Our latest analysis of pay deals confirms that the busy spring 2009 pay round is shaping up to be the least generous for employees since IRS began collecting pay settlement data in 1971. The median basic pay award is just 1.3% in the three months to May 2009, with the proportion of pay freezes rising to one-third of all pay awards. Few employers are attempting to cut pay, however, so there is no evidence to suggest that our headline pay award figure will dip into negative territory this year.

The second instalment of our series on benefits and allowances covers the health benefits offered by employers, a number of which have shown a drop in use since 2008. Private medical insurance still tops the list, however, despite often being a costly benefit for employers to provide.

Also in this issue we look at:

• Research and development salaries;
• Proposals on pensions from the CBI; and
• New pay settlements at DAS and Yorkshire Water.

Sarah Welfare
Editor
Pay and Benefits Bulletin

Pay reports recently added to the site:

DAS: 3.47% paybill increase

Yorkshire Water: 3% basic award plus bonuses

Pay review update: 26 June 2009

The latest pay review update table contains pay settlements at Asda, BP, npower Generation, Pret A Manger, the printing industry and many more.

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Statistics and forecasts

The datafile contains the most recent inflation, earnings and labour market statistics, pay settlement data and inflation and earnings forecasts. Our panel of City and academic forecasters expects retail prices index (RPI) inflation to fall from its current level of -1.1% in May 2009 to -2.6% over the third quarter of the year. Earnings growth is expected to average 1.8% over 2009 as a whole.

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From the blog

Launched and run by the editorial team that produces XpertHR and the IRS e-journals, the Employment Intelligence blog is regularly updated with news, comment and links to the latest employment developments. Recent posts include:

• The "upside" of downward mobility in pay awards in 2009
• British Airways' workers asked to work without pay
• Pay rises for footballers - penalties for CEOs

Today's tip: be a part of the UK's largest pay monitoring service

The IRS pay databank is the most comprehensive source of pay settlement data in the UK, and is used to generate the IRS monthly figures on pay rises. You can help make even more of this valuable resource by adding your latest pay settlement to the database.

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