How Sweet Is Your Salary?
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday April 8, 2000
Some workers are raking in big fat pay rises while others are lucky to see a cost-of-living increase. KARIN BISHOP reveals why.
SALARIES paid to people working in some jobs are increasing rapidly - mainly in those industries which are experiencing a shortage of skilled employees. Recent surveys conducted by recruitment agencies show there are huge variations between industries, States and even different regions of Sydney.
"The economic upswing means there is growth in corporations across-the-board, and with the unprecedented growth in telecommunications and e-commerce, it is having a significant effect on salaries," says Craig Michilis, the director of Robert Walters.
"This trend is upwards in all areas of finance, accounting, and secretarial, and is predominately because of a candidate shortage in the market. This has been the situation for the past 12 months and it is going to continue to worsen this year."
The impending GST has also seen a surge in the demand for accountants, pushing annual salaries up to between $90,000 and $150,000 for company tax managers, while senior corporate accountants and business analysts can command well over $100,000.
But it does depend on where you live. A recent survey by Robert Walters showed salaries for senior financial positions in Sydney can outrank their Melbourne counterparts by between $20,000 and $40,000.
"It is a kind of informal Sydney loading," says Michilis. "It is much more expensive to live [in Sydney] and I think companies recognise that."
But the discrepancies aren't restricted to State variations. A recent Morgan & Banks survey found that corporate, secretarial and sales salaries in the CBD are about 10 per cent higher, on average, than those for similar positions in Sydney's western suburbs. The notable exception to this was in the IT field, where the average salary for IT managers in the west was $92,000, compared with $90,000 in the CBD.
Tony Horrocks, the manager of Morgan & Banks' Parramatta office, says he expects IT salaries to even out within the next two to three years as more companies move their operations to new technology and business parks in the greater west.
"There is ... a [growing] demand for senior corporate and IT personnel in western Sydney," he says. "As a number of companies move their IT and head office to the west they are finding they have to pay a bit more money to lure people to travel further distances from their homes. Because traditionally most IT roles have been based in the city, most people in those industries live close to town."
But for most of the population, salaries are governed by enterprise agreements or State and Federal award wage rates - meaning that the best pay rises available are small but steady.
Dr Richard Hall, a senior researcher at the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, says that most people's pay packets do not respond immediately to the economic boom.
"General economic conditions are only applicable to a small minority of the labour force. The harsh reality for most people is that they are paid a going rate.
"About one-quarter of the workforce depend on government award rates of pay as a minimum and about half the workforce's wages and salaries are determined by enterprise bargaining certified agreements, so there is not much flexibility to negotiate above that."
Hall predicts that wages will increase between 2 and 5 per cent over the next 12 months. Areas of low unionisation, such as retail and hospitality, can expect small increases of between 2 and 4 per cent.
"But in union-strong sectors, like construction, we will probably see increases around 5 per cent, while metals and engineering can expect between 4 to 5 per cent. Transport will probably get about 3 per cent, so there is quite a degree of variation.
"These salary expectations don't refer to more powerful groups, who are able to negotiate their own contracts - for example IT and accountants. Given the level of GST action, and the managerial rates of pay and salaries of executive management, I expect [increases in those areas] will be well above 5 per cent."
But who's earning what? On the following page is a snapshot of Sydney's pay packets.
IT: DEMAND FUELS GROWTH
A NEW boom in activity after the relief of the Y2K bug has set the already impressive salaries for IT experts soaring again, says Ian James, director of IT recruitment for Morgan & Banks.
"The market is being driven extremely hard by organisations looking to take advantage of the new e-commerce boom," he says. "It's happening now because [last year] people were uncertain about the effect of Y2K so corporates went into system freeze and lock down and [focused on ensuring their existing systems were safe]. But since mid-February, when confidence was restored to the marketplace, all the projects that were on hold and the initiatives that were on the back-burner were all suddenly at the front of everybody's mind."
But where there is boom there is usually bust and James says the excessive salaries being offered may not be sustainable in the long run.
