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Initial analysis of the first pay awards concluded in April 2016 reveals a median pay settlement of just 1.5%, down from the longstanding 2% figure that has been recorded for the past two years. This is according to preliminary examination by XpertHR of a sample of 91 basic pay awards effective this month, the most popular month for pay settlements. Around two-fifths of annual pay increases take effect in April.[pullquote]While many employees will have benefited from the 1 April introduction of the national living wage, it is possible that many others will struggle to secure even a 2% pay increase this year” – Sheila Attwood[/pullquote]
The median pay settlement for this month is worth 1.5%. The lower April deals have pulled down the figure for the three months to the end of April, with provisional data showing that the rolling quarterly median basic pay award has fallen to 1.7%.
Pay awards across the economy have been worth 2% for the past two years. The latest confirmed data for three the months to the end of March 2016 showed a median award of 2% for the 24th successive rolling quarter.
XpertHR pay and benefits editor Sheila Attwood said the new April statistics reveal the extent to which employers are struggling with making higher pay awards: “The data provides early evidence that pay settlements might be heading downwards from what is already a relatively subdued figure of 2%.”
"While many employees will have benefited from the 1 April introduction of the national living wage, it is possible that many others will struggle to secure even a 2% pay increase this year,” she said.
XpertHR’s figures comprise pay awards across both the public and private sectors, but the data sample for the first quarter does not contain any public-sector awards, as the first of these take effect in April.
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