[UK] 10-20% wage hikes for senior employees

In the UK, a new report has revealed a significant gap between the wage increases granted to senior and below-management staff, despite the higher number of employers offering pay hikes overall in the new year, HRD reports.

Findings from recruitment consultancy Robert Walters showed that 79 per cent of professional services firms rewarded pay hikes to staff in January, a 10-year record-high, according to Business Mole reporting.

Employers gave the following reasons for their decision:

• To support employees with the cost of living (46 per cent).
• To aid morale and retention (37 per cent).
• For a promotion, time served or meeting targets (33 per cent).

According to the report - which surveyed 4,000 white-collar professionals and 2,000 employers - the average increase was around four to six per cent.

Varying increases

However, the survey found that employees in senior management, executive and leadership positions received increases of around 10 per cent, 15 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, per Business Mole reporting.

Therefore, while the average increase did not catch up to the UK’s 9.2 per cent inflation rate, higher-ranked staff were reportedly able to do so.

Robert Walters’ managing director Chris Poole said these findings are not surprising.

Mr Poole told Business Mole, "In turbulent times, companies often prefer experience over potential and so the war for talent has been more pronounced at the senior end of the market – with the key attraction in these times being pay rather than company security, career longevity, or the values of a prospective employer." 

The managing director's advice to professionals was to be cautious before attempting to jump ship to a higher-paying employer.

"What goes up will come down. The candidate shortage is pushing up the salaries, but companies are also doing a lot of internal training and recruiting at the junior end to help plug this gap for the near future," Mr Poole said.

Base pay structure

The findings follow employee demands for employers to become more transparent in the workplace; including about matters surrounding wages. Support has reportedly been growing across the world for this move, including in Canada and legislation mandating transparency has been passed or considered in some parts of the United States.

HR consultancy firm McLean & Company said one way to be transparent in offered salaries is by developing a base pay structure.

The company recently released a blueprint to help HR leaders develop a base pay structure that will reportedly allow for "increased pay transparency" in their workplaces.

Rachel Stewart - practice lead, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company - said, "Rather than sugar-coating, be honest about how and why compensation has been structured. Transparency in all things, including compensation, is a motivation and retention factor as it helps employees plan their long-term career at an organisation." 

Source: HRD

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

In the UK, a new report has revealed a significant gap between the wage increases granted to senior and below-management staff, despite the higher number of employers offering pay hikes overall in the new year, HRD reports.

Findings from recruitment consultancy Robert Walters showed that 79 per cent of professional services firms rewarded pay hikes to staff in January, a 10-year record-high, according to Business Mole reporting.

Employers gave the following reasons for their decision:

• To support employees with the cost of living (46 per cent).
• To aid morale and retention (37 per cent).
• For a promotion, time served or meeting targets (33 per cent).

According to the report - which surveyed 4,000 white-collar professionals and 2,000 employers - the average increase was around four to six per cent.

Varying increases

However, the survey found that employees in senior management, executive and leadership positions received increases of around 10 per cent, 15 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, per Business Mole reporting.

Therefore, while the average increase did not catch up to the UK’s 9.2 per cent inflation rate, higher-ranked staff were reportedly able to do so.

Robert Walters’ managing director Chris Poole said these findings are not surprising.

Mr Poole told Business Mole, "In turbulent times, companies often prefer experience over potential and so the war for talent has been more pronounced at the senior end of the market – with the key attraction in these times being pay rather than company security, career longevity, or the values of a prospective employer." 

The managing director's advice to professionals was to be cautious before attempting to jump ship to a higher-paying employer.

"What goes up will come down. The candidate shortage is pushing up the salaries, but companies are also doing a lot of internal training and recruiting at the junior end to help plug this gap for the near future," Mr Poole said.

Base pay structure

The findings follow employee demands for employers to become more transparent in the workplace; including about matters surrounding wages. Support has reportedly been growing across the world for this move, including in Canada and legislation mandating transparency has been passed or considered in some parts of the United States.

HR consultancy firm McLean & Company said one way to be transparent in offered salaries is by developing a base pay structure.

The company recently released a blueprint to help HR leaders develop a base pay structure that will reportedly allow for "increased pay transparency" in their workplaces.

Rachel Stewart - practice lead, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company - said, "Rather than sugar-coating, be honest about how and why compensation has been structured. Transparency in all things, including compensation, is a motivation and retention factor as it helps employees plan their long-term career at an organisation." 

Source: HRD

(Links and quotes via original reporting)