Pay increases were below the retail price index in May.

Company wages increased from 3.2% to 3.3% in the three months up until May, according to HR and employment data consultancy Industrial Relations Services (IRS).

Sheila Attwood, editor of IRS Pay and Benefits, told the Daily Telegraph: “With below-inflation pay awards now a reality for the majority of workers in both the public and private sectors, our data suggests that employers have gained the upper hand in pay negotiations.”