A whitepaper* has found that 23% of male professionals are likely to ask for a pay rise compared with just 11% of female professionals, increasing the potential of a gender pay gap in the UK. Entry level male employees (10%) are more than twice as likely as a female C-suite (4%) to ask for a pay review.

Almost half (47%) of HR professionals say their employees ask for a pay review on an annual basis, with 7.8% of employees requesting a review every six months. Sales, media and marketing employees are more likely to ask for a monthly salary review than all other industries surveyed. Additionally, employees in the IT and Telecoms sector were the most likely to request a quarterly review.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK government suspended the enforcement of gender pay gap reporting in 2020 and extended the deadline in 2021, with the intention of easing the pressure on organisations. With many organisations facing difficulties in recruiting and retaining employees, it’s even more important that reward benchmarking is not overlooked.

With Cendex, organisations can access the live data needed to properly benchmark their roles against the economy and their industry. Using data from over one million UK employees across 25 different function groups, businesses can use Cendex to ensure that all employees are being paid fairly and competitively, regardless of gender.

Scott Walker, Managing Director at Cendex comments: “During the pandemic, some organisations put a hold on their gender pay gap reporting. While such a move may have been necessary during a challenging time, it’s essential that awareness of, and action against, pay inequality does not stop.

“With such a disbalance in pay rise requests, it’s vital that HR workers benchmark roles and understand the gaps in their payrolls. It’s concerning to see that women are still holding back from negotiating a salary review but it’s clear employers can do more to empower women in scenarios involving pay negotiation. With Cendex, HR professionals can do just that, using its reporting and benchmarking tools to provide insights needed to make informed decisions, reassure employees that they are being paid fairly, and help take action to close this pay gap.”

*Cendex