The Robert Walters 2022 UK Salary Guide, has suggested the salaries for white collar professionals will increase by as much as 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2022. Professional services firms are planning to increase their budget for pay raises by 10-15 per cent this year – the largest increase seen since 2008 and almost three times the inflation rate.
Whilst the biggest pay rises will be reserved for new starters – at least 5 per cent of the increase in payroll budgets will be reserved for existing employees in 2022. These pay raises are expected to be for workers across all seniority levels – from entry-level workers and temporary staff right through to management level and executives.
Almost half of companies (43 per cent) from the Robert Walters survey said they’re planning salary increases for current employees to keep pace with higher pay they’ve awarded new hires. This will come as a relief to professionals who have stayed with their employer throughout the pandemic, with over half (54 per cent) of workers stating that they are expecting a pay rise this year following a two-year salary freeze.
In fact, two thirds stated that they will leave their job if they are not rewarded fairly, with 75 per cent feeling ‘very confident’ about job opportunities in their sector this year. In the past year wages for new starters grew by 6-8 per cent, and for those professionals who moved into ‘hero industries’ such as technology or health care saw pay hikes as high as +15-20 per cent.
“Wage increases above market value for in-demand hires was a recurring theme of the past year,” notes Chris Poole, managing director at Robert Walters UK. “As a result, we saw new starter salaries outstrip those of existing employees. The consequences of this will result in ‘wage compression’ – where existing employees feel their additional experience at the company (over new starters) is no longer valued or has not grown in value over the past two years.
“Looking at the year ahead we will see more companies raise the pay of their existing employees to sit in line with new starter salaries.”
According to the 2022 UK Salary Guide, it is excellent compensation & benefits (65 per cent), a desirable bonus scheme (53 per cent), and job security (40 per cent) which are the top three values of a post-pandemic professional.
In fact, flexi-hours (29 per cent), remote working (22 per cent), and holiday entitlement (20 per cent) all rank much lower in importance for professionals – perhaps because over half of white-collar workers (53 per cent) stated that they “wouldn’t bother” asking about flexi-working in a job interview in the coming year because they naturally assume “it is a given now.”
Gym discounts, company cars, and voucher schemes have all been traded in for the hope of “inspiring colleagues and company culture” – with over a third of workers (37 per cent) stating this is an important factor in staying on or taking on a new role.
