India Inc likely to offer 7.7% salary hikes this year: Aon

NEW DELHI: Companies in India are likely to offer a 7.7 per cent salary increase in 2021, one of the highest among the BRIC nations, and higher than the average actual increase of 6.1 per cent in 2020, says a survey.

Global professional services firm Aon Plc on Tuesday released insights from its latest Salary Increase Survey in India, as per which 88 per cent of the surveyed companies reported that they intend to increase salaries in 2021, as compared to 75 per cent companies in 2020, reflecting positive business sentiment.

The study, that analysed data across 1,200 companies from more than 20 industries noted that while salary increments indicate strong recovery, the Code of Wages could be a gamechanger.

"We expect the increment dynamics for 2021 to play out over a longer period of time given the uncertainty and potential impact of forthcoming changes," Nitin Sethi, partner and Chief Executive Officer of Aon's performance and rewards business in India, said.

"We expect organisations to review their compensation budgets in the second half of the year once the exact financial impact of the Labor Codes is known. It is also possible that some of the salary increments may not translate into higher cash-in-hand for employees if organisations choose to pay higher provident fund contributions on the new definition of Wages," he said.