Payroll Software News

Pay rates rise year-on-year

Posted by Editorial Team

Payroll employees may have been busy in recent weeks making adjustments to employee pay rates, as salaries across the UK are said to have increased.

Research from recruitment consultancy Robert Walters revealed salaries are up 1.5 per cent year-on-year with Thames Valley and the south east seeing the largest rises.

The Robert Walters 2012 Salary Survey found that overall permanent salary levels increased by 2.4 per cent in the regions, which was significantly more than in other areas.

London saw a rise of 1.8 per cent, while a 0.8 per cent increase was noted in the north of England and the Midlands noted a 0.4 per cent change.

However, contractor pay grew markedly quicker than permanent salaries, with an average increase of 3.7 per cent noted across the UK and 4.3 per cent recorded in the capital.

The report also looked at rate rises within the different sectors, finding that permanent salaries increased the most for compliance professionals, with an increase of 9.6 per cent recorded.

In comparison, HR professionals saw a change of 2.6 per cent, while lawyers saw their pay go up by 2.4 per cent.

Elsewhere, personnel working in risk professions saw their contract rates rise by 13.8 per cent, while compliance specialists saw a change of 10.7 per cent.

Accountants were up 7.8 per cent, while 4.1 per cent was recorded for investment banking operations professionals.

Marketers and information technology specialists both saw pay increases of 3.4 per cent.

Commenting on the results, managing director of UK recruitment Chris Hickey said: "Against a backdrop of challenging market conditions, it is unsurprising that growth in permanent salaries has been relatively modest over the past year."

However, he added the results were "encouraging" and show pay levels are continuing to rise in the UK.

Mr Hickey stated: "The fact that contract rates have grown almost two-and-a-half times as fast as permanent salaries over the past year highlights where organisations' priorities lie at the moment."

The expert concluded that employers are keen to focus on projects that maximise their efficiencies or alternatively put all their efforts into work they consider to be "business critical".

As a result, firms are prepared to pay to secure the best contractors they can to complete these tasks.
The news comes after last month's quarterly CBI/Harvey Nash employment trends survey suggested companies in the private sector are still taking a cautious approach to pay as they look to stay competitive.

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