CAREERS | 2020 HAYS SALARY SURVEY A LINGERING FOG The UK may have left the EU, but there is still plenty of uncertainty over its future relationship with Europe, which means a cautious services sector and sluggish salary growth, according to the 2020 Hays Salary Survey. David Blackman reports Y ou are driving in the fog and you cant see ahead of you, says Steven Horn, a director at the North East-based consultancy Black and White Engineering. He is describing what it has felt like to run a building services company during the past few months of economic and political turmoil. The fog in question, of course, is that resulting from the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, which looks to be heading for a resolution at last, following Decembers General Election. Toms Neeson, managing partner at Cundall, agrees that this has been a problem. Uncertainty stops people making decisions. Economic malaise isnt just a UK concern, though, he adds, noting that the Chinese market has definitely slowed down. Nigel Williams, director of building services at Atkins, says that while the regional markets and what he dubs the Three Hs: Heathrow, Hinkley and HS2 are holding up, London has slightly slowed down. That mixed picture is reflected in UK building services as a whole, judging by the findings of the latest annual salary survey for the sector, carried out for CIBSE Journal by recruitment consultants Hays. This shows that nearly all (96%) employers in building services expect business activity levels to increase or stay the same over the next 12 months, while more than half (55%) are planning for increased activity slightly lower than the 61% figure reported last year. www.cibsejournal.com February 2020 25 CIBSE Feb20 pp25-28 2020 Salary survey.indd 25 24/01/2020 14:54