<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Bosses in no hurry to reinstate pay
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Some have restored wages to keep key staff but many remain wary </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yang Huiwen
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->EMPLOYEES who suffered salary cuts in recent months as the recession took hold might well be wondering if their pay packets will be reinstated soon.
Despite some hiccups, the stock market seems to be on the up and up, and many people are cautiously talking about an economic recovery.
Still, whatever tentative signs of a rebound are surfacing will probably not translate into a widespread restoration of salaries, at least for now.
Most employers are in no hurry to reinstate pay packets to pre-recession levels. Only a handful of companies have done so, and only for selected staff.
Industry experts say many companies are adopting a wait-and-see approach because they do not want to restore pay packets only to slash them again later.
High-profile employers including CapitaLand, Singapore Press Holdings, Venture Corp and most recently Singapore Airlines have imposed salary cuts as a way to reduce costs.
For those companies that have decided to partially reinstate salaries, the primary driver is staff retention, they say.
Examples include Parkway, the largest private hospital operator here, and property consultancy Knight Frank.
Parkway in April restored the base salaries of non-management staff 'as soon as market conditions and business performance improved', said a spokesman.
Wages of senior management were not restored. However, the company does intend to restore base salaries for senior staff 'as soon as market conditions and our business performance improve further', said the spokesman.
She said the group is 'proceeding with realistic and cautious optimism'.
The wage cuts as well as a recruitment freeze implemented at Parkway last year were part of 'pre-emptive measures to prepare for an extremely challenging global economic environment and the sharp deterioration in business conditions', she added.
Knight Frank, which in February cut staff pay for those earning more than $2,000 a month, has paid back the deducted amount for the period from February to April. This decision came after it stayed profitable for the financial year ended April 30.
Nevertheless, the pay cut will continue into the current financial year, said managing director Danny Yeo. Knight Frank will conduct another review next April, and employees will be compensated if the company does well again.
'Certain companies could be experiencing unique internal pressures to retain employees, so they have to come up with promises or plans to restore salaries,' said Mr Sean Paul Darilay, a senior consultant and the director of data services at Watson Wyatt Singapore.
He added that the economic situation is 'still too uncertain for companies to aggressively restore salaries'.
Mr Declan O'Sullivan, founder and director of Kerry Consulting, said: 'Some companies could be worried about losing key personnel, who could be essential in providing quality service.'
Property group CapitaLand, which implemented scaled salary reductions in January, said it has no plans to restore pay packets now.
'There are no changes to our plans,' said a spokesman. 'Any decision to reinstate salaries will depend on whether there are clear signs of a sustainable economic recovery and on the group's performance during the next annual review cycle.'
Restaurant chain operator Apex-Pal International, which slashed salaries by 20 per cent for about a dozen middle management staff, said it would review its wage cost structure only at the end of the year.
'The economic situation is still uncertain, and no one knows how it's going to pan out in the third, fourth quarter,' said chief executive Douglas Foo, who took a 25 per cent wage cut along with two other top executives.
Regular staff did not suffer pay cuts.
The prevailing approach among employers that implemented pay cuts is to wait and see what will happen on the economic front before acting.
'Most companies will leave the cuts in place until we're out of the woods,' said Mr O'Sullivan. 'Restoring pay only to cut it again later will completely unhinge everyone.'
Mr Josh Goh, a senior manager of corporate services at The GMP Group, said: 'Generally speaking, it will take about 12 to 24 months for salaries to be restored.'
One factor to consider will be the labour market's performance over the next two quarters, he said. Should it not improve, 'more companies might execute pay cuts to preserve jobs and reduce costs'.
For organisations that put in place pay cuts, the reductions averaged 5 per cent for general staff and 10 per cent for senior management, according to a Mercer survey conducted in April.
Historical data from Watson Wyatt showed that of those who had their pay cut or frozen in 1999, only 13 per cent were compensated in 2000 for the 'lost income', through higher bonuses, raises that were above-average for the market or one-off lump-sum payments.
