Salary expectations for 2026: employers remain cautious

Published date: December 2, 2025

Those who wish to retain talent will not be able to avoid discussing remuneration. A recent salary survey conducted by recruitment specialist Robert Walters among organisations and professionals reveals a certain gap between what companies are planning in terms of salary increases in 2026 and what employees expect.

Organisations are keeping a tight rein on spending

Most organisations are keeping their salary budgets for 2026 limited. Almost seven in ten employers (69%) are only planning a salary increase of 1–5% on top of indexation, while almost 29% do not expect to give any pay rise at all.

Expectations also remain moderate in terms of bonuses. For example, 29% of organisations anticipate a bonus of 1–5%, and another 29% a bonus of 6–10%. A small group (10%) plans a bonus of between 11–15%, while 23% indicate that they do not anticipate any bonus at all.

Employees expect more

Employees seem to have a slightly more optimistic view of their salary prospects. 36% of the professionals surveyed expect an increase of 1–5%, 21% expect 5–10%, and almost 12% even expect more than 10%.

More than half of professionals (57%) indicate that economic uncertainty has significantly or moderately influenced their employer's salary policy over the past 12 months.

However, this seems to have only partially dampened expectations for 2026, according to Özlem Simsek, managing director at Robert Walters: ‘Employees sense that many organisations are keeping a tight grip on their purse strings, but they are still hoping for improvement.’

Impact on retention

The results of the survey show that salary increases will be a crucial factor for retention in 2026. If employers do not offer an increase in the coming year, more than six in ten professionals (63%) say they are open to changing jobs.

‘At the same time, more than half (52%) of organisations believe that their employees are satisfied with their current salary package. The gap between perception and reality in terms of satisfaction therefore poses a potential risk for staff turnover in 2026,’ warns Özlem.

The importance of benchmarking

Both organisations and professionals recognise the importance of market references, but their approach differs. 36% of organisations conduct an annual salary benchmark, while 28% only do so every two to three years. Strikingly, 1 in 10 organisations do not engage in salary benchmarking at all.

On the employee side, we see a different story: almost 1 in 2 professionals (47%) compare their salary with the market annually.

There is a growing awareness of market value and wage fairness. It is no coincidence that half of professionals (51%) have discovered that a colleague in the same position earns more, while 35% believe that their organisation does not achieve true wage equality.

"The upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive will further reinforce this trend. Employers will now be required to disclose salary scales in job advertisements, be transparent about remuneration criteria and, in organisations with more than 100 employees, report annually on any gender pay gap. For HR teams, this means that regular, accurate benchmarking and clear remuneration structures are no longer optional, but essential to remain compliant and competitive," concludes Özlem.