Pay Rise – What Pay Rise?
An applicant for new domestic staff position says: “Well you know that the figures show salaries are rising by almost 10%, are you able to increase my salary offer by that amount?”
As you try not to fall off your chair, you ask for some evidence of this rise and you are handed a press cutting which shows that according to official statistics, PAYE estimates suggest that the average monthly pay last month was a hefty 9.8 per cent up on the previous year.
So let’s take a deeper look into this wage-rise spiral. Other semi-official sources for average earnings, covering the January to March period, showed that regular pay was up by 4.6 per cent on a year earlier, while total pay, including bonuses, was up by 4 per cent.
That’s considerably lower than almost 10%, so do you settle for that?
The Office National Statistics has explained that current average pay growth rates are being affected upwards by a fall in the number and proportion of lower-paid jobs compared with before the coronavirus pandemic.
Adjusting for that brought total pay increases down to about 2.5 per cent and regular pay to 3 per cent, according to the ONS. All told, the figures translate into a real increase (adjusted for inflation) of about 2 per cent.
If you want a guide figure that’s the one to go with.
The Graham Agency, keeping you informed.
End