NewsBite

Pay

January

What Atlassian has quietly done to attract top talent

The Nasdaq-listed productivity software giant has quietly allowed staff to begin selling shares after just three months. Critics say they may as well pay cash.

  • Updated
  • Tess Bennett
Sydney train drivers are among those striking over pay. They earn an average annual salary of $128,196 a year, including overtime and bonuses.

What train drivers, psychiatrists and others get paid

The recent spate of disruptive industrial disputes between governments and public sector workers has sparked conversations about how much these employees earn.

  • Euan Black
NSW nurses demonstrating for a pay rise in November.

Wage rises to blow out ‘unrealistic’ state budgets: S&P

Psychiatrists in NSW and teachers, nurses and police in Queensland are the latest essential workers to demand significant wage rises from state governments.

  • Michael Read and James Hall
Ronnie Wood, from left, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards earned more three times as much per gig as Ed Sheeran in 2024.

Rolling Stones pocket $21m a show as ‘pensioner’ rock stars cash in

Keith Richards and Mick Jagger made $21 million each time they played live last year, multiples more than Brat star Charli XCX and Ed Sheeran.

  • Updated
  • James Desborough

December 2024

Private equity deal: Slater & Gordon

Slater & Gordon staff win pay rise of up to 22pc

Long-running pay negotiations between the Labor-aligned legal firm and staff have ended without a key union demand being met.

  • Maxim Shanahan
Advertisement
ETU bans have led to $25 billion worth of projects being delayed.

Breakthrough in crippling dispute holding up housing, roads for months

One of the most damaging industrial actions in the country may come to a stop after Ausgrid power workers ended four months of work bans after striking a deal.

  • David Marin-Guzman
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and BCA chief Bran Black.

Push for McDonald’s pay rise shows danger of Labor’s laws, says BCA

Multi-employer bargaining has extended far beyond original intentions, according to the business lobby, including east coast miners and the fast food sector.

  • David Marin-Guzman
X owner Elon Musk has criticised the government’s social media plan.

Judge guts Musk’s $87b pay package

A US judge rejected Tesla’s attempts to reinstate the CEO’s mega pay package, saying he had too much influence over the board when it was adopted.

  • Updated
  • Jef Feeley

November 2024

Can’t buy me love (or a house).

‘Let’s get together, double our income’: Money is the new dating trend

Love can conquer most things, but can it overcome financial differences? Australia’s singles aren’t so sure.

  • Lucy Dean
Jefferies’ head office in New York. The US advisory firm has grown quickly in Australia.

New hires love Jefferies’ cash bonuses. Just don’t try to leave

Unlike other investment banks, the fast-growing New York firm offers upfront payment instead of deferred stock. It seems to be working, as headcount grows.

  • Jemima Whyte and Sarah Thompson
Australia will probably need close to 2 million workers in building and engineering trades by 2050 to meet the demands of the energy transition, says Jobs and Skills Australia.

The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024

Geologists, engineers and trades such as carpenters and electricians were among the occupations that landed the largest salary bumps.

  • Euan Black
Public sector hiring has proven more resilient to the economic slowdown, fuelled by a surge in spending and generous state and federal government pay deals.

Public servant wages outpace private for the first time since 2020

Annual wage growth fell to 3.5 per cent in September from 4.1 per cent in June, as pay growth slowed on the back of a cooling economy.

  • Updated
  • Michael Read

October 2024

Why the $5m lawyer is no longer a rarity at top Aussie firms

Top law firms are forking out more than $5 million a year to poach or protect big-billing market leaders from rivals, amid intense industry competition.

  • Maxim Shanahan
The lawyers, who are not qualified to practice independently, have benefited from US firms’ aggressive expansion into the UK.

Student lawyers without practising certificates to earn $136k

US law firm Davis Polk will pay their UK trainee lawyers, who are yet to qualify as solicitors, at least $135,000.

  • Adam Mawardi
AustralianSuper chairman Don Russell is the country’s highest-paid super fund director.

Revealed: Which super fund directors earn the most

Payments to directors at one fund outstripped those of comparable size by more than half a million dollars, despite delivering worse returns than most of their rivals, analysis by AFR Weekend shows.

  • Hannah Wootton
Advertisement

September 2024

Samuelson Appau

DEI is no longer just about ethics, it’s about profits, academics say

Australian business schools are providing an increasing amount of diversity components to reflect a growing corporate demand.

  • Gus McCubbing
A well-timed redundancy payout can be life changing.

What to do with a six-figure redundancy payout

Being made redundant can be emotionally and financially devastating if you weren’t expecting it. But large lump sum payouts also present an opportunity to reset your career and finances.

  • Duncan Hughes
Could ever more elephantine salaries for relatively inexperienced people, in the law or anywhere else, skew the way applicants are hired?

The allure of the loud know-nothing

Do huge entry-level salaries encourage the selection of assertive, confident, forceful people rather than quieter, shyer rivals who are more competent?

  • Pilita Clark

August 2024

Myths about why men are paid more than women don’t stack up.

This Gender Pay Day, employers must take action for their own good

Women must work, on average, 50 more days per year to earn the same as men. Here’s what businesses need to do about it.

  • Mary Wooldridge
Economists reckon the biggest post-pandemic pay rises are now behind us.

Workers told to expect lower nominal pay rises as economy cools

Employers expect to lift salaries by an average of 3.8 per cent this financial year, as mounting evidence suggests pay rises have passed their recent peak.

  • Euan Black

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/pay-hoj