"What we are seeing at the moment is that the demand is fuelling more salary growth than can be sustainable because people in the marketplace are not just getting one job offer, they are getting lots, and so some organisations are paying premiums to get people in their doors," he says.
"However, some organisations are leasing these skills [by hiring on a contract basis] because they are not prepared to jeopardise the balance and equity of their remuneration systems. Other companies are shifting the emphasis to training and so are looking to hire people with the right mind-set and ability to learn quickly so they can train them themselves.
"Some organisations are paying over the odds at the moment because they don't have the luxury of training. They see that the opportunities are now and think if they don't meet the market then the opportunity will be wasted. And that's where the big salaries are being offered."
HOSPITALITY: A HARD SLOG
THE hospitality industry is one of the lowest-paid industries, which also makes it one of the least stable employment prospects, says Jacqueline Sommerville, a spokeswoman for recruitment company Hospitality People.
Most of the salaries for front-line staff are set by State Government awards. "The industry is due for a big restructure with the awards. It is a well-known fact that the hospitality industry is one of the poorest paid industries for the standard of service that it is supposed to give out. And because the pay is so low it makes a lot of people nervous - for example, a chef who can get another $2,000 a year at a different hotel will leave rather than ask their current employer to match it, which causes a huge turnover in staff."
Sommerville says the award system also leads to discrepancies between pay levels and seniority and experience, which discourages people from viewing hospitality as a career.
"A general manager can be on $60,000 and a waiter on $23,000 can pick up almost as much when their tips are added on," she says.
"The system needs to be fixed. They need to pay higher rates to keep good people in their jobs. Money brings happiness and if people are getting good money they enjoy going to work every day, they stay in one job for longer, and they work better because they are getting more job satisfaction."
The hospitality industry has always been regarded as low-paying, but Sommerville says that thinking should change as people start to consider it as a career.
BUILDING: SKY-HIGH PAY
in the building industry salaries can be skyscraper high for skilled tradespeople and experienced project managers.
The executive director of the Master Builders Association, Brian Seidler, says salaries for builders and project managers vary widely depending on the type of building involved. For those involved in the multi-million-dollar projects, such as CBD office towers and large residential developments, the salaries are comparable with the executives who inhabit them.
"The top salaries are dependant on length of service in the industry and the type of construction they have looked after - whether it is a multi-storey building of large blocks of flats, and whether it is steel form or concrete.
"On the other side, the small builder who owns his own company will usually charge between $40 and $50 an hour [an annual salary of $75,000 to $100,000]."
Tradesmen, including carpenters, bricklayers and painters, are more likely to be bound by award wage levels which are set at between $27,000 and $32,000 a year but with extra allowances salaries on major CBD sites can reach $90,000, says Phil Davey, spokesman for the CFMEU (Construction, Forestry Mining and Engineering Union).
"There is a tremendous disparity in salaries in the construction industry, depending on the scale of projects they are working on," says Davey.
SUPPORT STAFF: IN DEMAND
LIKE accountants and IT experts, secretaries and support staff are in huge demand, which is pushing salaries up higher than ever before, says Nicole Isaacs, of Hays Personnel.
"Salaries for junior secretaries have changed substantially. They can now command up to $28,000 a year for their first jobs. Companies have become involved in a price war to get the best candidates.
"Even receptionists are earning up to $35,000. Companies are finding it very difficult to fill places and they are unlikely to find a good, experienced receptionist for less money than that."
As the role of support staff expands, so do the salaries they command. Senior personal assistants, who now take on the role of a mini-director, can command up to $120,000, although most still earn between $40,000 and $60,000 a year.
Isaacs says that legal secretaries are also in short supply, prompting companies to offer on-the-job training in order to fill positions.
"For the past 12 months there has been an absolute shortage of legal secretaries, and because of that companies are going into a bit of battle for the good ones.
"In the past companies would ask for someone with specific experience in conveyancing or any other specific area but now they are just asking for any secretary who understands legal terminology and are training them themselves, which means there are lots of opportunities opening up.
"And a lot of legal secretaries are getting more involved in the work - it used to be mainly Dictaphone work and typing.
"Now companies will hire a full-time typist to handle the Dictaphone work while the legal secretaries get involved in summarising documents and assisting in other ways."
