Half of UK Employers Will Freeze Pay
Fifty percent of British firms will not be giving their staff pay rises in the near future.
This is today's news from the CBI—the UK's leading business organization—based on a recent survey conducted with recruitment specialists Harvey Nash.
So the glass is either half empty or half full depending on who you work for. But of the employers willing to consider a pay increase, only 8% plan to gives rises greater than inflation. Even the glass that's half full won't leave a very pleasant taste in the mouth.
The overall tone of the survey is very much in line with other economic news: the worst is probably behind us. About a third of firms are not recruiting compared to two-thirds earlier this year.
One side-effect of the recession has been the dramatic growth in what employers call flexible working, where employees are based at home. The CBI claims this has "soared in popularity," with 66% of firms now permitting it.
Anecdotally not all home-workers enjoy the isolation of the home office. They tolerate it because the reduced commuting costs compensate, in some measure, for the lack of pay rises. It will be interesting to see how popular it remains as the economy recovers.
