According to the CIPD Labour Market Outlook, Winter 2021-2022, employers are set to award pay increases of 3%, this is the highest that has been reported since 2012-2013 winter.
However, the cost of living is increasing daily, due to all the increases taking place, gas and electricity bills will rise to an all-time high in April, petrol costs are already at all-time high and national insurance contributions are set to increase further in April 2022.
Therefore, despite pay increases potentially being higher this year, the cost of inflation, which is reported to be 7.25% in April 2022, will outweigh these pay rises and employees will feel the effect of this more than ever.
The Labour Market outlook is one of the most influential employment indicators that provide data on employer’s recruitment, redundancy and pay proposals.
We have already seen over the last two years, with the Coronavirus pandemic, employers offering employees more flexibility in how they work to increase their employee’s retention levels, as employers are finding it harder to recruit employees into their job roles.
According to research by the CIPD, nearly half of employers have reported they have vacancies they are finding hard to fill, especially in construction, healthcare and the public sector.
Employers have said they still have plans in the future to be recruiting employees, which is the same as where they were prior to the pandemic, however, less than 10% of employers, unfortunately, are still planning to make redundancies in the next few months.
The Coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on many employers, and they have faced different challenges than previously. However many have realised that allowing employees more flexibility and moving towards hybrid working, it can be beneficial for both the employer and employees, as the pandemic proved for a lot of employers that employees do not necessarily need to be in a workplace to get their work done.
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