As 2012 comes to an end there is no sign of a sustained increase in the level of pay awards. Instead, 2% has emerged as the benchmark pay award over the autumn months, according to data released today from pay specialists XpertHR.

The median basic pay increase (which excludes performance-related pay, bonuses and progression payments) in the three months to the end of November 2012 stands at 2% the survey finds, unchanged on the reading for the previous three-month period.

There is no let-up in organisations freezing pay for employees either – almost a quarter (23.7%) of pay awards in the three months to the end of November 2012 resulted in a pay freeze. Over the year to the end of August 2013, 8.7% of employee groups are expected not to receive a pay rise.

The figures come just ahead of the busy January wage bargaining period, when around a quarter of all pay settlements take effect. January is key for pay awards in the manufacturing and production sectors – employers in these sectors predict a 3% median pay award during 2013.