Although government has reported a freeze in pay settlements in the public sector, the private sector appears to be faring well with settlements at 2.5% for the previous three months ending in July.
According to reports, there were no freezes in pay recorded for the private sector but that is not the case in not-for-profit and public sector jobs. Most employees did see a pay freeze but the good news is that the cost of living has held steady at ‘below-inflation’ levels. This was reported by Incomes Data Services.
At one point in the year, amidst growing concerns of a recession, the private sector saw pay freezes across the board, but currently there are none being reported. In fact, pay freezes seem to have ‘thawed’ according to analysts and those companies with the biggest increases are the manufacturing and utilities sectors that seem to be relatively stable.
Unfortunately, this is leading to what many consider to be a mass exodus as some employees in the public sector are leaving their jobs for comparable positions in the private sector because, quite simply, the pay is better.
Those employees choosing to remain on the job in the public sector state that they are content in their jobs because they feel they are making a difference. Others feel that public jobs may, in the long run, offer more stability whilst others have been on the job so long there doesn’t seem to be a need to move.
Still, until the economy improves and fear of recession in the UK, the Eurozone and indeed around the globe subsides, there is a pay freeze in the public sector. Pay rises may be slow in coming if the economy doesn’t improve, but as previously mentioned, with reduced inflationary rates, it should offset pay freezes to some extent.
