Good News: Increments Likely to go up This Year. Check Sectors That Will Give Maximum/Least Salary Hike in 2021

Mumbai: Here is good news for the working class. As India recovers from the effects of the pandemic, increments are likely to go up from 4.4 per cent in the previous year to 7.3 per cent in 2021, according to a report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Are companies planning to give double-digit increment this year? The survey further states that 20 per cent of companies are also planning to give a double-digit increment this year. Only 12 per cent of companies were expected to give double-digit increment in pandemic-ridden 2020.  The survey further found out that only 60 per cent of the companies gave an increment last year to their employees, of which a third of them did so through off-cycle increments.

Which sector is expected to give maximum/minimum increment? The report by Deloitte India has predicted that the maximum increment may be given in the life sciences and IT sectors. The hospitality, real estate, infrastructure, and renewable energy companies are expected to give the least increment this year.

Here is what an expert has to say: “Covid-19 has made year-on-year analysis tricky as 2020 has been an anomaly, making 2019 a better year for comparison. Average India 2021 increment of 7.3% is still considerably lower than 8.6 % in 2019. While business activity is rebounding quickly, organisations are managing compensation budgets responsibly considering their affordability and sustainability of fixed cost increases,” Times of India quoted Anandorup Ghose, partner at Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu, as saying.

“HR and leadership teams in India Inc. have shown tremendous maturity in decision-making to responsibly deal with the impact of Covid-19. Post-March 2020, most companies decided either not to offer increments or defer them until they get more clarity. About 25% companies even extended a pay cut to senior management. Organisations largely preferred saving jobs of most to offering higher increments and bonuses to a few. Given that the risks related to the pandemic are not over yet, it is no surprise that they are treading with caution,” Ghose added.