Publication date: 13.05.2024
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Plans of Ukrainian companies to raise wages: what to expect in 2024
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the labor market has undergone considerable changes and challenges — businesses have been forced to reduce staff, reduce employee salaries, close certain areas of activity, reformat or completely stop their activities. Today, the war on the territory of Ukraine has been going on for almost two years — some companies have already managed to rehabilitate and adapt to a fundamentally new reality, and some are still on the way to pre-war commercial indicators.
The robota.ua company conducted a survey among employers, whether they plan to increase the remuneration of their employees in 2024. So, what should employees prepare for next year?
Who participated in the survey?
340 Ukrainian companies took part in the survey — 136 small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, 116 firms with 50 to 250 employees, 53 organizations with 250 to 1,000 employees, and 35 large companies with more than 1,000 employees.
The largest number of surveyed employers are representatives of trade (29%), manufacturing/construction sector (11.5%), IT (9%), industry (7.5%) and services (7%). Also among the respondent companies are representatives of agriculture, banking and finance, transport and logistics, marketing/advertising/PR, tourism and hotel and restaurant industry, law, art and mass media, education and science, public sector, HR and management personnel, agro-industrial complex and other industries.What happened to wages in 2023?
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The fact that more than 60% of surveyed employers (207 out of 340) increased the salaries of all their employees in 2023 is a pleasant surprise. In addition, 25% of respondents indicated that they increased compensation, but not for all team members. And only 13% of the surveyed representatives of the companies did not raise the salary of their employees at all.
The survey results show that salary is not the only motivation offered by employers today. The most popular additional rewards are financial bonuses based on performance (56%), company-funded training (45%), discounts on company products or services (35%), health insurance (19%) and catering at the expense of the company (14%). Only 14% of surveyed employers (49 out of 340) do not offer their team any additional bonuses and benefits.
The study confirms the fact that the vast majority of companies rely on the general market picture when formulating their compensation policy — 75% of respondents pay their employees according to the market median. Also, 15% of surveyed employers noted that they pay above the market median, and 10% admitted that they pay salaries below the market because they offer other benefits and bonuses.
What can employees expect in 2024?
According to the results of the conducted survey, 50% of companies plan to increase the salaries of employees in the next year. In addition, 39% of respondents indicated that they are considering such a possibility, but have not yet made a final decision. But 11% of companies unequivocally stated that they do not plan to increase wages
Employers were also asked about what percentage of the increase in the wage fund they are betting on the revision of wages for employees in 2024 compared to 2023. The results were distributed as follows:
• 37% of surveyed companies — by 11-20 percent,
• 30% — by 1–10 percent;
• 7% — by 21-30 percent.
In addition, 55% of the surveyed organizations plan to conduct 1 wave of salary increases for employees, 39% — 2 waves, 4% — 3 waves, and 2% — 4 waves.
Most companies are planning to review salaries already in the winter and spring of next year. Thus, 39% of organizations promise to increase the remuneration of their employees in March - April, and 37% - in January - February. The rest of the companies, accordingly, plan to review salaries later in the year.
