Pay awards sink further below inflation – XpertHR

The median basic pay award for the three months to the end of August 2017 stood at 2%, almost half the level of the rise in the retail prices index (RPI) for the year to August, according to pay analyst, XpertHR. Median pay awards have been worth less than RPI inflation since September 2016. Recent announcements on the lifting of the public sector pay cap for some groups are unlikely to bring about any shift in the wider pay picture in the medium term:

Sheila Atwood, pay and benefits editor at XpertHR, said:

‘Public sector workers may well be in line for pay awards in excess of 1% over the coming year, but overall restraint remains across the economy and workers face a continued period of below-inflation pay increases.’