Staff making pay sacrifices

More than 50% of workers have made sacrifices to protect jobs this year, ranging from pay freezes to unpaid overtime, according to data released by insolvency firm R3.

The research revealed that 28% of staff have worked longer hours for no extra pay, 15% have accepted a pay freeze and 7% have taken a pay cut.

Some workers said they had not asked for a pay rise specifically because of the recession, or did not receive a bonus that they would otherwise have expected to receive. Overall, 53% of workers surveyed have made at least one of the above sacrifices in the past year.

"No one jumps for joy at a pay cut, but short-term sacrifices like this can be vital in helping companies through a tough patch and preserving jobs. Unemployment and insolvencies are both high, but they would be even higher without the changes to work patterns we've seen this year," said Peter Sargent, president of R3.