A survey of employers’ 2017 pay intentions for the housing, care and charity sectors has shown the great majority are opting for caution in the face of economic uncertainty. The average planned salary increase is just 1.2%.
Management consultancy and recruitment specialists Campbell Tickell surveyed more than 50 organisations of different sizes in the housing association, care and charity sectors across the UK and Ireland. This found that half of employers have opted for a 1% annual pay award. One in 10 employers are not increasing pay at all this year; while one in eight are offering rises between 2% and 2.5%. The remainder are offering between 1.25% and 1.65%. The research found little variation between different regions.
Gera Patel, who leads Campbell Tickell’s Human Resources & Recruitment services, said:
“These figures are striking, given that inflation is now over 2% and rising. This means than most employees in these sectors are likely to experience a pay reduction in real terms. Our sense is that this reflects continuing uncertainty over the economy and the future of public spending. Increasingly we are finding that organisations are turning to non-pay benefits as a key part of their employment offer, in order to retain quality staff, rather than relying on pay increases alone.”