How much more will be in your wallet? Hays Salary Guide released
61 per cent of employers in New Zealand increased salaries by less than 3 per cent in their last review, while 28 per
cent gave increases of 3 per cent or more;
Looking ahead, 68 per cent of employers will increase salaries by less than 3 per cent in their next review, while 23
per cent will increase by 3 per cent or more;
76 per cent expect business activity to increase in the next 12 months.
Strong economic growth and employer confidence in many sectors in New Zealand will lead to hiring activity and more
permanent jobs in the year ahead, but recruiting experts Hays warns New Zealanders not to expect big salary increases
during this period.
According to the 2015 Hays Salary Guide, released today, 23 per cent of employees can expect a salary increase of three
per cent or more in their next review. However the vast majority of workers (68 per cent) will receive an increase of
less than three per cent.
The Hays Salary Guide includes salary and recruiting trends for over 1,000 roles in Auckland, Christchurch and
Wellington. It is based on a survey of 451 New Zealand employers, representing 374,007 employees.
“Employers have a positive outlook for the coming year, with 46 per cent expecting to increase permanent headcount and
76 per cent expecting business activity to rise,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.
“Given that employers are hiring more staff, it is a sign of New Zealand’s resilience that they are able to keep salary
increases fairly consistent year-on-year.”
According to the Hays Salary Guide, when they last reviewed 89 per cent of employers gave salary increases, and when
they next review 91 per cent intend to offer increases. While a slightly higher number of employees will get a pay rise,
the extent of these increases will be slightly lower, with 68 per cent intending to increase by less than 3 per cent,
compared to 61 per cent who increased at this lower level in their last review.
Continuing this trend, just 4 per cent of employers intend to increase salaries by 6 per cent or more, which again is
slightly less than the 6 per cent who gave increases at this higher level in their last review.
Meanwhile the number of employers offering increases at the mid level, from 3 to 6 per cent, has decreased slightly from
22 per cent in their last review to 19 per cent in their next review.
Other key findings from the Hays Salary Guide:
Candidates have higher hopes for their next salary increase (42 per cent expect a salary increase of less than 3 per
cent, 31 per cent expect between 3 and 6 per cent and 12 per cent expect to receive 6 per cent or more);
However the expectations of employees and employers are not that far apart that they can’t be bridged. One way to do
this is through benefits. Of our total employer group, 67 per cent offer flexible salary packaging and of these the most
common benefits offered are private health insurance, parking, above mandatory superannuation, bonuses and salary
sacrifice;
Flexible work practices also help bridge the gap, and are offered by 83 per cent of our surveyed employers. The most
common practices on offer are flexible working hours (offered by 78 per cent of employers), flex-place (63 per cent),
part time employment (62 per cent), flexible leave options (26 per cent), job sharing (16 per cent), career breaks (15
per cent) and phased retirement (12 per cent);
76 per cent expect business activity to increase in the next 12 months, while 74 per cent have already seen an increase
in business activity over the 12 months prior to the survey.
Get your copy of the 2015 Hays Salary Guide by visiting www.hays.net.nz/salary-guide, contacting your local Hays office
or downloading The Hays Salary Guide 2015 iPhone app from iTunes.
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
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