Most Employees Have Not Received Pay Rise in Hungary

The majority of Hungarian workers have not received a pay rise, and where wages have been increased, employers have mostly done so on their own due to the rising cost of living, the HR service provider Work Force told MTI on Tuesday.

The temporary employment and recruitment agency surveyed around 1,000 Hungarian employees in March this year.

According to the statement, 41% of respondents had received a pay rise, with 30% of those surveyed saying that their employers had initiated the rise themselves without having to request it.

The survey found that the majority of manual workers had unsuccessfully asked for a pay rise, while white collar workers were timider and only 23% had tried to ask their employer for a pay rise.

In the capital, only 27% of proactive initiatives were rejected, while in rural areas 72% of workers' requests for pay rises were unsuccessful.

52% of those surveyed do not plan to change jobs in the near future, despite the lack of a pay rise, the report said.

According to the head of Work Force, Zoltán Czellecz, it is clear from the feedback that despite workers' demands, the majority of employers are unable to secure inflation-linked pay rises this year.

The survey also looked at the possibility of working from home. This varied widely across the country, with 45% of Budapest respondents having the option to telework, compared to only 27% of rural respondents.

Work Force Ltd. is a 100% Hungarian-owned company, which has been engaged in temporary work and recruitment since 2003. They have nine offices nationwide, providing 300 clients with a permanent supply of suitable staff.