Employers Feeling the Pressure to Award Big Pay Rises, says Croner Reward

Written by PayPerShop.com - Filed under: Press Releases on July 30th, 2008

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London, July 29 2008 – Employers are under increasing pressure to award bumper pay rises, according to a survey commissioned by Croner Reward, part of Wolters Kluwer UK, which has one of the largest continuously updated salary databases in the UK. Croner asked bosses for details of pay awards given and the reasons for granting them.

Many said they were feeling the pressure from staff because of rising inflation due to fuel costs and energy prices. They also blamed public sector pay agreements for influencing salary negotiations within their own businesses.

The survey found:

Most employers gave pay rises higher or in line with last year’s award – but 30% gave less
The basic percentage pay rise across the board was between 2% and 4%
The need to retain staff influenced pay decisions, rather than lose staff and go through a costly recruitment process
Some employers are waiting until later in the year to decide how much to award
Inflation and public sector pay deals are influencing decisions on pay awards

Andrew Walker, Business Director at Croner Reward, said: “This survey makes very interesting reading, giving us a valuable insight into the pay awards given to staff across the UK and the pressures on employers when deciding how much to offer.

“We are all experiencing a higher cost of living, partly due to fuel costs and energy bills, and no-one wants to feel financially worse off year on year, so we expect pressure on employers to give their staff pay awards at least in line with inflation.”

Walker added: “However, while it is clear that some individual employers have already taken the decision to give above average pay rises, many will not be in a position to do this. Setting aside the call for restraint in the public sector, many private sector employers will themselves be feeling the pinch and they will find it hard to divert already stretched financial resource into this area.

“Our advice is that employers should proceed with caution. The last thing we need right now is a return to the days of spiralling pay competing with increasing customer costs for goods and services. This will only lead to further pressure on the economy as a whole.

“It is illuminating that some employers say they are waiting until later in the year before making decisions on pay awards, especially as no-one knows whether the UK is really about to hit recession. This reinforces the idea that employers are being cautious.”

For further information about Croner Reward visit www.croner.co.uk/reward or call 01785 813566.

The survey was carried out in June 2008 and covers approximately 150 employers in the UK, including Directors and Managers.

About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal, and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2007) of €3.4 billion, maintains operations in over 33 countries across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and employs approximately 19,500 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Visit www.wolterskluwer.com for information about our market positions, customers, brands, and organisation.

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Written by PayPerShop.com - or reproduced on behalf of the company supplying the above information.

Filed under: Press Releases on July 30th, 2008