Pay rises are still “few and far between” for UK employees, according to research.
In an online survey of 2,160 employees, by web recruitment firm Monster.co.uk, 74 per cent of respondents said they have not had a pay rise for a year or more.
Some 39 per cent have not had a salary increase for at least two years and more than one in 10 people (14 per cent) said they actually took a pay cut.
However, Joe Slavin, managing director of Monster.co.uk, said employees will be in an excellent position to ask their bosses for a pay rise in 2005.
“The UK economy is witnessing the highest employment rates since records began and we expect that employers will start to see a ‘war for talent’, so candidates could find themselves with a very strong case to negotiate pay rises,” he said.
There have also been indications that UK workers were willing to take pay cuts to save their jobs or for a change of lifestyle with a new job offering a more fulfilling or less stressful environment.
A Monster poll, conducted in July 2004, asked more than 1,500 site visitors if they would take a pay cut for less stress.
The majority of respondents admitted that they would take a salary cut of up to 15 per cent for a less stressful job, while 17 per cent of participants said they would consider taking more than a 15 per cent cut in their salary.
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