Half of firms to freeze pay
HALF OF employers in the UK are planning to freeze pay completely in 2010, a survey will reveal today.
The latest employment trends research from the industry body CBI and recruitment firm Harvey Nash will show that firms remain “ultra-cautious” about increasing pay, with only four per cent planning rises above the level of inflation.
“Market conditions continue to be very tough and growth in 2010 will be feeble, so pay is going to be squeezed for some time to come,” said CBI deputy director general John Cridland. Harvey Nash chief executive Albert Ellis urged firms to show restraint on executive remuneration, as well as employee pay.
The survey also shows that 49 per cent of firms think that the UK is a less attractive place to do business than it was five years ago, increasing the risk of businesses choosing to create jobs elsewhere.
However, the CBI will also say that recruitment freezes are beginning to thaw – with nearly half the number of companies operating headcount freeze than earlier this year – and that fewer employers see the need for some of the more extreme cost-cutting measures that have been adopted this year, such as extended shut-downs and cuts in overtime.