Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not the OP but from one of the big 4 and it's merit based where I'm at. Annual performance review will determine your increment (or lack thereof). Apart from 1 pqe, which is lock-step, your salary may be frozen for the following year, bumped up by 3-500, bumped up by 1k, or bumped up by more than 1k. There's a 4th year on my floor earning more than 12k (not really sure of the exact figure but she joined at a good time and achieved consistently good results)