Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • 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
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • 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
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

BrexitLatest NewsPay settlements

Wage growth will slow down in 2019 as Brexit bites

by Jo Faragher 25 Oct 2018
by Jo Faragher 25 Oct 2018

Private sector employers expect to see slower wage growth in 2019, according to analysis from XpertHR.

Pay growth

Pay growth at highest rate for almost 10 years

Review of pay awards 2018: Private-sector pay

Its round-up of pay forecasts from 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019 found that 80% of employees expected to receive a pay rise, and just 5% predicted a wage freeze.

But despite median pay awards increasing this year to 2.5% from a seven-year deadlock at 2%, employers do not expect this figure to go any higher in 2019.

Over the past year, the majority of pay awards were worth more than employees received the previous year. During 2019, however, the majority of awards (61%) are expected to be at the same level as over the past year – just 22% are predicted to be higher and 17% lower.

The median pay award prediction across the private sector was 2.4%. Companies in the manufacturing and production sector put this at 2.5%, while those in private sector services predicted a median award of 2%.

XpertHR found that many employers felt under pressure to match the pay awards of their competitors, particularly where they struggled to recruit staff.

But at the same time, justifying substantial pay awards was difficult.

XpertHR pay and benefits editor Sheila Attwood said: “While the labour market is putting pressure on employers to keep up with their competitors when it comes to pay rises, many companies simply cannot afford to give higher pay increases.

“Rising pension costs (due to pensions auto-enrolment) and uncertainty due to Brexit are likely to help keep pay award levels in check over the coming year.”

In the three months to the end of September, the median basic pay award was once again 2.5%, based on a sample of 89 basic pay awards. Almost three in five (59.1%) were higher than a year ago, 22.7% were the same and 18.2% were lower.

Over the 12 months to September 2018, the median pay award for the private sector was 2.5%, compared to 2% for the public sector.

Jo Faragher
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. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Morrisons data breach: Could the supermarket have done more?
next post
Fifth of employers ask about criminal records in potentially unlawful way

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Employees going into office just 1.5 days a...

15 Aug 2022

Graduate and apprentice salaries shoot up in war...

15 Aug 2022

Personnel Today Awards 2022 shortlist: Excellence in Public...

15 Aug 2022

Hiring boom set to slow as employers come...

15 Aug 2022

Are you a ‘quiet quitter’?

12 Aug 2022

July saw highest number of job adverts for...

12 Aug 2022

Transport sector recruitment ‘should be overhauled to improve...

12 Aug 2022

Liz Truss comments on Civil Service dismissed as...

12 Aug 2022

Hot summers, hot desks – employment law advice...

12 Aug 2022

Sharp rise in firms offering enhanced parental leave...

11 Aug 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...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 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • 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
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+