The median pay rise for health and safety professionals in 2014 was just 1%, according to a survey from Health and Safety at Work magazine. This compares with a 2% pay rise recorded across the economy by pay analysts at XpertHR. Almost two-fifths of respondents had their pay cut or frozen last year.
The median salary for a health and safety adviser in the sample is between £30,000 and £32,499 per year. For health and safety managers, this rises to between £37,500 and £39,999.
Higher salaries were recorded in Scotland and the South-East, for those in the construction sector, for contractors rather than directly-employed staff, and for employees with the highest qualifications.
Health and safety resources
Exactly half of the professionals questioned believe that they are underpaid, although a further 38.4% say that they are “sufficiently paid”.
But job satisfaction is high, with 71.7% of respondents reporting that they are “happy” or “very happy” in their posts. Contentment was higher in the private sector than for those employed in the public sector.
Survey respondents are generally feeling positive about the future, with more than eight in 10 believing that the trading outlook for 2014-15 is the same or better than for the previous year. However, public-sector respondents were more likely to forecast a worsening of trade over the year ahead.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Author of the report Adam Geldman said: “Pay rises for the profession lagged behind the national average last year and pay freezes are still common, but many health and safety professionals remain remarkably upbeat.”
The results are taken from a survey of 1,035 UK-based health and safety professionals, conducted in September and October 2014 by Health and Safety at Work magazine.
