A survey it commissioned from YouGov found that half of all employees felt their bosses could afford to pay them more, rising to 56 per cent when looking at the private sector in particular. Most say their pay has failed to keep up with inflation.

Of those whose employer does not pay everybody a “living wage”, 79 per cent think their employer can afford to pay it, versus 21 per cent who thought not.

Almost three fifths of employees said that the pay gap between top and bottom was too big.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It is no surprise that people think their pay has failed to keep up with inflation, but a clear majority now think that their bosses could do better.”

She also claimed that “the clear message from this poll is not just that Britain needs a pay rise, but that it can afford it too.”

But it might be a bit of a stretch to claim that employee perception that wages could be higher means that there’s plenty of cash to splash around on pay rises..

Share this story