Engineers' and technicians' pay rises stagnate

Pay rises for engineers and technicians have fallen to their lowest level for many years, according to CELRE salary data for 2009/10 now published exclusively on XpertHR Job Pricing.

Headline increases in basic pay fell from 5.0% in 2008 to 2.1% in 2009, while a steeper drop in bonuses meant that rises in basic pay plus bonus fell during the same time periods from 4.3% to 1.4%.

The figures are drawn from the CELRE Salary Survey of Engineers and Technicians. The report is based on data supplied by 47 companies on 11,115 employees. Of these, 4,852 were in management roles.

The report shows that an engineering director can now typically expect a basic pay package worth £112,347, while a department head earns £58,472 and a professional engineer £29,542.

Some of the biggest pay rises this year went to production and electrical engineers, while those working in engineering consultancy took home the smallest increases.

Salary tables in the report break down salaries by:

• Company turnover (6 bands)
• Number of employees (5 bands)
• Industry (12 categories)
• Responsibility level (10 levels of seniority)
• Job function (63 areas)
• Area of work (10 areas)
• Gender
• Region (8 English regions plus Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland)

Survey data was collected at 1 September 2009.