SME worker wages up 8.2% in a year
Wages for full-time workers at British SMEs experienced a significant 8.2% rise over the past year, according to the first real-time salary report focused on these businesses. Employment Hero’s SmartMatch Employment Report analysed payroll data from 90,000 employees at SMEs across the UK, covering firms with up to 500 workers.
The report revealed that median hourly wages for full-time employees reached £17 by September, translating to an annual salary of £35,360. Recent months saw a sharper rise, with wages climbing 2.9% between August and September, and 4.1% over the last quarter.
Greater London remained the highest-paying region, with median hourly earnings of £21.60. The Construction sector saw the most substantial wage growth, recording an 18.9% increase, bringing the median wage to £17 per hour. All sectors outpaced inflation in terms of wage growth.
These findings coincided with the Government's introduction of new employment laws designed to “make work pay”. Notably, the changes included ending probationary periods, allowing workers to claim unfair dismissal from their first day of employment.
Employment Hero urged the Government to exempt the smallest businesses, those with fewer than 10 employees, from some of these regulations, citing the considerable challenges these firms already face.
Employment Hero UK MD Kevin Fitzgerald commented: “This high wage inflation is not sustainable for small and medium businesses long term, and the Government is adding huge costs to these employers with its employment package – costs that could send them out of business. While headline inflation has dropped off, the persistent rate of services inflation reflects the real burden of these massively growing wages.”
“We’re calling on the Government to exclude the very smallest employers from the changes being announced on Thursday – those with less than ten employees. These new regulations, especially the effective end of probationary periods, will make hiring for these businesses simply too expensive or too risky, stunting their growth or sending them out of business altogether.”
Employers wanting to keep tabs on fast changing salaries, or individuals wanting to know their value in the market, can take a look at Employment Hero’s new SalaryMatch tool. It uses aggregated data to determine what you could be worth, in real time.
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