Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Pay settlements

Pay awards refuse to budge at 2%, according to XpertHR

by Jo Faragher 26 May 2017
by Jo Faragher 26 May 2017

Pay awards in the three months to the end of April 2017 remained steadfast at 2%, according to the latest data from XpertHR.

It is now more than three years since pay awards have been worth more than 2% – and more than eight years since they have been at 3% or higher, according to pay and benefits editor Sheila Atwood.

Pay award resources

Public sector pay 2017: public health

Pay awards: 25 May 2017

We also now have the largest negative gap between retail prices index (RPI) inflation, which is currently 3.5%, and pay growth, since December 2011.

However, XpertHR’s data did reveal a record low number of pay freezes over the three-month period, and signs that companies were paying higher pay awards at the top of the range.

Its other main findings were as follows:

  • half of all pay awards are worth between 1.5% and 2.5%;
  • 2% is the most common pay award, given to more than a quarter (26.3%) of employee groups;
  • this was the sixth consecutive rolling quarter where the pay award for manufacturing and production was 2%, but the first since December 2016 where the service sector median pay award was also 2%;
  • almost half (45.7%) of pay awards are higher than employees received a year ago, with less than one-third (31.8%) lower; and
  • the number of pay reviews resulting in a pay freeze is at the lowest level for several years, at just 4.5%.

In the public sector, most employers remain focused on the 1% pay award. April tends to be a month when public sector pay rises take effect, and most of the deals recorded by XpertHR were at this level.

In the private sector, by contrast, 2% is the benchmark pay award, having been made in 28% of pay reviews over the last three months.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

XpertHR pay and benefits editor Sheila Attwood said there was unlikely to be a shift above the 2% level in the short term.

“Despite some positive signs on pay awards over the last rolling quarter, such is the prevalence of the 2% pay award that we would need a considerable number of higher (or lower) pay awards to pull off a shift in the median from this level,” she said.

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Personnel Today Awards 2017: Meet the judges
next post
Ethnicity pay gap reporting: how would it work?

You may also like

Pay awards in real terms could fall for...

21 May 2025

Ryanair demands flight attendants pay back salary increase

21 May 2025

NHS Scotland staff accept two-year 8.2% pay deal

16 May 2025

Nurses threaten strikes if pay demands not met

12 May 2025

Private sector median pay increases remain at 3.5%

6 May 2025

Public sector staff could be in line for...

28 Apr 2025

Confidence returning to jobs market, data shows

28 Apr 2025

What will reward look like in 2035?

28 Apr 2025

NI increase has not caused ‘knee-jerk reaction’ in...

23 Apr 2025

Scottish Water workers strike in dispute over pay

22 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+