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News from Members The Average Wage Increase in the Private Sector was 3.7% in 2016, according to PwC’s Salary and Benefits PayWell Romania 2016 Study

The Average Wage Increase in the Private Sector was 3.7% in 2016, according to PwC’s Salary and Benefits PayWell Romania 2016 Study

by PwC September 8, 2016

Wages in the private sector have increased by 3.7% on average in 2016, a slighly lower increase than that innitialy planned by companies (3.9%), according to this year’s edition of the salary and benefits PayWell Romania study made by PwC.

The highest average salary increases were registered in the retail (4.3%) and FMCG (5.8%) sectors, while below average increases were registered in the banking industry (2.6%).

„This year, sectors directly related to consumption (retail and FMCG) reported the highest wage increases, influenced by the raise of the minimum salary at national level, but also by the positive economic results and increased consumption due to reduced VAT. However, sectors less related to internal consumption, such as banking, have maintained a cautious wage policy, similar to previous years” stated Mihaela Mitroi, Tax and Legal Services Leader, PwC Romania and SEE.

For 2017, companies are cautious regarding budgeted salary increases, planning a wage increase level similar with 2016 (3.8% average increase at market level), with a stronger dynamic in the retail (4.9%) and industrial sector (4.4%) and a more moderate increase in the banking sector (3%).

„We took notice that the private sector is staying cautious regarding wage increases, a sign that the crisis lessons have been learned, and companies wish to keep the rhythm of salary increases in line with productivity gains and also with a long-term vision, without being influenced by elements that stimulate short-term growth” added Horatiu Cocheci, Senior Manager, Human Resource Consulting Services Leader, PwC Romania.

The highest entry-level wages for employees with higher education are offered by pharma companies (3,700 RON gross), while banks remunerate entry-level employees with less that half that amount (1,800 RON gross). Entry level wages for employees with secondary education range between 1,400 and 1,600 lei, depending on the sector. 29% of the respondents award wage increases to entry-level employees after the trial period is over.

Regarding performance based bonuses, these are awarded mostly at top and middle management level, but also to sales employees, such as for the sales staff in the FMCG companies (two thirds of the respondents offer performance based bonuses to this personnel category). Performance bonuses range between 9% of the annual wage for blue-collar employees and 40% of the annual pay for top management employees. For sales employees, performance bonuses equal a third of the annual wage.

The criteria for awarding the performance bonus is tightly related to individual results of the sales employees (70% of companies) and for the operational personnel (63%), although they depend to a greater extent to the company’s overall results for middle and top management (more than a quarter of the respondents take into consideration this indicator exclusively when deciding to grant performance bonuses).

Regarding extra-salary benefits, PayWell shows that the most frequent benefits offered by local companies are, as usual, „security related”: such as meal tickets (74%) and subscriptions to private healthcare clinics (55%).

23% of the companies taking part in the 2016 PayWell Romania offer the posibility of a flexible schedule (a growing trend compared to previous years), 13% allow their employees to work from home, and 8% have short Fridays – also on the rise compared to previous years.

„As the labour market becomes more dynamic and competitive, the number of employers offering these types of benefits will increase, especially since Millennials appreciate very much the flexibility in deciding when and where to work from. In order to encourage flexible working arrangements, some legislative clarifications are needed, so that the employers will feel comfortable to award these facilities to their employees” argues Nicoleta Dumitru, Manager, Human Resource Consulting Services, PwC Romania.

About PayWell 2016


PayWell Romania 2016 salary and benefits survey comprises compensation data provided by 133 companies across five industry sectors (banking, FMCG, retail, pharmaceuticals and industrial products). A number of customised analyses and reports, based on the geographical location, headcount and revenue of the participating companies can also be derived from PayWell study. The qualitative part of the report comprises information on specific compensation policies (e.g. salary increases, fixed and variable bonuses) and analysis of more than twenty benefits available on the market, from company car to meal tickets.

About PwC:


PwC firms help organisations and individuals create the value they’re looking for. We’re a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 208,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.ro.
PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

©2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers. All rights reserved

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