Respondents’ basic annual salary (excluding allowances, bonuses, and so on)
Below £20,000 2%
£20,000-£24,999 1%
£25,000-£29,999 5%
£30,000-£34,999 7%
£35,000-£39,999 6%
£40,000-£44,999 13%
£45,000-£49,999 7%
£50,000-£59,999 18%
£60,000-£69,999 12%
£70,000-£99,999 21%
£100,000-£124,999 4%
£125,000-£149,999 2%
£150,000-£199,999 1%
Sample: All respondents (242)
Respondents’ basic annual salary by gender
Job title All Male Female
All £62,000 £78,600 £54,500
Benefits/reward analyst/administrator £36,000 N/A £36,800
Benefits/reward manager £58,000 £61,600 £57,600
Benefits/reward director/head £95,000 £103,000 £81,300
The average gender pay gap between reward and benefits professionals currently stands at £24,100. Male respondents earn an average basic annual salary of £78,600, compared to female respondents’ average basic salary of £54,500.
In part, this may be due to the lack of male respondents in benefits or reward analyst or administrator roles, which are lower paid than manager and director roles.
As in 2014, the job with the most pronounced gender pay gap is benefits/reward director or head with a £21,700 difference between male and female respondents. This is a rise on the £17,461 difference we identified three years ago.
Benefits and reward managers have a much smaller, although not insignificant, gender pay difference of £4,000 a year.
The overall average annual basic salary for reward and benefits professionals is £62,000.
Have respondents had a salary review in the last 12 months?
They have 74%
They have not 19%
They have not because there is a pay freeze on at their organisation 7%
Sample: All respondents (242)
The percentage increase in their salary respondents have received in the last 12 months
No increase 2%
Increase of 0.1%-1% 10%
Increase of 1.1%-2% 26%
Increase of 2.1%-3% 29%
Increase of 3.1%-4% 8%
Increase of 4.1%-5% 5%
Increase of 5.1%-6% 4%
Increase of 6.1%-8% 4%
Increase of 8.1%-10% 6%
Increase of 10.1%-15% 6%
Increase of more than 15% 2%
Sample: All respondents who received a salary review in the last 12 months (179)
The percentage salary increase respondents expect in the next 12 months
No increase 17%
Increase of 0.1%-1% 9%
Increase of 1.1%-2% 30%
Increase of 2.1%-3% 27%
Increase of 3.1%-4% 8%
Increase of 4.1%-5% 4%
Increase of 5.1%-6% 1%
Increase of 6.1%-8% 1%
Increase of 8.1%-10% 0
Increase of 10.1%-15% 1%
Increase of more than 15% 2%
Sample: All respondents (240)
Text to accompany above three graphs:
The most commonly awarded salary increases to HR and benefits professionals in the last 12 months were between 1.1% and 3%, according to the Employee Benefits Salary survey, which surveyed 249 respondents in December 2016.
More than a quarter (29%) received an increase between 2.1% and 3% of salary, while 26% received between 1.1% and 2%. This is broadly in line with results seen in 2014 when we last asked this question.
Overall, just under three-quarters (74%) received a salary review in the past 12 months.
Looking ahead, however, respondents appear to have much lower expectations for the coming year. Nearly a fifth (17%) expect their salary to remain the same over the next 12 months, even though just 2% did not receive an increase in light of a review in the previous 12 months.
Do respondents receive a cash bonus? (NB: This graph could be dropped for print if needed)
They do 70%
They do not 30%
Sample: All respondents (241)
What respondents’ bonuses are linked to
Company performance 89%
Personal performance 82%
Team or departmental performance 12%
Other 4%
Sample: All respondents who receive a cash bonus (169)
The maximum potential bonus respondents could receive and how much they actually received
Amount Maximum possible bonus Actual bonus
Under £500 3% 15%
£500-£999 1% 3%
£1,000-£2,499 8% 15%
£2,500-£4,999 15% 12%
£5,000-£7,499 15% 14%
£7,500-£9,999 12% 10%
£10,000-£12,499 13% 8%
£12,500-£14,999 7% 5%
£15,000-£17,499 9% 3%
£17,500-£19,999 2% 3%
£20,000-£24,999 3% 5%
£25,000 or more 14% 7%
All respondents who received a cash bonus in the last 12 months (159)
Text to accompany above three graphs:
Just under three-quarters (70%) of respondents received a cash bonus in the last 12 months.
This figure has remained relatively consistent since we first carried out this research in 2008. That year, 71% received a cash bonus, while 74% did so in 2014.
Where respondents receive a cash bonus, these are most commonly linked to the performance of their organisation (89%), followed by personal performance (82%), and team or departmental performance (12%).
This year, the most common total for bonuses paid was less than £500 or between £1,000-£2,499, both of which were received by 15% of respondents. These are both much lower payouts than in 2014 when the most common bonus stood between £2,501 and £5,000.
It may be that dips in the economy resulting from events such as the result of the EU referendum impacted organisations’ performance last year, therefore hitting respondents’ bonuses. For example, although 15% received a bonus of less than £500, just 3% said this was their maximum potential bonus. At the other end of the spectrum, while 14% could have earned £25,000 or more, just 7% did so.
