Pay awards have slumped to a 10-year low as large numbers of workers suffer a wage freeze, according to new research.

The headline pay award fell to 0.5% in the three months to July, down from the 2.2% seen in each of the three previous rolling quarters, according to pay analysts XpertHR.

Pay awards are now at the lowest level since the three months to February 2010, when the median increase stood at 0.3%, said the report.

Two out of five of 48 settlements monitored were for a pay freeze.

XpertHR said its researchers found that many employers are deferring decisions on their 2020 pay award, recording around 20% fewer basic pay settlements effective between January and July than at the equivalent stage last year.

The firm’s pay and benefits editor Sheila Attwood said: “The drop in the value of pay awards comes as no surprise, as the number of pay freezes made by organisations begins to creep up.

“We also expect many of the pay reviews currently on hold to ultimately result in a pay freeze for staff, making 2020 the worst year for pay awards since 2009.”