E-businesses in the UK are planning pay rises more than twice the national average in a bid to retain their staff in the face of continuing bad news stories about the prospects for the sector, according to a new survey by Hay Management Consultants.

The survey analyses the pay of staff in 70 internet-related businesses ranging from in-house departments, e-business units within a larger organisation and internet start-ups. The survey found that increases in base salaries in internet related businesses are set to average 9.7%, compared with an average projected increase across the industrial and service sector of 3.6%.