Pay awards in the three months to the end of July 2017 were stable at 2%, according to the latest data from XpertHR. Although the spread of awards has widened (the middle half of deals are now worth between 1% and 2.6%) there are no signs that pay awards are rising. The headline pay award is 1.6 percentage points below the RPI measure of inflation, which stood at 3.6% in July 2017, and 0.6 points below the consumer prices index at 2.6%.
Only a single pay award monitored by XpertHR awarded an increase above the RPI in the latest quarter under review. Median pay awards in manufacturing and production continue to outstrip those in the service sector, at 2.6% compared with 1.8% respectively.
Sheila Atwood, pay and benefits editor at XpertHR, said:
‘While most employers are awarding pay rises, the increases are subdued and falling behind inflation. XpertHR’s headline measure of pay awards remains centred on 2% and is expected to remain there for the foreseeable future.’