PAY DATA
Pay awards rise to 2.5% in January 2013: XpertHR
Pay settlements moved up to 2.5% in the three months to the end of January 2013, according to the latest analysis from pay specialists XpertHR. Half of awards were worth between 2% and 3%.
This compares with a median of 2% over the final quarter of 2012, when half of deals were set at between 1% and 2.5%. XpertHR notes that settlements have only returned to the level seen during the first quarter of 2012, and the “increase may not be a sign of a trend of higher awards over the rest of the year”. In the past two years, XpertHR’s index of settlements has dropped back once pay awards in the key month of April are included in the headline figure.
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The current sample of pay deals effective in the three months to the end of January 2013 are all from the private sector, as very few public sector groups settle during this period. Among the 101 basic pay awards collected so far, the most common increase is 3%. But some bargaining groups continue to see much lower awards, and one award in eight of the total sample of 117 settlements is a pay freeze.
A final word
"Although pay settlements have moved higher than the level seen at the end of last year, this may be a repeat of the 'January bounce' we have seen in previous years. We expect private-sector awards to remain in the region of 2.5% over 2013, but much of the public sector will be restricted to an average 1% increase." - Sheila Attwood, XpertHR Pay and Benefits editor
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The research is based on the “largest sample of pay deals collected in the UK – every year XpertHR collects details of in excess of 1,600 pay settlements”. This latest quarterly analysis draws on details of 117 pay awards effective in the three months to the end of January 2013. Of these, 101 provide an identifiable increase in the lowest adult rate of pay, and form the sample for the main analysis.
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.