WPP defers some pay reviews to 2026

WPP has globally deferred October/November pay reviews for some of its employees until May, others to January next year, Campaign has learned.

All networks across the business are believed to have been affected, including WPP Media, which has secured global consolidations from both Henkel and Reckitt worth hundreds of millions of dollars to close out the year. 

Conditions of the pay reviews vary by division, but it is understood that the holding company has prioritised lower earners with pay rises as the group most affected by inflation and the cost of living. Some networks have already completed the majority of their pay reviews for the current pay cycle.

WPP had 104,000 staff at the end of June, down from 108,000 last December, after making redundancies, including at Group M, which rebranded to WPP Media.

WPP declined to comment on this year’s pay reviews when approached by Campaign.

The pay review deferral comes at a time of fiscal challenges for WPP – in Q3 it downgraded its forecast for a second time this year, and annual revenues are now forecast to drop by between 5.5% and 6%. 

The forecast followed Q3 results in which revenues less pass-through costs for the year to date reached £7.485bn, a 4.8% like-for-like decline. At the time WPP chief executive Cindy Rose said performance was "unacceptable" and gave further details of a “strategic review” of the business.  

In Q3's results presentation, chief financial officer Joanne Wilson told analysts that WPP was “cautious on Q4” because of “volatility” in client spend and “delays to projects that were expecting to take place this year and have been pushed out to next year”.

She added: “Where we've seen the biggest impact on those variables is in our media business and that's obviously the largest part of our business. Q4 is the largest quarter and media is a big contributor to that.”

Wilson also pointed out: "There are pockets of our business that are performing well." 

In response to an analyst question about how WPP was keeping staff “motivated” and “incentivising” them, Rose said one of her core priorities was “retaining” and “attracting” talent. She added: “I’m also deeply committed to listening to our employees and providing a world-class employee experience so that our people feel invested in from a learning and development perspective and feel they really have a long-term career prospect here at WPP."

According to WPP’s annual report for 2024, the average pay increase for employees last year was approximately 2.7% – and the median salary was £60,700. The salary for those in the bottom 25th percentile of the company was £34,700.

Data from Campaign School Reports agencies indicates the sector as a whole is winding down pay rises, with wages for entry-level employees going up by 4% in 2024, compared to 6% in 2023 and 7% in 2022.