XpertHR Pay and Benefits editor Sheila Attwood said:

“A 2% pay rise over the coming year will be less than many employees had hoped for. Despite improving economic conditions, employers are sticking to their guns on low pay awards, which are only made to look more appealing by the fall in inflation.”

The latest pay settlement readings from XpertHR confirm the subdued nature of pay bargaining at present.

In the three months to the end of February 2015, the median pay award across the economy was worth just 2% – half a percentage point below the 2.5% recorded in the three months to the end of February 2014.