Pay Practice at the Level of Approach

The previous chapter reviewed developments related to pay within the UK FMCG sector during the period 1996–2000. Many of these developments conform closely to broader economy-wide trends and the prescriptions of the strategic pay movement. FMCG companies are engaging widely in pay benchmarking to ensure competitiveness against comparator firms. All bar one of the FMCG case study companies makes extensive use of multiple performance-based pay systems in addition to traditional forms of pay — base pay, allowances and benefits. Data suggest that, as an industry, FMCG companies have embraced strategic pay far more widely than in other sectors and the economy overall. The data indicate that FMCG firms in the UK are using pay strategically.