RETAIL: AN ADDED BONUS
SALARY levels in the retail industry are comparable to most other industries - the big difference is in the age of the people who get paid them, says Bill Healey, the executive director of the Australian Retailers Association.
"If someone goes into the retail industry straight from school and works their way up through our training programs, they will get to management level at a much younger age than in other industries," he says.
"By the time their contemporaries are leaving university these people are already at management level earning between $30,000 and $35,000 a year, with a car. So it is not just a comparison of rates but it is the potential to get to those levels. Young people will get promoted quickly if they have the qualities we are looking for."
Even for those on the shop floor, the rewards can be well above the standard government award rates.
"What we are seeing at all levels is the increasing opportunities to earn bonuses - especially for sales staff working in areas such as household goods and fashion. There is also the potential to not only get award rates but also bonuses and over-award levels, including Saturday penalty rates and overtime."
Healey says retail careers can also lead into other industries, as well as providing the necessary skills for running your own business.
"It's a wonderful starting point to move into running your own business, and the art of identifying what the customer wants and selling it is now the cornerstone of high-paying industries, such as banking and telecommunications, so it can provide good opportunities to move into other industries as well."
CORPORATE: A SHARE OF THE REWARDS
CORPORATE salaries have remained fairly stable over the past few years but executives are still taking home massively increased pay packets - thanks largely to a lucrative system of bonuses and incentive schemes, says Michelle Caruso, a manager with Hays Executive Personnel.
"Bonus systems are becoming a more meaningful element of an executive's salary and a method that employers are using to gain longer-term commitment from the individual to the organisation," she says.
"Bonus and share schemes vary greatly between organisations and are usually paid on company plus individual performance. The dollar value of these can vary anywhere between 25 per cent to 100 per cent of the individual's salary and in some cases share options are also being offered to senior executives.
"The largest upward trend in executive salaries has been realised specifically in the sales director/business development and CEO professions across all industries."
Caruso says executive salaries tend to be uniform across most major industries, the notable exception being IT and telecommunications.
"The current shortage of expertise in the hi-tech, e-commerce and telecommunications industries has afforded these executives some negotiating power when salary packages are being discussed so we have seen an upward trend in salaries across all executives in this sector with a heavy emphasis on bonus systems and share schemes," she says.
ADVERTISING: UP AND UP
for most people in the advertising industry salary levels have remained fairly static over the past few years.
But the demand for experienced senior-level management has seen their pay packets bulging, says Lesley Brydon, the executive director of the Advertising Federation of Australia.
"However, there are a lot of jobs further down the line where agencies have managed to keep salaries fairly stable, and because there is continuing pressure on all companies to manage their costs those salaries are unlikely to grow.
"Where we will see agencies paying increased salaries will be in the area of new media for people with experience in online marketing and advertising. At this stage there is a shortage of trained staff," says Brydon.
FINANCE: GOOD TIMES ROLL
A WORLDWIDE shortage of accountants and the extra workload on companies prompted by the introduction of the GST has seen demand for financial specialists soar, and salaries with it.
"Financial services have shown a noticeable increase in salaries over the past year and it is basically down to the demand for services," says Craig Michilis, director of Robert Walters.
"The salary increases we are seeing are somewhere between 10 and 15 per cent. A candidate with good experience who sells themselves well can expect to increase their worth by around 15 per cent."
