Salaries in Bahrain have increased on average by 2.4 per cent over the last 12 months, according to a study by a global management consultancy.

"The kingdom saw steady growth for a fourth consecutive year," Warren D'Cruz, the author of Hay Group's annual compensation and benefits report for Bahrain, told the Gulf Daily News (GDN) yesterday.

D'Cruz was speaking on the sidelines of a launch event and workshop at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel.

The outlook remains stable into 2014 for which the firm forecasts a 4.9 per cent increase against an inflation rate of 2.6 per cent.

"Stability, efficiency and improved equity across industries are features of the Bahrain market," he said.

"Pay rises remain almost in line with inflation, signifying static purchasing power amongst Bahrain's workforce as a whole. But of course there are variations between sectors and seniority.

"Companies have, on the whole, reached their targets and paid bonuses in line with forecasts and 80 per cent of employees received some sort of bonuses for their performance last year," D'Cruz added.

The report is based on an analysis of data for more than 17,000 employees in Bahrain from 83 organisations.

"This year, there is more focus on restructuring within organisations with the intention of becoming more efficient," he said.

"Organisations are responding to pressure to become leaner, whether it is in response to local market conditions in Bahrain and the GCC, or as a local response to calls from global headquarters to think about where the business can be streamlined.

"This has an impact on the shape of job roles within organisations and on payroll costs," he added.

The report includes information from 12 industry sectors including oil and gas, banking and financial services.

It is the oil and gas sector which still leads the way on reward.

According to him, banking and financial services have really embraced performance related pay and banks in Bahrain pay more bonus than other sectors as a result in line with international practices.

"At base salary level, after allowances are taken into account, Bahrain has a lower differential between levels of seniority than the GCC as a whole," he said.

"A head of department in a large company will receive around 9.7 times the pay of an entry-level support role such as a receptionist in comparison to the GCC average of 11.9 times. The degree of equity in Bahrain is primarily due to high levels of nationalisation and longer lengths of service in the kingdom," D'Cruz added.

"GCC countries have a smaller difference in pay by seniority level than emerging markets such as China but a larger difference compared to mature markets like the UK which is one indicator of Bahrain's labour market maturity," he said.

"In 2014, Hay Group forecasts a continuation of the trajectory and we expect the Bahrain market will continue to grow steadily, especially with government initiatives designed to attract inward investment," he added. – TradeArabia News Service