Our employer survey on performance-based pay schemes in this issue suggests a mixed verdict on performance-based pay. For many employers, PRP is a key part of reward strategy, but when employers were asked about its effect on the performance of key groups of staff, a substantial minority said it had no effect at all.

We also report on some interesting research from the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, which suggests that PRP does indeed bring about improved performance, but more because it forces managers to take the objective-setting process more seriously than the motivational effects of a potentially bigger pay rise.

Our latest issue of Pay Intelligence illustrates the continued weakness of employee pay awards. The median for the three months to August 2009 is just 1%, and our finding for the previous quarter is a pay freeze - the first time that this has occurred since IRS has been collecting pay data. These findings need to be treated with caution at this time of year, however, as the number of employers settling pay is small. Next month we will produce a comprehensive review of pay awards over the past year and publish details of employers' pay predictions for 2010.

Also in this issue:

• reports on the latest pay deals at Boots, John Lewis, the Home Office and the plumbing industry in Scotland and Northern Ireland;
• Salary surveys on the IT sector and garden centres; and
• all the latest economic and labour market statistics.

Sarah Welfare
Editor,
Pay and Benefits Bulletin

Pay reports recently added to the site:

Boots: 1% increase for retail staff

John Lewis: 1.15% paybill increase

Home Office: 3.4% average earnings growth

Scottish and Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board for the Plumbing Industry: rates rise by 4.6%

Pay review update: 25 September 2009

The latest pay review update table contains pay settlements at the Department for Work and Pensions, Argos, Makro Cash and Carry and many more.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

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 average -0.8% over the final quarter of 2009 but to rise to 1.5% by the first quarter of 2010. Earnings growth is expected to run at 1.8% over the last three months of 2009 and 2.6% over 2010 as a whole.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

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:

• Weak wage growth in prospect for 2010, says CBI
• Cable calls for long term public sector pay freeze
• Unemployment is still on course to top three million
• Public sector jobs cuts could cause a "double-quick, double dip" recession in 2010, says TUC

Today's tip: daily updates

If you want to keep tabs on a particular topic or just can’t wait for the next Pay and Benefits Bulletin, sign up for an XpertHR daily update. Go to My Preferences and choose what interests you. Each day we add new articles, an email will be sent to you.

Print all articles in this newsletter

This newsletter now has a "print all" button. Before pressing it, please be aware that this uses a lot of paper. For the sake of the planet and your toner cartridge, consider whether or not you need to use it. If you press "print all", this will send to your printer all articles linked from the newsletter. Print all articles.