Workers winning higher pay deals

Workers in Britain are winning higher pay deals than last year, with half of recent settlements worth 3.5% or more.

Pay analysts Incomes Data Services say two out of three deals this year have given increases of between 3% and 4%, above the rate of inflation.

The company described the rises are "substantially higher" than a year ago.

Most decisions on the latest private and public sector pay reviews were taken at the end of last year when inflation was over 3%, but the rate fell to 2.7% in January.

A report by the company states: "It may well be that inflation will now be much less of an upward pressure on pay increases".