Employers are continuing to award pay increases of just 2% to employees, according to the latest analysis of pay settlement trends from XpertHR.
In the three months to the end of October 2015, XpertHR has collected details of 81 basic pay awards. Among these, the median award made is 2%, with half of all deals worth between 1% and 2.5%.
Both the manufacturing and production sector, and private sector services, are also recording awards at a 2% median. Over the 12 months to the end of October 2015, pay awards in the public sector were worth a median 1.5%.
A further breakdown of pay awards over 2015 to date reveals that the majority of industries in the economy have seen pay awards hover around the 2% mark. Exceptions include the construction sector, where awards are typically around 2.5%, and the not for profit sector, which has again seen lower awards of around 1.5%.
XpertHR's survey of pay forecasts among private sector firms found that many employers are expecting to make pay awards worth 2% again in 2016. Although inflation has provided little upwards pressure on pay levels over the past year, retail prices index (RPI) is expected to more than double over 2016, so employers may come under pressure to push pay settlements a little higher.
XpertHR pay and benefits editor Sheila Attwood said:
"As pay bargaining for the 2015 calendar year draws to a close, we don’t expect any shocks in the level of awards being made. Our data shows that 2% is firmly locked in place as the headline pay award for 2015. It also suggests that we are looking at more of the same in 2016."
