Cost of living crisis prompting staff moves across construction and property sectors, recruiter adds

Partners in cost consulting firms in London and health and safety directors in the capital are the best paid in the construction industry, according to the latest Hays salary survey.

Both pulled in pay packets of 拢120,000 last year with associates at QS firms in London taking home 拢80,000.

Other big earners included partners and directors at London architecture firms with salaries of 拢92,500 while site managers in London picked up 拢80,000 last year with project managers in the capital picking up 拢10,000 more.

Hays media approved image 1

Hays said more than half of workers in the construction and property industry planned to look for a new job this year

It comes as Hays said almost half (49%) of construction and property workers said they changed jobs in the past 12 months with the cost of living crisis influencing workers鈥 decisions to switch jobs.

And Hays said that over 55% of workers intend to consider looking for a new job this year 鈥 with the cost of living crisis playing a major part in this decision.

The main reason workers want to leave their current role is their salary or benefits package (24%), followed by location (19%) and concerns about job security (13%), the Hays research added.

But salary is not the only reason why people move, the recruiter said, with 84% saying an organisation鈥檚 purpose is an important consideration to them when considering a new role, increasing from 81% the year prior, while 75% said a commitment to sustainability was a significant factor when analysing a role鈥檚 suitability.

The research by Hays also found that 61% of workers said they鈥檇 been deterred from continuing with a job application due to a poor first impression of an organisation. The main reasons for being deterred from pursuing a job application include that the people and culture weren鈥檛 as expected (41%), the process took too long (36%) and the lack of communication during the application process (36%).

Gaelle Blake, director of the construction and property division at Hays, said: 鈥淭he construction industry has long had a high churn rate of workers 鈥 and firms have often struggled to hang onto staff due to the competition for skills. What our research tells us is that employers need to be prioritising the application experience and thinking about what workers want to see when they are looking for a new role.

鈥淢any professionals are understandably prioritising salary and job security 鈥 however there鈥檚 clear signs that job fulfilment, purpose and sustainability are also important for today鈥檚 workforce. If you are already doing this as an employer 鈥 make sure you showcase it 鈥 whether that be offering volunteering days and promoting this on your website, highlighting social value accreditations or making your sustainability credentials visible.鈥

The research is part of the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2024 guide, which received nearly 15,000 responses, with over 1,900 coming from professionals working in the construction and property industry.

What the professions are earning

 Professional Quantity Surveyors

Region

Partner/Director

Associate

Senior Surveyor

Newly qualified Surveyor

Graduate Surveyor

 

2023

2023

2023

2023

2023

East Midlands

拢75,000

拢65,000

拢55,000

拢45,000

拢27,000

East of England

拢90,000

拢75,000

拢55,000

拢43,000

拢26,000

London

拢120,000

拢80,000

拢64,000

拢47,000

拢32,000

North East

拢72,000

拢60,000

拢50,000

拢37,500

拢27,000

North West

拢80,000

拢67,000

拢49,000

拢42,000

拢27,000

Northern Ireland

拢75,000

拢57,500

拢48,000

拢36,500

拢25,000

Scotland

拢83,000

拢60,000

拢58,000

拢42,000

拢27,000

South East England

拢95,000

拢72,000

拢56,000

拢45,000

拢27,000

South West England

拢75,000

拢70,000

拢60,000

拢43,000

拢28,000

Wales

拢72,500

拢65,000

拢53,500

拢42,000

拢27,000

West Midlands

拢78,000

拢67,000

拢58,000

拢45,000

拢28,000

Yorkshire & Humber

拢72,000

拢60,000

拢50,000

拢37,500

拢27,000

National Avg.

拢82,292

拢66,542

拢54,708

拢42,125

拢27,333

Average change 2022-2023

2.2%

3.8%

2.4%

2.9%

5.6%

 

Architecture

Region

Partner/Director

Associate

Architect (Senior)

Architect (5 years PQE)

Architect (Recently qualified)

