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Pay freezes remain widespread in public sector - XpertHR

PAY DATA

Pay freezes remain widespread in public sector

More than half of all recent pay awards in the public sector have resulted in no increase for staff, according to the latest figures from XpertHR.

XpertHR analysed 29 public sector pay reviews with effective dates in April 2012. Half (55%) resulted in a pay freeze, including deals for 1.6 million local government workers and 203,000 NHS doctors and dentists. There are also many more workers earning more than £21,000 a year who will see their pay frozen, as per government policy.

In contrast, 15% of pay reviews in the private sector were for a freeze in pay – dominated by those in the not-for-profit, and paper and printing sectors.

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Key findings

The findings are based on details of 175 pay awards effective between 1 February and 30 April 2012, covering almost four million employees:

  • Across the economy as a whole, the median basic pay award is 2%, down 0.6 percentage points from 2.6% in March.
  • The median pay award in the private sector stands at 2.5%, which compares with 2.3% recorded in the same period a year ago.
  • Almost three in 10 (28%) private sector pay awards are worth 3% or more, and the most common pay award in the private sector is 3%.

A final word

"In contrast to the pay scene in the public sector, pay awards in the private sector are holding up, at around 2.5%. Within this, manufacturing awards - at 2.5% - are outpacing those in private sector services - at 2%. We expect the current pattern of pay awards to continue over the coming months – in which case the squeeze on real incomes will continue for some time to come." - Sheila Attwood XpertHR Pay and Benefits editor.

Want to know more?

XpertHR, formerly known an Industrial Relations Services (IRS), is the “UK's most comprehensive online source of legal compliance, good practice and benchmarking information made available to HR professionals as a single subscription service”. It offers detailed statistics and analysis of recent pay settlements across the UK. XpertHR collects details of pay settlements for around 1,500 employee groups each year. Its database contains more than 28,000 settlements. For more information visit www.xperthr.co.uk.