Great Britain: employers to increase wages by 3% in 2012

Inflation: 5.2%.  The data comes from the September edition of Mercer’s TRS Quarterly Pulse Survey which analyses the pay plans of 329 multinational organizations operating across 69 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This concerns all employee groups including ‘blue’ and ‘white collar’ workers up to management level.  In the UK, companies are anticipating employee base pay rises of 3% (with inflation at 5.2%) while companies across Western European are predicting their employees will be given pay rises averaging 2.7% in 2012.  Mark Quinn, Principal at Mercer, said, “Salary increases in the UK are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living, and employees are finding it difficult.  But the economic situation is still volatile so organizations are being cautious.  Committing to higher salary increases reduces a company’s flexibility and maneuverability if the economy does drop again. While restraint is painful for everyone in the short term, it is also prudent, and if it ensures the survival of the company it is in the longer term interests of employer and employee.”
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my does drop again. While restraint is painful for everyone in the short term, it is also prudent, and if it ensures the survival of the company it is in the longer term interests of employer and employee.”

A previous quarterly report issued by Mercer in June 2011 showed that companies were segmenting their pay rises in 2011. Employees in managerial roles were receiving higher pay rises than those in executive positions, for example. By contrast, the latest data suggests that this has finished a

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