{"id":9112,"date":"2024-09-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&p=9112"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:21:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:21:01","slug":"pay-trends-august-2024","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/total-rewards\/benchmarking\/pay-trends-august-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Pay trends September 2024: Pay rises decline as awards hit 2-year low"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Brightmine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest data from HR data and insights provider Brightmine<\/a> shows that UK pay rises have hit the lowest mark since June 2022, while the majority of new pay deals are now lower than in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brightmine\u2019s analysis shows that the median basic pay award in the three months to the end of August 2024 was 4%, remaining the same as in the previous quarter (revised down from 4.5%). Almost three-quarters (72.7%) of matched sample pay awards in the latest quarter were worth less than the same group of employees received a year ago, with only one-in-10 (11.4%) being higher than last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public sector pay rises outperforming private sector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following the change in government, one of the first actions of the new Labour chancellor in July was to accept the recommendations of the pay review bodies, resulting in above-inflation pay rises for millions of public-sector workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the 12 months to the end of August 2024, the median pay award in the public sector sits at 6%, reflecting increases for several of the groups covered by the pay review bodies. By contrast, the median award across the private sector is more than 20% lower than the public sector, at 4.7%, over the same period.
Meanwhile, in other sectors, pay awards in the manufacturing-and-production sector continue to fall behind those across the services sector, with manufacturing at 3.8% versus the services sector rises at 4.3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over this period, we also saw pay awards move ahead of retail prices index (RPI) inflation in November 2023, having lagged behind every month since January 2021. However, with the headline level of pay awards falling, the gap between the two measures is narrowing once more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheila Attwood, Brightmine senior content manager, data and HR insights, comments: \u201cWe knew that pay settlements were unlikely to maintain the levels seen in 2023. Employers that have made pay awards so far this year have already reacted to the falling inflation environment by putting in place lower pay awards than made last year. However, as we look to the future, HR leaders will need to be creative with benefits packages and developing competitive packages<\/a> that aren\u2019t purely focused on increased pay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We knew that pay settlements were unlikely to maintain the levels seen in 2023. Employers that have made pay awards so far this year have already reacted to the falling inflation environment by putting in place lower pay awards than made last year. However, as we look to the future, HR leaders will need to be creative with benefits packages and developing competitive packages that aren\u2019t purely focused on increased pay.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheila Atwood, senior content manager, data and HR Insights at Brightmine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Key latest rolling quarter findings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Based on 67 pay settlements that came into effect between 1 June and 31 August 2024, covering 900,000 employees, Brightmine also found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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