It comes as no surprise that APAC employers are reducing pay rise budgets for 2020 in response to the economic implications of the COVID-19 crisis. Over previous decades, it was taken for granted that salaries would rise in line with the number of years served, but belts are now tightening.
According to Q1 2020 data gathered as part of Willis Towers Watson's Salary Budget Planning Report, the proportion of APAC employers planning a pay freeze has risen sixfold to 23.5%, compared to 5.1% in 2019. The percentage of companies postponing planned salary increases has also risen sharply, now almost five times higher at 13.4% compared to 2.4% in 2019.
34% of companies surveyed have made changes to their employees’ salaries in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Even where salary rises are being maintained at previous levels, employees are often expected to deliver more during the same working hours. As part of the drive to higher productivity, 29% of employers are planning or considering actions to manage labour costs or incentivise those who are required to work.
Despite this, APAC data still shows a broadly optimistic picture, with employers anticipating that in 2021, salaries will bounce back closer to pre-crisis levels, particularly in emerging tiger economies of ASEAN.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
