yardstick www.personneltoday.com 8 June 2010 23 key statistic 6 3 % Percentage employers with arrangements in place to allow employees to follow the World Cup Source: IRS/XpertHR Pay awards ■ he median basic pay award stood at 1% over the three months to 30 April 2010, according to data rom IRS or XpertHR. ■ Just over one-third o pay awards (36.3%) resulted in a pay reeze. ■ he interquartile range or pay awards was between nil and 2%. ■ hree-iths o pay deals (59.5%) were worth less than a year ago. ➜www.xperthr.co.uk/paybenefts Infation ■ Retail prices index (RPI) ination: 5.3% (April 2010). ■ Almost two-thirds o employers (63%) have arrangements in place to allow employees to ollow the ootbal l World Cup . ■ By sector, private sector employers are much more likely to make special arrangements to allow employees to watch major sporting events such as World Cup matches. wo- thirds o public sector organ- isations (67%) have no such provision in place, compared with only one-third (31.8%) in t he private sector. ■ Te most popular work- ing time arrangement put in place to al low employ ees to watch World Cup matches is exible start and end times, ollowed by extended lunch breaks (see chart, top). ■ Te most popular special acility to allow employees to ollow World Cup matches during working hours is to make Vs available to sta (see chart, bottom). ■ One employer plans to allow employees to have time Benchmarking World Cup preparations... Business benefits of staff watc hing games With the 2010 World Cup set to kick off this Friday (11 June 2010), a majority of UK employers have plans in place to allow their employees to watch matches taking place during their working day . But rather than causing disruption, employers believe these arrangements will have a positive impact on business. These are among the key ndings of benchmarking research on sporting policies undertaken by IRS for XpertHR, and based on responses from 100 organisations employing a combined workforce of 285,386. Access full benchmarking data on World Cup prepara tions and sporting policies: www.personneltoday.com/xperthr70 Read detailed analysis of the 2010 sporting policy survey fndings: www.personneltoday.com/xperthr71 XpertHR data XpertHR benchmarking The new benchmarking service rom XpertHR draws together a wealth o HR benchmarking data that will be useul to your job. We believe this is the most comprehensive resource o HR benchmarking data available to UK employers. Drawn predominan tly rom IRS survey data, it’s designed to be both accessible and interactive. www.xperthr.co.uk/hr-benchmarking Take part in IRS benchmarking surveys The IRS benchmarking survey research programme has a our-decade history o reporting on and setting the agenda or HR best practice. Take part in our research to beneft rom our expertise. www.irsresearch.co.uk Statistics you need to know Key employment law acts and fgures, supplied by XpertHR. www.personneltoday.com/rates ■ Consumer prices index (CPI ) in lation: 3.7% (April 2010). ■ Retail prices index exclud- ing mortgage interest pay- ments (RPIX): 5.4% (April 2010). ➜www.statistics.gov.uk Unemployment ■ Headline u nemplo yment rate: 8.0% (January to March 2010). ■ Unemployment level: 2.51 million (January to March 2010). ■ Claimant count unem- ployment rate: 4.7% (March 2010). ➜www.statistics.gov.uk out to watch relevant World Cup matches in a local pub. ■ A majority o employers (88%) believe that accommo- dating employees’ desires to ollow the World Cup will minimise its impact on pro- ductivity. A urther 85% believe such arrangements will be good or business and morale. ■ Tree-fhs o employ ers (60%) believe exible start ing and inishing times are the most popular sporting poli- cies among employees, while two-fhs (38% ) cite extended lunch breaks. 0 1 2 3 4 A p r 0 9 M a y J u n J u l A u g S e p O c t N o v D e c J a n ’ 1 0 F e b M a r A p r Whole economy pay review pattern: April 2009 to April 2010 Indicators... at-a-glance business data 0 10 20 30 40 TVs in communal areas TVs in staff room Use of radios Allow employees to watch event on the internet Other No. of employers Source: IRS 31 15 9 4 4 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Flexible start and end times Extended lunch breaks Consider late requests for annual leave Time off in lieu None Source: IRS % of employers 6 7% 49% 44% 30% 16% Provision of special working arrangements during 2010 World Cup Provision of special facilities for employees during 2010 World Cup