PAY DATA
Pay awards back to same level as a year ago
Wage settlements are now running at just 2% across the economy, the same level as recorded in the same period a year ago, according to new data released today by pay specialists XpertHR. The findings are based on details of 99 pay awards with effective dates between 1 May and 31 July 2011.
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Risk of wage pressure?
Pay awards have been below the level of RPI inflation since the end of 2009, and there is “no indication that this situation will change before the New Year as affordability is the most important influence on the level of pay awards in 2011, according to respondents to a survey conducted by XpertHR earlier in the year”.
“Aside from affordability, a key factor in the current subdued nature of pay awards is the weakness of the labour market,” says XpertHR. “We currently expect pay settlements to remain around their current level. Although some employers will be obliged to award their lowest-paid workers a 2.5% increase in October 2011 to comply with the national minimum wage, the majority of pay awards will continue to be at or below this level.”
A final word
"The fragile job market, combined with consumption and demand continuing to be affected by factors including rising food and oil prices, means that we expect no significant, if any, increase in median pay awards for the rest of the summer." - Sheila Attwood, XpertHR Pay and Benefits editor.
Want to know more?
XpertHR is the “UK's most comprehensive online source of legal compliance, good practice and benchmarking information made available to HR professionals as a single subscription service.” For more information visit www.xperthr.co.uk.