Survey of pay and conditions in engineering 2005/06
PAY DATA
Survey of pay and conditions in engineering 2005/06
The use of performance-related salary progression has increased among engineering companies, though skills and qualifications are still important in determining employees' pay movements. This is one of the main findings of a new research study by Incomes Data Services.
Key research results
The IDS report found:
- Pay levels for manual and craft workers showed relatively little movement, compared with the findings of last year's report. One explanation for this is the increased use of market benchmarking to inform pay decisions.
- Most engineering companies have harmonised basic working hours for manual workers and white-collar staff, with 37 the most common weekly pattern. However other working time arrangements tend not to be harmonised, with "employee-friendly" schemes such as flexi-time more common for white-collar staff than for shopfloor employees.
- Absence rates are relatively low, at 3.16% overall. As absence rates have declined, fewer companies need to use incentives to raise attendance levels. Instead, the emphasis is on penalties for absence, such as withholding sick pay.
- Engineering employees fare better on paternity than maternity benefits, though a significant sub-sample of companies, mainly in the automotive sector, offer substantially more than the statutory minimum for maternity leave and pay.
- The rate of closure of final salary pension schemes has slowed since 2003, with most companies now providing purely defined contribution schemes for new employees.
| What you will find in this IDS report |
| This is the seventh report on pay and conditions for engineering workers by IDS. The report draws on information from 140 companies employing over 320,000 staff. - There are chapters on current trends in pay setting, pay and progression arrangements, changes to working time, the current state of collective bargaining, apprentices, bonus schemes, absence rates and policies, family-friendly policies and pension provision.
- The pay and progression chapters include the full results of the IDS annual survey and provide summary salary tables -- median and inter-quartile pay ranges -- for a wide range of benchmark job roles, including semi-skilled operators, multi-skilled craft workers, professional engineers, team leaders and production managers. As well as summary salary data there are detailed tables providing salary information by named company.
- In addition to the results of the survey, the report provides details of company pay structures at 70 leading engineering and other manufacturing companies. The report also contains a number of case studies, two of which look at new grading structures for shopfloor and white-collar staff, featuring Airbus UK and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
View the full contents list at www.incomesdata.co.uk/report/engcontents.htm |
Want to know more?
Title: Pay and Conditions in Engineering 2005/06, Incomes Data Services.
Availability: To order your copy contact customer services at Incomes Data Services in London, tel: 020 7324 2599.
IDS is a leading UK information and research service on employment issues, providing a range of publications for employers, unions, government departments and other agencies. To find out more visit www.incomesdata.co.uk
Posted 11 November 2005
