Pay deals weaken

Only about a third of deals submitted to Payline for January 2025 beat inflation. Last month, we reported on the increasing pressure wages face from stubborn inflation and cost-of-living increases.

Nonetheless, many workers are achieving above-inflation rises. In this month’s feature—'Halfway through the 2024-25 pay round: Is pay falling behind inflation?'—we see that recent deals show a worsening picture.

Median lowest basic pay deals are lower than RPI inflation. This might reflect a small sample size of deals, but the Bank of England confirms that many firms are freezing hiring plans. Coupled with heightened global instability, the context for workers to successfully demand increased pay is tightening.

At Workplace Report, our mission is to present pay data to reps and those involved in pay negotiation, empowering them to achieve better deals.

We also shed light on the need for better pay structures. Our main feature on the Civil Service highlights the consequence of a fragmented system—huge pay disparity, erosion, and a lack of fairness. For such a crucial sector, intimately connected to the country’s fortunes, this cannot continue.