Salary survey: pay on display

Salaries across the roles surveyed by Hays rose 1.4%, despite increasing cost pressure in the sector, brought about in part by the 1% rent cut in the 2015 Budget. Although this is less than the 1.8% Hays recorded as the national average across all sectors, it is roughly in line with inflation, depending on which measure is used, and seems far from disastrous. But with pay generally well below other sectors, salaries do not seem to determine workplace happiness in housing. Of more worry for employers will be growing unease among staff.

Constant restructuring

Less than half of those surveyed are happy with the career opportunities available (43%), while a similar proportion (47%) say their organisation offers good opportunities for progression. Around two-thirds of respondents (64%) would consider moving jobs in the next 12 months, although this is down from the 74% who said the same at the same point last year.

“The restructuring does not stop and that’s a real cause of anxiety. It’s probably the most stressful thing you can go through.”

Richard Gelder, director, Hays

Mr Gelder believes it isn’t only the consequences of the rent cut that are creating so much uncertainty. “There is always a huge amount of restructuring within the sector,” he explains. “If you go back two or three years there was much more merger activity, but the restructuring does not stop and that’s a real cause of anxiety. It’s probably the most stressful thing you can go through, particularly if you’re under threat of redundancy.”

What might change is not the number of staff working in social housing, but the type of staff, with temporary or short-term contract roles becoming increasingly prevalent. More than half (52%) of employers surveyed hired temporary or contract workers to counteract short-term skills shortages, with 66% saying they plan to recruit a mixture of temporary and permanent staff in the coming year.

There also seems to be a different picture emerging depending on where on the housing career ladder you might be. “The people I would say have had a harder time are middle management,” says Mr Gelder. “There are far fewer housing officer and housing manager jobs and there’s been a huge emphasis on the creation of assistant roles.” This shift towards what Mr Gelder calls “a broader base” is driven partly by merger activity and the streamlining of businesses that often follows.

“There are a number of mergers going on and that creates job losses over a period of time,” says James Tickell, partner at Campbell Tickell. “Also, a lot of organisations are looking at their processes and streamlining their management functions.”

Morale matters

Mr Tickell accepts that it’s “hard to keep morale up” amid the changes sweeping the sector. But he adds that the situation has also created opportunity at the lower end of the ladder and for entrants from other sectors.

“It’s becoming much more open; it’s easier for people to get into housing who don’t have a housing background. There’s also an opportunity for the talented and energetic to progress much more quickly.”

Although the Hays survey only captures data for ‘core’ housing roles, it is away from these where there is greater demand and where employers may feel pressure to up pay. More than a quarter of employer respondents (26%) said operational and technical roles were in demand, while 14% said the same of roles involving digital and IT skills. “If you look at those roles there will be much more inflation and it will be much more of a headache to retain and attract those people,” explains Mr Gelder.

“Most associations are good employers compared to the private sector, and tend to have better benefits.”

Richard Gelder, director, Hays

Conversely, in the core roles, pay may not be the be-all and end-all, but a stagnation in wages could still be a concern as the jobs market becomes more fluid. “[Housing employees] do not tend to do it with money as the driver, but in the real world people still have bills to pay,” says Mr Gelder.

The difference in demand across job roles seems to be reflected in the salary numbers. While housing managers saw an average pay increase of 0.7% in 2016 to £35,292, housing officers enjoyed a 2.4% increase, with average pay rising to £25,292.

At the lowest-paid end of the spectrum, support workers, scheme managers and project workers all saw pay rise by less than 1%.

Mr Gelder anticipates wages staying low for the foreseeable future at least. “It would be a major surprise if we were not having a similar conversation in 12 months’ time.”

But for Mr Tickell, the worry is more about mood. “Most associations are good employers compared to the private sector, and tend to have better benefits. What upsets people is being in the middle of big change. I think that is more important to people than their salaries.”