UK company benefits and salary benchmarking hub
With the changing nature of the jobs market in the UK, it’s increasingly important employers and employees can access resources that show salary benchmarking and explore company benefits offered and the employee benefits UK workers want to receive. Reed’s UK company benefits, and salary advice is housed on this hub, offering you everything you need to know for UK salary benchmarking – whether you are an employer looking to offer the best packages, or a professional looking for information on what you could, or should, be earning.
With the onset of a recession, the return of inflation, and interest rates we haven’t seen in a decade, 2023 looks uncertain. The workforce in the UK has significantly shrunk. Reasons for this include the knock-on effect of Brexit, the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, many over-50s leaving the workforce, and skills gaps in several industries.
At the end of 2022, official figures indicated the UK's unemployment rate had edged up, while job vacancies remain near record levels. On top of this, the cost of living continues to rise at its fastest rate in almost 40 years, leaving many people struggling.
Official statistics show wages have risen across the board in the private sector – especially in roles where demand is high – but inflation is counteracting the impact of any increases. With all this in mind, it’s more important than ever that you benchmark your salaries and offer the right employee benefits.
Jobseekers have much greater expectations when it comes to salary and benefits – employers who fail to meet these demands will struggle to attract the best professionals. This not only applies to those looking for work but to retain your existing talent. With many struggling, a large number of skilled people are likely to jump ship for better pay and attractive company benefits.
To support you with making the right offerings to existing and prospective employees, and to benchmark your UK salaries and benefits against your competition, our salary and benefits content contained in this section gives you all the information you need in one place.
The hub features our 2024 salary guides, which provide extensive salary benchmarking data taken from 16 million jobs posted to Reed.co.uk since 2017, to help you undertake UK salary benchmarking across 16 sectors including accountancy and finance, business support and administration, and technology. The guides allow you to benchmark salaries across geographical UK regions, and industry practices, and feature insight from our industry experts, and regional directors.
The salary guides also contain a survey of 5,000 UK workers. The questionnaire asked about their current and preferred salary and benefits, their organisation’s performance, and priorities, how they rated their job security and the future of their sector, and the key recruitment and skills trends they’re witnessing.
Our UK company benefits, and salary benchmarking hub is also a source of information for popular roles which do not feature within our guides, with salary bandings for teachers, nurses, police officers, train drivers, paramedics, pharmacists, midwives, and architects all included.
You will also find key information about the evolving landscape of company benefits in the UK. Whether you want to find out more about hybrid working models, four-day working weeks, maternity, and paternity leave, supporting financial well-being and much more.
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Salaries and benefits - frequently asked questions
Are you searching for the average UK salary to see how your pay packet stacks up against the country’s average? According to the Office for National Statistics the median weekly earnings for full-time employees was £640 in April 2022, which is a 5.0% increase over the £610 in 2021. If you are looking to benchmark salaries in a particular industry, our latest 2024 salary guides cover salary trends across 16 sectors, from technology, accountancy, and finance to further education. Download your free copy now.
Salary benchmarking is important for both businesses and professionals. If you are a business or hiring manager and are struggling to attract and retain talent, then comparing the salaries you are offering to other businesses in the sector and region can ensure you remain competitive in a challenging market.
Additionally, if you are looking to move jobs, it’s important to know what you can expect to earn so you can go into salary negotiations with a clear understanding of the average salary for that role. For more information on salary benchmarking and why it is important, read our article from James Reed, our Chairman and CEO ‘The cost of winning in 2024' – it’s the introduction to our 2024 UK salary guides.
At the end of 2023, we conducted a snap survey of 5,000 UK workers to inform our 2024 salary guides, one of the questions we asked was what benefits they received as well as their most desired benefits if they were looking for a new role.
When asked what benefits they receive in their current workplace, flexible working came out top as the most common benefit, with 20% of workers being offered it. Coming in second place was annual salary increments (18%), and a company pension that is higher than the required amount (18%) took the third spot.
Health benefits were less common, with only 12% receiving private health insurance and 12% getting life insurance and wellness programmes. In our 2021 survey of 511 workers, we found that top-ups were a popular selection among businesses, with 47% getting a performance bonus, but this year only 15% stated this was a benefit offered to them. Alarmingly, more than a quarter of respondents (30%) said they do not receive any organisational benefits at all.
When asked ‘when/if looking for a job what five benefits would you find most attractive?,’ an annual salary increment came out on top with nearly half (45%) of respondents supporting this. With the rise of energy bills and cost of living, it is unsurprising that financial benefits such as this are now the most attractive. The pressure of financial difficulties is looming and impacting how employees feel about benefits, with a performance bonus (29%) and company pension that is higher than the required amount (29%) making the top desirable benefits list.
Last year, the potential for new ways of working hit the headlines. We saw trials carried out of four-day working weeks and as businesses emerged from the pandemic, many have had to adopt new working models to retain staff. It is noteworthy, therefore, that a four-day working week and flexible working are tied as the second most attractive benefits, with 36% finding them desirable.
It seems workers are reacting to the stresses everyday life is presenting – in 2021, following the pandemic, health insurance was ranked highly, with just over half (51%) of respondents listing it in their top-five benefits, whereas this time, financial benefits have somewhat taken the lead.
Benefits play a critical role in attracting and retaining talent. If you are looking to build a remuneration package, watch our on-demand webinar, ‘The rise of the reward specialist,’ as our panel of top rewards and benefits experts from the public and private sectors, explore the rise of the role and how companies can ensure they are offering the right packages to suit their employees.
As part of our 2024 salary guide survey of 5,000 UK workers – found in the ‘Our survey says’ section of all the guides, we asked people about their financial savings goals.
As the economy has continued to take its toll on professionals over the past two years, we also asked people how they have been managing their wages, and whether the current financial climate has impacted their financial goals and savings.
On average, people are spending 60% of their monthly wage on essential purchases - including bills, mortgages, food, etc – with the remainder being split evenly between luxury spending and savings. In comparison to 2021, that’s an increase of six per cent going to essential purchases and a four per cent drop in luxury items.
Additionally, over one-in-five (22%) aren’t saving any of their salary because they can’t afford to do so, with a third (33%) not feeling confident they will meet their financial saving goals on time. The cost-of-living crisis seems to be taking a heavier toll on women – they are more likely to say they can’t afford to save money – 24% compared with 19% for men. They are also less confident in achieving their financial goals: 61% of women feel confident, compared with 75% of men.
Women’s mental health is also suffering due to finances. Forty per cent of women say their financial situation is impacting their mental health negatively, compared with 29% of men.
If you are looking to find salary guidelines when recruiting or want to compare your own salary against other professionals in the same role, Reed’s annual salary guides are your go-to resource, with all the tools you need to effectively benchmark salaries. Released every year in January, the guides cover 16 of Reed’s specialist recruitment sectors, from accountancy and finance, technology, to further education, and provide information on roles at all seniorities.
The guides highlight the most interesting developments from that year’s data and feature calculated projections for salaries the following year, while Reed’s regional and practice experts discuss the key local/practice salary and benefits trends you should be aware of. Download our latest 2024 salary guides now.
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