60% of companies ‘freeze staff pay’

60% of businesses in the UK plan to freeze pay or negotiate pay cuts with staff, according to a new employment survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and recruitment group Harvey Nash.

The survey of more than 700 companies also revealed that more than half the businesses surveyed expect recruitment levels to take more than a year to return to 2007 levels and 40% revealed they have put a freeze on graduate recruitment.

However, the survey also showed that many job losses had been avoided by staff working with their employees over reduced rates of pay and patterns of work.

"This has been a particularly bruising recession, but one of its most positive and striking aspects has been the commitment of many businesses and their staff to work together to try to trim costs and save jobs," said John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General.