One in three UK employees expects to take a cut in their total pay package this year, while a tenth also expect their company pension to suffer.

According to research by pensions and employee benefits consultancy Hymans Robertson, there is a divide between low employee expectations and the optimistic view expressed by many HR managers.

More than four in 10 (41%) of staff in the retail sector, for example, are not expecting a pay rise in 2008 while 44% of HR managers in the sector expect to offer above-inflation increases.

"The disconnect uncovered by our research is almost certainly caused by a general lack of information among the UK workforce," said Clive Fortes, a partner at Hymans Robertson.

"Companies now have a job to do addressing the low expectations employees have of their reward packages. Human resource professionals must now seize the opportunity to spell out the health and value of their benefits packages without delay."