Seven tips for securing a pay rise

It won't come as news to many that pay rises are thin on the ground these days. But the extent of this wages squeeze may still be a surprise. Earlier this year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that 2013 actually brought the most sustained and severe fall in real wages since at least the Second World War.

Until 2009, pay tended to rise faster than prices. Since then, though, average regular weekly earnings excluding bonuses have fallen by between eight and 1.04 percent. And a third of workers say they're not expecting a pay rise this year.