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Oh boy that's a biggie here. Last year the raise given for "exceeds" was around 1% - 3%. For comparison, inflation is running at about 5% in the UK, so effectively if you work as hard as you can, you still get a pay cut.

Currently, I'm interviewing new hires who will be roughly a paygrade below me. They will start with a 10% higher salary than my current.

Needless to say, I'm not a happy bunny. Sadly, there aren't that many software companies here, so I can't easily move jobs.

yep, this just happened to a coworker of mine who had been with the company 5 years. He just got an instant $15K raise by joining a new company.

> If you stay at a company, they will give you some fixed pay increase, perhaps tied to your annual review. After a few years, your pay could get seriously out of whack with the market.

This. In my experience, especially applies to H1-B employees or any employees who are perceived to be unlikely to leave. One downside is that, lowering the average salary of all employees makes hiring new employees (at current market rates) difficult. Thus begins (or continues) the downward spiral.