At edenfx we hold the specific salary market data for the previous 14 years and work with our clients to ensure their roles are market tested and salary appropriate to the positions.
In addition to our valid and interpretable data, we always enjoy the annual Safeguard Salary Survey and use this to support our data.
So what’s been happening 2019 – 2020, Peter Bateman reports.
PETER BATEMAN (Editor Safeguard) analyses this year’s incomes survey and finds last year’s income stagnation has been replaced with an increase for most – but there might be a catch.
Our thanks to the more than 450 people who took part in this year’s survey. As always, the survey was limited to New Zealand-based people working as H&S practitioners, occupational health nurses, occupational hygienists, or in human factors/ergonomics provided most of their work was H&S-focused.
On the income front, good news: last year’s median income for full-timers of $96,230 (which was $3000 less than the previous year) has gone up to $104,000 this year. Men and women appear to have both benefited, with male full-timers going from $103,060 to $112,300, while female full-timers went from $90,510 to $97,410.
Groups who reported a median income jump of at least $10,000 since last year include people:
Aged 30 to 39 (up $12K)
Aged 50 to 59 (up nearly $12K)
With a post-graduate diploma (up $12K)
In Auckland (up $14K)
In Wellington (up $19K)
In Christchurch (up $12K)
The catch? This year only 4.4% of respondents were members of the NZOHNA, a generally lower paid group, compared to 14.3% last year. Their absence might have pushed the numbers up. Similarly, the proportion of respondents with at least ten years’ experience has risen from 48 to 52%, while those working for the very largest organisations rose from nearly 15 to nearly 20%. All these factors may have inflated the overall median figures.
Regarding discernible trends beyond income, the proportion of respondents who have been made redundant in the last two years has remained unchanged, despite a considerable number of respondents to the question about the impact of Covid-19 saying they have been given the chop.
Similarly, the question about recruitment from outside New Zealand shows only a small drop, perhaps surprising given that just about anyone who isn’t a citizen or permanent resident hasn’t been able to enter the country since March.
Survey respondents’ views on the impact of Covid-19 make for fascinating reading. It looks like some people have been rushed off their feet, while some consultants have had little work. Our edited selection of the best appears on the following pages. Apologies to those whose words didn’t make the cut – we have tried to include a representative selection but couldn’t fit everyone in.
THE SUMMARY DATA (N = 456)
| The most common response is in bold | |
| GENDER SPLIT | |
| Male | 45.8% |
| Female | 54.0% |
| Prefer not to say | 0.2% |
| AGE RANGE | |
| Under 30 | 4.4% |
| 30-39 | 15.9% |
| 40-49 | 28.4% |
| 50-59 | 36.1% |
| 60-69 | 14.8% |
| 70+ | 0.4% |
| HOW LONG IN H&S ROLES? | |
| 3 years or less | 12.6% |
| 4 – 9 years | 35.5% |
| 10 years or more | 52.0% |
| HIGHEST FORMAL H&S QUALIFICATION? | |
| H&S rep training | 4.0% |
| Certificate (eg NZQA) | 21.8% |
| Diploma | 37.0% |
| Bachelor’s degree | 3.5% |
| Post-grad diploma | 22.7% |
| Master’s or PhD | 5.1% |
| No H&S qualification | 5.6% |
| TO WHICH PRACTITIONER BODIES DO YOU BELONG? | |
| AIHS (formerly SIA) | 1.1% |
| HFENZ | 0.4% |
| HRNZ | 2.0% |
