Pay deals stuck at two per cent

PAY DEALS have remained at two per cent in recent months, with wage freezes at the lowest level for several years, a study shows.

The median increase is below RPI inflation, but there are some positive signs, said pay analysts XpertHR.

A study of almost 200 settlements showed that around half were higher than a year ago, with fewer than one in 20 resulting in a wage freeze.

Sheila Attwood of XpertHR said: “Despite some positive signs on pay awards over the last quarter, such is the prevalence of the two per cent pay award that we would need a considerable number of higher or lower - pay awards to pull off a shift in the median from this level.”