Pay awards hit four-year high – XpertHR

Pay deals in the three months to the end of January 2018 were worth a median 2.5%, according to the latest analysis from XpertHR. This is the highest headline figure for a three-month period since March 2014. Over half of awards monitored in the latest quarter provided higher increases than the same group of employees received in the previous year, with just 17% receiving a lower settlement.

Sheila Atwood, XpertHR pay and benefits author, said:

‘The figures reflect the Bank of England’s assertion that wage growth will pick up during 2018. What is less clear, however, is whether pay awards will exceed inflation this year. Based on a comparison of XpertHR pay data and retail prices index (RPI) inflation, prices have been rising faster than pay since September 2016. RPI is expected to average 3.7% over the first half of this year, suggesting we will continue to see wage growth fall behind inflation over the coming months.’
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'.