BRITISH employers expect to raise staff pay by the most in at least nine years but the 3 percent wage deals for workers would still be below fast-rising inflation, according to a survey published yesterday. With the Bank of England fearing a wage-price spiral from Britain’s tight labor market, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggested companies were not breaking the bank to counter their recruitment problems. Planned median annual pay settlements in 2022, including private and public employers, rose to 3 percent from 2 percent three months earlier, its highest since the CIPD started using its current methodology in the winter of 2012/13. The Bank of England is monitoring the labor market as it considers how much more interest rates need to rise from their all-time, coronavirus-emergency low. The U.K. central bank raised borrowing costs in December and earlier this month, as it forecast that consumer price inflation would peak at about 7.25 percent in April and average 5.75 percent over 2022. It forecast earnings for workers would go up by 3.75 percent this year, leaving households facing their biggest post-inflation income squeeze in 30 years. The Bank of England was also influenced by its own survey of employers which showed businesses planned pay settlements of close to 5 percent in 2022, a much bigger average pay rise than other surveys have shown to date. “Even though businesses anticipate making record pay awards to their employees this year, most people are set to see their real wages fall against the backdrop of high inflation,” said Jonathan Boys, a CIPD economist. More employers were providing flexible working, training and support for employee health and well-being as alternative ways to keep and hire staff, potentially reducing wage pressures. “However, the U.K. government must also address skills policy failings to support greater employer investment in workforce training,” Boys said, calling for an overhaul of Britain’s apprenticeship levy to make it more flexible. (SD-Agencies) | 