National Craft Butchers (NCB) has released the latest results from its wage survey, reporting an average 7.8% pay increase on the year.
The survey was completed by over 160 employers across England and Wales, and NCB asked employers about their pension offerings, sick pay, holiday and other benefits.
Looking at average hourly wage across all job roles listed, NCB found that pay had increased by 7.8% from the previous year. Butchers (over the age of 25) reportedly earned an average hourly wage of £13.86, while managers earned £16.75 on average. Counter assistants (over the age of 25) earned £12.11, while apprentices (over 25) earned £11.
According to the survey, 98% of respondents were providing the minimum employer contribution of 3%. However, 2% of employers offered enhanced pension contributions of 5%, and the average employer contribution across the UK stood at 4.5%.
NCB found that while all employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday, 9% of respondents offered staff more than the standard entitlement, either as part of long-term service recognition (an additional day per year up to five years), birthday entitlement or as a standard benefit. This was an increase of 2% compared to the 2023 survey.
A recent survey by MetLife revealed that 40% of employees would be willing to sacrifice pay for personalised benefits, said NCB, with 35% looking for "generous" pension contributions. Two thirds of employers were reported to be "actively reviewing" their benefits packages.
Despite there being no legal entitlement to sick pay beyond Statutory Sick Pay, 27% of respondents offered discretionary company sick pay, an increase of 2% from last year's survey. According to NCB, this benefit was often tied to an employee's length of service, with staff accruing more sick pay the longer they stay with the company.
Employee benefits "retain talent"
NCB said that employee benefits played a "crucial role" in attracting and retaining talent, and highlighted that small businesses could enhance their offerings beyond salary by considering benefits such as:
- Staff discount schemes - 91% provide this
- Employee discount schemes - 11% provide this
- Meat allowances - 6% offer this
- Health care and gym membership - 4% provide this benefit
- Death in service - 1% offer this.
Other employment benefits offered by respondents included:
- Staff refreshments, including lunch and breakfast
- Bonus schemes
- Profit sharing
- Bike-to-work schemes
- Product development incentives
NCB said that "being competitive as an employer goes beyond just salary", and highlighted that a comprehensive benefits package could make a "significant difference" in attracting and retaining talent.
