110% increment.

Another situation is my friend now working in a startup. He is the main guy that create app and ensure the startup survive. His app allows the startup to get funding the from investor. However the startup company unable to pay my friend high salary because the company is not financally stable. But the startup company knows how valuable my friend is, if my friend resigned the company might go south. So my friend is quite a loyal guy, he is trying to finished what he started, and doesnt mind the low salary (he is a tech enthusiast). He didnt even get a shares from the company. And 1 day he got an interview and HR asked him his salary, despite his years of experience and capability, the HR keep lowballing him because his salary now is low. By right with his years of experience & capability he can earn 5 figures easily unfortunately some HR dont give an ass about ur skills, experience, story etc, they just wana see ur payslip to justify ur payment.

Welcome to Malaysia HR.

if me? i will continue to ask more information about candidate A, B and C. last drawn salary should not be the criteria for me to decide who to hire.

that's the whole point of this thread.