The first batch of pay awards with April implementation dates, the busiest month of the year for wage negotiations, suggest that the median increase could dip in coming months from its current 2%. Based on a sample of 91 pay awards effective from April 2016, the median settlement is worth just 1.5%, pulling down the provisional figure for the three months to the end of April 2016 to 1.7%, according to data just released by XpertHR.
Sheila Atwood, pay and benefits editor at the research publisher, said:
‘The first look at pay settlements for April 2016 reveals the extent to which employers are struggling with making higher pay awards . . . While many employees will have benefited from the 1 April introduction of the national living wage, it is possible that many others will struggle to secure even a 2% pay increase this year.’