UK wage rises lag inflation: IDS

October is a key month for companies in the lower-paying sectors to hold pay reviews as it coincides with the latest change in the National Minimum Wage,but the report said many pay awards for low-wage workers failed to reflect that increase.

Ken Mulkearn,editor of IDS Pay Report,said: We might have expected most retailers to apply the 2.5 percent increase in the statutory minimum to their own pay scales. Some have,and others have paid above 2.5 percent,but many awards have come in below this level 8212; though most awards in the sector are above 2 percent.

The data for the three months to the end of October was based on 73 settlements covering 2.25 million employees.