More than half (57%) of retail employees are unhappy with their pay, with average advertised salaries for retail positions of £29,042 a year, according to research by Adzuna.
Its analysis of employment satisfaction levels across 1,000 UK employees also found that 55% of respondents in the teaching profession are unhappy with their pay, with an average advertised salary of £26,599. This compares to 54% of charity workers who are unhappy with their pay, advertised at £28,382 on average. In addition, 50% of social worker respondents and 50% of respondents who work in property organisations are unhappy with their pay, with average advertised salaries of £28,332 and £32,465 respectively.
The research also found:
- 51% of respondents who work in the HR sector are happy with their current pay levels, with an average advertised salary of £32,705 a year. This compares to 44% of respondents who are consultants and have an average advertised salary of £36,251, and 41% of respondents who work for trade and construction organisations and have an average advertised salary of £33,777.
- 38% of respondents employed in PR and marketing are happy with their pay, with an average advertised salary of £34,202. A further 38% of respondents based in the energy, oil and gas sector are also pleased with their pay, with an average advertised salary of £32,148.
- 56% of respondents have avoided asking for pay rise, with only 14% of respondents successfully speaking to a senior level employee about increasing their pay.
- 53% of respondents would never discuss their salary with a colleague, and 6% of respondents overall believe they are paid more than their colleagues, although this rises to 10% among respondents in their 20s.
- 53% of respondents do not know their true value to employers.
Doug Monro, co-founder at Adzuna, said: “British workplaces are rife with uncertainty over pay. An ingrained lack of transparency over earnings and salary bandings has created a culture of conviction that others must be paid more than us. Combined with a lack of knowledge of what our own skills are worth to employers in today’s job market, this spells a recipe for disaster for ambitious career builders.
“It’s time to address the UK workforces’ compensation complex once and for all, and declare a war on pay inequality. Hardworking employees deserve fair pay for the work they carry out, and the tools to help them understand both their value in the workplace today, and how they can increase this going forward. It’s time for employers to play fair.”