Architectural Assistant, Part II

Architectural Assistant, Part I

2023

2023

2023

2023

2023

2023

2023

East Midlands

拢68,000

拢52,000

拢45,000

拢43,000

拢37,500

拢28,000

拢22,000

East of England

拢72,000

拢55,000

拢51,000

拢47,500

拢35,000

拢31,000

拢24,000

London

拢92,500

拢67,500

拢58,000

拢50,000

拢43,000

拢33,500

拢25,000

North East

拢74,000

拢50,000

拢46,000

拢38,000

拢32,500

拢27,500

拢23,000

North West

拢80,000

拢55,000

拢47,500

拢43,000

拢35,500

拢29,750

拢24,000

Northern Ireland

拢55,000

拢46,000

拢45,000

拢38,500

拢32,000

拢24,000

拢21,000

Scotland

拢76,500

拢51,000

拢44,500

拢39,000

拢33,000

拢25,500

拢18,500

South East England

拢72,000

拢55,000

拢52,000

拢46,000

拢35,000

拢29,000

拢23,500

South West England

拢69,000

拢52,500

拢48,000

拢45,000

拢37,500

拢30,000

拢23,500

Wales

拢68,500

拢51,000

拢46,000

拢44,000

拢35,500

拢28,500

拢22,500

West Midlands

拢67,000

拢52,000

拢46,000

拢45,000

拢37,000

拢28,000

拢22,000

Yorkshire & Humber

拢88,000

拢54,000

拢48,000

拢39,500

拢33,500

拢31,250

拢23,000

National Avg.

拢73,542

拢53,417

拢48,083

拢43,208

拢35,583

拢28,833

拢22,667

Average change 2022-2023

0.6%

1.3%

1.9%

3.0%

2.9%

1.3%

4.0%

 

 Construction (Operational Functions - Site Management)
 

Senior Site Manager

Site Manager

Assistant Site Manager

General Foreman

Region

2023

2023

2023

2023

London

拢80,000

拢65,000

拢48,000

拢43,000

South East England

拢70,000

拢60,000

拢42,000

拢35,000

East of England

拢67,000

拢60,000

拢48,000

拢37,000

South West England

拢65,000

拢49,000

拢45,000

拢36,000

Wales

拢65,000

拢56,000

拢38,000

拢35,000

West Midlands

拢70,000

拢55,000

拢38,000

拢35,000

East Midlands

拢55,000

拢48,000

拢36,000

拢35,000

Yorkshire and the Humber

拢58,000

拢48,000

拢35,000

拢30,000

North East England

拢58,000

拢48,000

拢35,000

拢37,000

North West England

拢60,000

拢50,000

拢40,000

拢30,000

Northern Ireland

拢55,000

拢46,000

拢33,000

拢42,000

Scotland

拢60,000

拢55,000

拢42,000

拢40,000

National Avg.

拢63,583

拢53,333

拢40,000

拢36,250

2022-2023 change

3.5%

3.3%

3.2%

3.3%


 Contract/Project Manager  
 

Contract Manager

Project Manager

   

Region

2023

2023

   

London

拢90,000

拢87,000

   

South East England

拢80,000

拢75,000

   

East of England

拢74,000

拢74,000

   

South West England

拢75,000

拢72,000

   

Wales

拢70,000

拢70,000

   

West Midlands

拢70,000

拢70,000

   

East Midlands

拢68,000

拢62,000

   

Yorkshire and the Humber

拢62,000

拢62,000

   

North East England

拢65,000

拢62,000

   

North West England

拢67,000

拢62,000

   

Northern Ireland

拢68,000

拢63,000

   

Scotland

拢62,000

拢68,000

   

National Avg.

拢70,917

拢68,917

   

2022-2023 change

3.0%

3.1%

   

 Health and Safety Professionals  
 

H&S Director

Senior H&S Manager

H&S Manager

 

Region

2023

2023

2023

 

London

拢120,000

拢75,000

拢63,000

 

South East England

拢105,000

拢70,000

拢55,000

 

East of England

拢85,000

拢65,000

拢55,000

 

South West England

拢85,000

拢65,000

拢55,000

 

Wales

拢77,000

拢58,000

拢48,000

 

West Midlands

拢100,000

拢62,000

拢53,000

 

East Midlands

拢100,000

拢60,000

拢50,000

 

Yorkshire and the Humber

拢85,000

拢60,000

拢50,000

 

North East England

拢75,000

拢55,000

拢45,000

 

North West England

拢85,000

拢60,000

拢52,000

 

Northern Ireland

拢62,000

拢55,000

拢46,000

 

Scotland

拢55,000

拢48,000

拢43,000

 

National Avg.

拢86,167

拢61,083

拢51,250

 

2022-2023 change

2.1%

3.5%

4.5%

 
Source: Hays