A majority of UK firms (70%) improve on statutory maternity pay of £145.18pw, according to IDR’s survey of maternity and paternity provisions. The most generous occupational maternity pay policies are on offer within the manufacturing and primary sector. Among the 53% of employers in this sector that offer enhanced maternity pay, mothers are typically eligible for around 19 weeks’ full pay. The lowest-value enhanced maternity pay policies are found within private services, where they are worth around 12 weeks’ full pay.
Pay reviews: median remains at 2.5%
For the sixth consecutive month, the median pay award across the whole economy stands at 2.5%, with the private sector median also holding steady at 2.5% in the three months to the end of June 2018. The median continues to be influenced by a number of higher awards at or above 4% which together account for a tenth of all rises in the sample.
Continue reading Pay reviews: median remains at 2.5%
Explaining the variation in gender pay gap figures
Around 10,000 firms have published their gender pay gap figures in line with the government’s deadline and there have been numerous headlines about those with the highest gaps. But what does the data really tell us? Here, we look at how and why the figures vary, with an emphasis on sectoral variations, as well as the impact that collective bargaining appears to have on the size of gender pay gaps.
Employers’ publication of their gender pay gaps has sparked a national conversation about the relationship between gender and pay. To date 10,249 firms have published their figures. IDR analysis of these shows an average gap of 14.4% between the average pay for men and that for women. There are, however, significant differences by sector.
Continue reading Explaining the variation in gender pay gap figures
Pay review: May remains at 2.5%
The median pay award across the whole economy remains at 2.5%, according to our latest analysis. This is the fifth consecutive month in which the median increase has been at this level. Higher awards, i.e. those at or above 3%, continue to account for almost a third of pay outcomes. The latest median, for the three months to May 2018, is influenced by several pay awards of over 4%, for instance at Argos and Centre Parcs, as well as by lower awards in some areas of the economy. Comparatively few increases are below 2% though we have recorded five pay freezes this time.
Saga maintains DB pension scheme
Saga has made changes to its defined-benefit pension scheme to contain costs and tackle the scheme’s deficit while keeping it open to both existing and new members for the long term. The company has also improved the terms of its group personal pension. These changes have been informed by the company’s strategy of helping customers and employees lead better lives in retirement. At the same time, the company has facilitated access to other financial products to support staff in managing savings priorities and is helping staff to make more informed decisions when it comes to saving for the future.
THE NEED FOR CHANGE
Saga is a provider of holidays, financial products and care services aimed at the over-50s. The company, which has more than 4,000 staff in the UK, has long offered a defined-benefit (DB) scheme, the Saga Pension Scheme (SPS), to all its permanent employees and just under half (48%) of the workforce are members. It applies its strategy, of helping people to ‘lead better lives in retirement’, to its employees as well as its customers and regards its pension provision as integral to this. The company also considers a DB pension scheme to be an attractive proposition in recruiting and retaining staff when many other companies are closing theirs.
However, in the two years from January 2014 to January 2016 the actuarial valuation of the DB scheme deficit – the gap between the value of investments and what it has to pay out in current and future benefits – had increased from £15.6 million to a forecast £50 million, while the total cost of future benefits had risen from 18.6% to over 30% of pensionable salaries. Saga therefore had to consider whether it could afford to keep the defined benefit scheme open.
Pay settlements: broader picture of pay awards emerges
The median pay increase across the economy remains at 2.5% in the three months to the end of April 2018, according to the latest monitored figures from IDR. The proportion of higher awards at or above 3% has increased with these awards accounting for almost a third of all the awards monitored in this period. This compares to just under a quarter of awards recorded at this level in our look at the figures in the three months to the end of January.
Continue reading Pay settlements: broader picture of pay awards emerges
Pay settlements: March remains at 2.5%
For the third consecutive month the median pay award across the whole economy remains at 2.5%, according to our latest analysis. This trend, monitored for the three months to the end of March 2018, is also evident in the private sector with the median remaining at 2.5%. A consistent median of 2.0% has also been seen within the not-for-profit sector.
Continue reading Pay settlements: March remains at 2.5%
Proposed NHS pay deal: swings now, roundabouts later?
The NHS pay offer is a significant deal that signals the end of the 1% cap on public sector pay rises and as such includes genuine improvements for existing staff. However it also involves future changes that may be less welcome for some. Under the proposed deal, headline rises for those at the tops of their bands are accompanied by changes to the pay structure which mean that staff who have not yet reached the tops of their pay bands would receive significantly higher earnings increases – via progression pay – over the course of the three-year deal. But from 2020 progression for new employees would be more limited than currently. Continue reading Proposed NHS pay deal: swings now, roundabouts later?
Bonus schemes: a flexible means of linking pay to performance
Bonuses remain an integral – albeit discretionary – element of the reward package on offer at many employers, particularly within the private sector: according to the ONS, the combined value of all bonuses paid in Great Britain reached a record level of £46.4 billion in 2016/17. Our recent survey of 30 mostly large employers across the manufacturing and primary sectors and private sector services looks at the design and typical payout levels of 41 bonus schemes – from comparatively simple all-employee schemes to more complex arrangements covering senior managers (eg Board members or executive team members).
Continue reading Bonus schemes: a flexible means of linking pay to performance
Pay settlements: remain steady at 2.5%
The median pay award for the three months to February 2018 remained at 2.5% across the whole economy, with the private sector median also holding steady at 2.5%.