British Pay Rises 'Well Below Inflation'

Pay Rises 'Well Below Inflation'

Pay rises continue to languish below the rate of inflation, with median rises of 2.2% in the past year, according to a new report.

A study of almost 1,500 settlements covering 7.9 million workers showed median increases of less than half the RPI rate of inflation of 5.2% over the same period.

Pay research group XpertHR said its findings revealed that few companies now link their pay rises to the rate of inflation.

Wages were frozen in around one in six cases, mainly affecting workers in the public sector, which has been hit by Government cutbacks in spending.

More than a fifth of the pay awards were based on a measure of performance, which often led to a higher wage rise, said the report.

Sheila Attwood, of XpertHR, said: "The modest growth in wages that we are currently seeing is likely to continue at least until the January wage round begins.

"Pay award levels remain historically low, and well below the rate of inflation. Few employers have made any efforts to mitigate this in other areas of reward as the finances are not available to do so."

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