IT: DEMAND FUELS GROWTH
PROJECT DIRECTOR $10,000 - $140,000
PROJECT MANAGER $90,000 - $130,000
NETWORK MANAGER $80,000 - $110,000
TEAM LEADER $65,000 - $90,000
SYSTEMS ANALYST $50,000 - 90,000
ANALYST PROGRAMMER $45,000 - $70,000
PROGRAMMER $44,000 - $80,000
SYSTEMS ENGINEER $50,000 - $65,000
Source: Morgan Banks
HOSPITALITY: A HARD SLOG
GEN. MAN. 5-STAR HOTEL $60,000 - $150,000
EXEC. ASSIST MANAGER $60,000 - $100,000
FRONT OFFICE MANAGER $40,000 - $60,000
FOOD & BEV. MANAGER $50,000 - $75,000
HOUSEKEEPING SUPER. $32,000 - $34,000
ROOM ATTENDENT $28,000
WAITER/BAR STAFF $29,000 - $33,000
EXECUTIVE CHEF $50,000 - $110,000
SOUS CHEF $40,000 - $48,000
CHEF de PARTIE $36,000 - $38,000
DEMI CHEF $32,000 - $34,000
COMMIS CHEF (FIRST YR) $29,000 - $32,000
MAITRE D $34,000
HOSTESS CASHIER $34,000
WAITER/WAITRESS $28,000 - $31,000
Source: Hospitality Pupils
BUILDING: SKY - HIGH PAY
LARGE CBD PROJECTS
SEN. CONST. MAN. $200,000+
PROJECT MANAGER $120,000 - $200,000
FOREMAN $60,000 - $120,000
CARPENTER UP TO $90,000*
CRAND DRIVER UP TO $90,000*
RIGGER UP TO $90,000*
* Includes shift penalties and other allowances
SMALL RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
BUILDER $75,000 - $100,000
CARPENTER $50,000 - $60,000
BRICKLAYER $50,000 - $60,000
LABOURER $27,000 - $32,000
PLASTERER $28,000 - $34,000
PAINTER $27,000 - $33,000
Source: Master Builders Association
SUPPORT STAFF: IN DEMAND
RECEPTIONIST $29,000 - $35,000
ADMIN. ASSISTANT $29,000 - $31,000
PA TO DIRECTOR $41,000 - $60,000
TEAM SECRETARY $30,000 - $35,000
HELP DESK PC $41,000 - $45,000
LEGAL SECRETARY UP TO $45,000
ACCOUNTS CLERK $31,000 - $35,000
OFFICE MANAGER $45,000 - $50,000
Source: Morgan & Banks, Robert Walters
RETAIL: AN ADDED BONUS
RETAIL OP. MANAGER $80,000 - $230,000
AREA MANAGER $40,000 - $150,000
CUSTOMER SER. MAN. $28,000 - $55,000
STORE MANAGER* $50,000 - $100,000
MERCHANDISE PLANNER $40,000 - $100,000
RETAIL MARKETING MAN. $40,000 - $100,000
BUYER $60,000 - $120,000
SHOP ASSISTANT $23,000
* Large store
Source: Australian Retailers Association
CORPORATE: A SHARE OF THE REWARDS
SML - MED COMPANY* LARGE
COMPANY**
CEO $100,000 - $150,000
$250,000+
GENERAL MANAGER $90,000 - $150,000 $120,000 - $150,000
SALES DIRECTOR $100,000 - $120,000 $120,000 -
$250,000+
MARKETING DIRECTOR $80,000 - $150,000 $100,000 -
$200,000+
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR $80,000 - $100,000 $100,000 - $130,000+
HUMAN RESOURCES $70,000 - $100,000 $100,00 -
$150,000+
*Turnover $1 - $100m **Turnover $100m+
Source: Hays Executive Personnel
ADVERTISING: UP AND UP
CREATIVE DIRECTOR $200,000+
GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR $155,000+
SENIOR COPYWRITER $120,000
SENIOR MEDIA BUYER $110,000
MEDIA DIRECTOR $140,000
MEDIA BUYER $60,000
ART DIRECTOR $65,000
JUNIOR COPYWRITER $40,000
Source: Advertising Federation of Australia
FINANCE: GOOD TIMES ROLL
CHEF FIN. CONT $150,000+
FIN. CONTROLLER $90,000 - $150,000
AUDIT MANAGER $100,000 - $150,000
TAX MANAGER $90,000 - $150,000
FINANCIAL ACCOUNT $50,000 - $90,000
ASSISTANT ACCOUNT $40,000 - $50,000
CHART. ACCOUNTANT* $100,000 - $120,000
CHART. ACCOUNTAN** $50,000 - $65,000
*4 years experience **Newly qualified
Source: Morgan & Banks
© 2000 Sydney Morning Herald