[email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Some have restored wages to keep key staff but many remain wary </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yang Huiwen
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->EMPLOYEES who suffered salary cuts in recent months as the recession took hold might well be wondering if their pay packets will be reinstated soon.
Despite some hiccups, the stock market seems to be on the up and up, and many people are cautiously talking about an economic recovery.
Still, whatever tentative signs of a rebound are surfacing will probably not translate into a widespread restoration of salaries, at least for now.
Most employers are in no hurry to reinstate pay packets to pre-recession levels. Only a handful of companies have done so, and only for selected staff.
Industry experts say many companies are adopting a wait-and-see approach because they do not want to restore pay packets only to slash them again later.
High-profile employers including CapitaLand, Singapore Press Holdings, Venture Corp and most recently Singapore Airlines have imposed salary cuts as a way to reduce costs.
For those companies that have decided to partially reinstate salaries, the primary driver is staff retention, they say.
Examples include Parkway, the largest private hospital operator here, and property consultancy Knight Frank.
Parkway in April restored the base salaries of non-management staff 'as soon as market conditions and business performance improved', said a spokesman.
Wages of senior management were not restored. However, the company does intend to restore base salaries for senior staff 'as soon as market conditions and our business performance improve further', said the spokesman.
She said the group is 'proceeding with realistic and cautious optimism'.
The wage cuts as well as a recruitment freeze implemented at Parkway last year were part of 'pre-emptive measures to prepare for an extremely challenging global economic environment and the sharp deterioration in business conditions', she added.
Knight Frank, which in February cut staff pay for those earning more than $2,000 a month, has paid back the deducted amount for the period from February to April. This decision came after it stayed profitable for the financial year ended April 30.
Nevertheless, the pay cut will continue into the current financial year, said managing director Danny Yeo. Knight Frank will conduct another review next April, and employees will be compensated if the company does well again.
'Certain companies could be experiencing unique internal pressures to retain employees, so they have to come up with promises or plans to restore salaries,' said Mr Sean Paul Darilay, a senior consultant and the director of data services at Watson Wyatt Singapore.
He added that the economic situation is 'still too uncertain for companies to aggressively restore salaries'.
Mr Declan O'Sullivan, founder and director of Kerry Consulting, said: 'Some companies could be worried about losing key personnel, who could be essential in providing quality service.'
Property group CapitaLand, which implemented scaled salary reductions in January, said it has no plans to restore pay packets now.
'There are no changes to our plans,' said a spokesman. 'Any decision to reinstate salaries will depend on whether there are clear signs of a sustainable economic recovery and on the group's performance during the next annual review cycle.'
Restaurant chain operator Apex-Pal International, which slashed salaries by 20 per cent for about a dozen middle management staff, said it would review its wage cost structure only at the end of the year.
'The economic situation is still uncertain, and no one knows how it's going to pan out in the third, fourth quarter,' said chief executive Douglas Foo, who took a 25 per cent wage cut along with two other top executives.
Regular staff did not suffer pay cuts.
The prevailing approach among employers that implemented pay cuts is to wait and see what will happen on the economic front before acting.
'Most companies will leave the cuts in place until we're out of the woods,' said Mr O'Sullivan. 'Restoring pay only to cut it again later will completely unhinge everyone.'
Mr Josh Goh, a senior manager of corporate services at The GMP Group, said: 'Generally speaking, it will take about 12 to 24 months for salaries to be restored.'
One factor to consider will be the labour market's performance over the next two quarters, he said. Should it not improve, 'more companies might execute pay cuts to preserve jobs and reduce costs'.
For organisations that put in place pay cuts, the reductions averaged 5 per cent for general staff and 10 per cent for senior management, according to a Mercer survey conducted in April.
Historical data from Watson Wyatt showed that of those who had their pay cut or frozen in 1999, only 13 per cent were compensated in 2000 for the 'lost income', through higher bonuses, raises that were above-average for the market or one-off lump-sum payments.
[email protected]
