Manufacturing bosses hit by pay halts, bonus cuts and 44 days unpaid work
12 Jun 2018
Manufacturing sector managers have seen their pay rises halted, bonuses cut by more than a third and their annual unpaid work hours increased to six weeks over the last five years.
The claim is based on new data released by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and employment intelligence service XpertHR.
Salary restrictions have been particularly hard hitting since 2017, says the CMI. Basic levels across all sectors and management tiers increased by only 2.4% to £34.5k, lagging behind the Consumer Price Index rise of 3% to produce a cut in real terms of 0.6%.
A slightly higher performance in the manufacturing sector, with 2.9% increases in the last year, ensured a real terms salary fall of 0.1%.
This is a great opportunity for employers to reset their thinking about how to attract, motivate and retain their senior talent
Petra Wilton, director of strategy, CMI
However, when it comes to director bonuses, manufacturing performance lags behind the average for all sectors: national average bonuses since last year are down 16%, from £53,504 to £44,987, but for directors in manufacturing these have fallen by an average 34.6% – from £61,128 to £39,985.
Earlier CMI research also revealed that managers’ hours of unpaid work totalled an average of 44 days, compared to 40 days in 2015.
XpertHR content director Mark Crail added that there was a long way to go to restore a sense of balance in how rewards are shared around in many companies and the accumulated difference remains wide. He warned this raised serious questions of fairness and equity.
Petra Wilton, director of strategy for CMI, described the data as “a shock to the system for the manufacturing sector”.
“Britain needs 2 million more managers by 2024 on top of the existing 3.6 million if it is to meet the demands of a post-Brexit economy, so it is imperative that businesses wake up and improve the workplace environment.
“Businesses must focus on “softer, but no less important” workplace benefits such as work/life balance, wellness, training and development, and fostering a sense of purpose and meaning in jobs.
“Those are actually far more powerful drivers of employee engagement than money, so this is a great opportunity for employers to reset their thinking about how to attract, motivate and retain their senior talent,” commented Wilton.
