Housing association pay rises at 5.4%

CELRE's 2008 Housing Association Salary Survey, published today, shows an average basic pay rise of 5.4% for staff in the sector.

The report reveals that senior employees continue to power ahead of those at the bottom of the organisation, with average basic pay increases for chief executives of 9% and for directors of 7.4%. Clerical and care staff averaged rises of 4.6%.

The average basic salary for a housing association chief executive now stands at £112,749, with directors on £84,652. Clerical and care staff have an average basic salary of £17,113, while clerical supervisors and senior care staff have an average £20,995.

Despite relatively high pay increases over the past 12 months, comparisons with CELRE's National Management Salary Survey show that senior housing association staff continue to earn less than their counterparts in comparably sized companies.

At the median (or mid-point in the salary range), housing association directors earn 94.6% as much as their private sector counterparts.

However, housing association employees often do better on non-pay items. Nearly two-thirds of housing associations still offer final-salary pension schemes to new employees, and most offer maternity, paternity and sick pay schemes that are better than the legal minimum.

CELRE Managing Editor Mark Crail said:

"Employers can rely on the extensive data collected by CELRE when setting pay levels for their housing association. Our annual report and pay tables, combined with our unique web-based JobPricing service provide a powerful combination of tools for HR and pay specialists."

The Housing Association Salary Survey 2008, now in its fourth edition, is based on salary data from 34 organisations and 8,082 individual employees, and covers the 12 months to 1 July 2008.

Further information on how to buy the report and participate in future surveys is available by email or by calling CELRE on 020 8652 8590.