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The latest Sewells Information & Research Automotive Industry Pay Guide/Salary Survey reveals that, on average, dealer principals running the UK’s franchised dealerships now earn more than £60,000 per annum. But Sewells’ annual survey of pay and conditions – published since 1988 – also recorded below UK average rises in basic and total pay across franchised dealer staff and employees as a whole.

Utilising new methods for data collection this year – fax back and an email/online survey –Sewells’ Automotive Industry Pay Guide/Salary Survey attracted 162 responses from franchised dealers and dealer groups. Indeed the dealer group response included eight groups with more than 12 sites each, which, when weighted in, means the Pay Guide/Salary Survey reflects pay and conditions for 533 franchised dealer sites and 22,555 employees.

With such an excellent response, the Pay Guide/Salary Survey details average basic and total pay for 24 franchised dealer jobs nationally and regionally. In addition, at national level, it covers employment conditions and benefits including hours worked, holidays, bonus and overtime pay, bonus scheme structures, and benefits-in-kind including car provision, private-use fuel, pensions and medical cover. The Pay Guide/Salary Survey also polled retail and warranty labour rates nationally and regionally, and includes a section looking at the details of common retail motor industry bonus incentive schemes.

National average basic salary for dealer principals came in at £47,086, but with bonus payments amounted to £60,196 per annum. The highest paid franchise was, once again, BMW followed by Jaguar and Land Rover. However, it seems that franchised dealer pay increases might have been below the UK average. According to government figures, average earnings excluding bonuses (basic or regular pay) rose by 3.6 per cent in the year to January 2007. For franchised dealer staff, however, a comparison of the years 2005 and 2006 reveals average increases of 2.3% in basic pay.

Based on an extensive survey of UK staff working in franchised dealerships, the salary survey report covers national and regional staff pay, benefits and conditions for franchised dealer job titles including:

• Basic, bonus & overtime
• Holidays and hours worked
• Job 'perks' - cars, petrol, pensions etc
• General trends in pay and conditions
• Labour charge-out rates
• Staff turnover

Staff remuneration is of vital importance to any business, and particularly so for the retail motor industry, which expends 70% of its gross profits on paying staff. The annual Sewells Automotive Industry Pay Guide/Salary Survey is therefore a crucial information resource for the managers of franchised dealerships.

Back copies available - please contact us for more details.