Pay go-slow

ONLY a third of companies have given general pay rises this year, according to a survey of directors published today. One in five said it was the second year running of the pay freeze.

An employee's performance has become the most important factor in determining rises, the survey conducted by the Institute of Directors says.

A total of 26 per cent of directors cited performance as the most common basis for evaluating pay, against 17 per cent who mentioned the rate of inflation. 'The survey reveals a significant change in attitudes to pay,' the IoD's director general, Peter Morgan, said.