Survey Watch

Graduate starting salaries are predicted to rise this year after an unprecedented period of stagnation, according to the Graduate Recruitment Winter Survey 2012 from the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

UK middle managers are feeling the squeeze as a result of the economic downturn, according to the CIPD’s Winter 2011-12 Employee Outlook survey of 2,000 employees.

With pay rises lagging well behind inflation and likely to do so for some time yet, CIPD research highlights the scale of the communications challenge facing HR trying to put a positive spin on pay outcomes. Employee Attitudes to Pay 2011 shows that 2011 left many employees across all sectors dissatisfied with the size of pay rise and bonus they received, with the majority having seen their pay either frozen or cut and just 18% having received a cash bonus. But employees are readjusting their expectations for 2012 in line with the economic climate.

While fit notes have provided the nudge needed for managers to open up important conversations with their staff and discuss the best way to help get people back to work, they haven’t yet improved absence levels. This emerges from new findings released from the CIPD’s Absence Management survey and follows the publication of a major review of how long-term absence should be handled in the workplace.

The CIPD has urged HR not to assume that pensions auto-enrolment is another department’s responsibility and to seize the opportunity to reap the benefits. This call comes as its latest look at this topic, Labour Market Outlook: Focus on 2012 Pension Changes, reveals that, while most employers are aware of this important change, preparedness for auto-enrolment is not ubiquitous - less than a third of employers know the date on which the new rules will apply to them.