Life sciences has highest projected salary increase for 2016

Organisations are expecting to increase base salaries by 10.5 per cent across industries and career levels in 2016, and 48 per cent of the companies are expecting to increase their headcount, according to a survey released by Mercer. The comprehensive Mercer's 2015 India, All Industries Total Remuneration Survey represents 691 organisations across various industry sectors. This year, one in two companies is planning to increase headcount with hi-tech, shared services and life sciences leading the pack. The salary increase forecast is quite similar to the actual salary increase for 2015.

The projected salary increase ranges from 10 to 11 per cent overall, with relatively higher increases for life sciences, IT and chemical industries. Over the years, salary increase differentiation across industries has narrowed down, but there is considerable pressure on talent retention as budgets remain tight. With regard to variable pay, the survey findings reveal that there is an increase in variable bonus pay across industries, from the actual payout of 14.7 per cent in 2014 to a projection of 15.4 per cent in 2015, indicating business performance in 2015 is better than in the previous financial year.