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Travel pay is rising above the rate of inflation
Almost half of all travel agencies fail to offer their staff any benefits over and above their basic salary, according to new research.
However, overall pay rose above the rate of inflation in 2006 for the majority and more staff were taken on by a third of companies.
The Barclaycard Business survey revealed the benefits travel retailers have given their employees in the last 12 months.
The results show a division in the industry with only 49% of travel retailers offering employee benefit schemes.
Of those that do provide a benefit scheme almost three-quarters (72%) give cash bonuses.
Flexible working opportunities and discounts are also favoured with 38% offering the ability to work flexible hours and a third (34%) of travel retailers offering discounts.
The research also found that 61% of employers in the retail travel sector increased staff pay in the last year. A quarter of employee salaries benefited from above inflation increases of more than 5%.
The survey found almost a third (32%) of travel retailers have increased staff numbers in the last twelve months – higher than the national average of 18%, suggesting that the travel sector is entering 2007 as a growth area of Britain’s retail economy.
The research comes from the first annual Barclaycard Business Retail in Detail Survey, a poll of 1,000 retailers which aims to build a detailed picture of the nation’s high street and to gauge the views of retail owners.
Barclaycard Business commercial director, acquiring, Bill Thomson said: “It is really positive to see such high levels of employee remuneration, suggesting that the market remains buoyant.
“The travel sector has evidently undergone a period of growth in employee salaries and numbers over the past twelve months. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues into 2007.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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