| HSPNZ | 0.9% |
| IOSH | 11.4% |
| NZIHSM | 0.2% |
| NZISM | 66.4% |
| NZOHNA | 4.4% |
| NZ Occ Hygiene Soc | 2.6% |
| NZ Safety Council | 3.1% |
| None | 23.7% |
| (The numbers add to more than 100 because some people belong to multiple bodies) | |
| ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE HASANZ REGISTER? | |
| Yes | 15.4% |
| No | 84.6% |
| DO YOU WORK FULL TIME? | |
| Yes | 90.5% |
| No | 9.5% |
| THE FOCUS OF YOUR WORK LIES IN WHICH INDUSTRY SECTOR(S)? | |
| Agriculture/forestry/fishing | 12.8% |
| Construction | 31.8% |
| Education | 6.3% |
| Government (local or central) | 23.4% |
| Healthcare | 8.8% |
| Hospitality | 2.3% |
| Manufacturing | 28.2% |
| Mining/oil & gas | 5.4% |
| Not-for-profit | 2.7% |
| Retail/wholesale | 6.8% |
| Transport | 16.7% |
| Utilities | 13.7% |
| WHERE IN NZ ARE YOU BASED? | |
| Auckland | 26.4% |
| Hamilton | 6.2% |
| Tauranga | 6.8% |
| Wellington | 12.3% |
| North Island (elsewhere) | 21.4% |
| Christchurch | 14.3% |
| Dunedin | 3.1% |
| South Island (elsewhere) | 9.5% |
| WHAT PROPORTION OF TIME DO YOU ESTIMATE YOU SPEND ON EACH TYPE OF RISK? | |
| Catastrophic risks (eg explosions) | 12% |
| Work-related safety risks (eg falls, machinery, vehicles) | 41% |
| Work-related physical health risks (eg noise, dust, chemicals, lifting) | 25% |
| Work-related psychosocial health risks (eg bullying, sexual harassment) | 14% |
| Personal health-related safety risks (eg impairment, hearing/eyesight, | |
| heart health) | 12% |
| WHAT OTHER ROLES DO YOU ALSO HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR? | |
| Office administration | 26.2% |
| Environment | 49.3% |
| HR | 15.6% |
| Quality | 28.5% |
| ACC/rehab | 55.6% |
| Security | 13.3% |
| WHO DO YOU REPORT TO? | |
| Someone in a more senior H&S role | 26.9% |
| An operational/line/regional manager | 12.6% |
| HR | 8.2% |
| CEO/GM/Director | 40.8% |
| Not applicable (self-employed) | 8.8% |
| Other role | 2.9% |
| ARE YOU IN THE SAME ROLE WITH THE SAME ORGANISATION AS 12 MONTHS AGO? | |
| Yes | 75.1% |
| No | 24.9% |
| HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK IN YOUR ORGANISATION IN NZ? | |
| 1 – 19 | 12.8% |
| 20 – 99 | 14.1% |
| 100 – 499 | 31.7% |
| 500 – 999 | 10.6% |
| 1000 – 1999 | 9.9% |
| 2000+ | 20.9% |
| HAS YOUR ORGANISATION BEEN ASSESSED BY A SAFEPLUS ASSESSOR? | |
| Yes | 12.8% |
| No | 73.4% |
| Not sure | 13.9% |
| FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, HOW LIKELY ARE YOU STILL TO BE WORKING IN H&S? | |
| Very likely | 52.9% |
| Quite likely | 33.3% |
| Not very likely | 11.9% |
| Certainly not | 2.0% |
| SINCE 2018 HAVE YOU BEEN MADE REDUNDANT FROM A H&S ROLE? | |
| Yes | 7.7% |
| No | 92.3% |
| IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN RECRUITING FOR AT LEAST ONE H&S-RELATED ROLE? | |
| Yes | 45.6% |
| No | 54.4% |
| IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, HOW MANY H&S-RELATED ROLES HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN RECRUITING? (Of those who replied Yes above) | |
| One | 43.8% |
| Two | 38.5% |
| Three | 7.2% |
| Four or more | 10.6% |
| DID YOU FILL AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE ROLES WITH A CANDIDATE FROM OUTSIDE NEW ZEALAND? | |
| Yes | 16.4% |
| No | 83.6% |
| ON AVERAGE, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO FILL THOSE ROLES? | |
| 2 months or less | 52.9% |
| 3 to 4 months | 31.7% |
| 5 to 6 months | 8.2% |
| More than 6 months | 7.2% |
OVERALL INCOME
| This data includes only respondents working full time. N = 411 | |
| WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOUR EMPLOYMENT STATUS? | |
| Employee | 92.2% |
| Self-employed | 7.8% |
| WHAT IS YOUR ANNUAL BASE PERSONAL INCOME BEFORE TAX? (DO NOT INCLUDE ALLOWANCES) | |
| Under $50,000 | 2.2% |
| $50,000 – $59,999 | 2.9% |
| $60,000 – $69,999 | 6.1% |
| $70,000 – $79,999 | 10.0% |
| $80,000 – $89,999 | 13.4% |
| $90,000 – $99,999 | 12.4% |
| $100,000 – $119,999 | 19.5% |
| $120,000 – $139,999 | 12.2% |
| $140,000 – $159,999 | 8.5% |
| $160,000 – $179,999 | 5.1% |
| $180,000 – $199,999 | 2.7% |
| $200,000+ | 5.8% |
| WHICH BENEFIT(S) DO YOU RECEIVE? | |
| Company vehicle | 41.6% |
| Superannuation scheme | 38.5% |
| Time off for study/CPD | 49.5% |
| Health insurance | 41.2% |
| ARE YOUR SERVICES ROUTINELY CHARGED OUT TO EXTERNAL CLIENTS? | |
| Yes | 13.4% |
| No | 86.6% |
| (For those who answered Yes above; N=55) | |
| WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL HOURLY CHARGE RATE? | |
| Average | $134/hour |
| Median | $120/hour |
MEDIAN BASE INCOME
| An average is meaningless in this context. Instead we have used the median, calculated as the middle value in an ordered list. Only where N is 20 or more has a value been calculated. NOTE: this data includes only respondents working full time | ||
| CATEGORY | N | BASE INCOME ($) |
| Overall | 411 | 104,000 |
| By gender | ||
| Male | 195 | 112,300 |
| Female | 215 | 97,410 |
| By age group | ||
| 30-39 | 64 | 105,830 |
| 40-49 | 117 | 109,170 |
| 50-59 | 157 | 106,000 |
| 60-69 | 54 | 102,500 |
| By time in H&S | ||
| 3 years or less | 49 | 82,000 |
| 4 – 9 years | 146 | 94,410 |
| 10+ years | 216 | 118,000 |
| By H&S qualification | ||
| Certificate | 89 | 90,000 |
| Diploma | 154 | 100,320 |
| Post-graduate diploma | 95 | 120,000 |
| By industry sector | ||
| Ag/forestry/fishing | 51 | 104,000 |
| Construction | 121 | 108,000 |
| Education | 25 | 96,000 |
| Healthcare | 29 | 104,000 |
| Government | 99 | 99,170 |
| Manufacturing | 108 | 105,200 |
| Mining/oil & gas | 20 | 130,000 |
| Retail/wholesale | 25 | 106,670 |
| Transport | 68 | 105,290 |
| Utilities | 57 | 117,780 |
| By location | ||
| Auckland | 109 | 120,000 |
| Hamilton | 26 | 93,890 |
| Tauranga | 26 | 98,330 |
| Wellington | 54 | 119,000 |
| North Island (elsewhere) | 88 | 92,140 |
| Christchurch | 57 | 105,260 |
| South Island (not Chch, Dunedin) | 37 | 88,890 |
| By professional body membership | ||
| IOSH | 48 | 131,670 |
| NZISM | 277 | 104,760 |
| By HASANZ Register membership | ||
| Member | 64 | 105,550 |
| Non-member | 347 | 103,380 |
| By number of people in organisation | ||
| 1 – 19 | 42 | 104,280 |
| 20 – 99 | 53 | 92,000 |
| 100 – 499 | 134 | 99,330 |
| 500 – 999 | 46 | 113,080 |
| 1000 – 1999 | 45 | 113,330 |
| 2000+ | 91 | 118,330 |
COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS SURVEYS
| YEAR | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| No. of respondents overall | 456 | 456 | 446 | 488 | 479 | 328 |
| % aged under 50 | 48.7 | 49.5 | 48.6 | 50.8 | 52.0 | 52.1 |
| % with high H&S qualifications
(degree/postgrad dip or above) |
36.9 | 28.5 | 34.4 | 29.1 | 32.6 | 34.2 |
| No. of respondents (full time) | 411 | 410 | 414 | 441 | 436 | 296 |
| Median income – overall full time | 104,000 | 96,230 | 99,500 | 95,865 | 88,410 | 87,390 |
| Median income – male full time | 112,300 | 103,060 | 109,130 | 106,840 | 94,310 | 95,430 |
| Median income – female full time | 97,410 | 90,510 | 90,000 | 86,070 | 80,160 | 78,970 |
PETER BATEMAN