Partners in cost consulting firms in London and health and safety directors in the capital are the best paid in the construction industry, according to the latest Hays salary survey.

Both pulled in pay packets of £120,000 last year with associates at QS firms in London taking home £80,000.

Other big earners included partners and directors at London architecture firms with salaries of £92,500 while site managers in London picked up £80,000 last year with project managers in the capital picking up £10,000 more.

It comes as Hays said almost half (49%) of construction and property workers said they changed jobs in the past 12 months with the cost of living crisis influencing workers’ decisions to switch jobs.

And Hays said that over 55% of workers intend to consider looking for a new job this year – with the cost of living crisis playing a major part in this decision.

The main reason workers want to leave their current role is their salary or benefits package (24%), followed by location (19%) and concerns about job security (13%), the Hays research added.

But salary is not the only reason why people move, the recruiter said, with 84% saying an organisation’s purpose is an important consideration to them when considering a new role, increasing from 81% the year prior, while 75% said a commitment to sustainability was a significant factor when analysing a role’s suitability.

The research by Hays also found that 61% of workers said they’d been deterred from continuing with a job application due to a poor first impression of an organisation. The main reasons for being deterred from pursuing a job application include that the people and culture weren’t as expected (41%), the process took too long (36%) and the lack of communication during the application process (36%).

Gaelle Blake, director of the construction and property division at Hays, said: “The construction industry has long had a high churn rate of workers – and firms have often struggled to hang onto staff due to the competition for skills. What our research tells us is that employers need to be prioritising the application experience and thinking about what workers want to see when they are looking for a new role.

“Many professionals are understandably prioritising salary and job security – however there’s clear signs that job fulfilment, purpose and sustainability are also important for today’s workforce. If you are already doing this as an employer – make sure you showcase it – whether that be offering volunteering days and promoting this on your website, highlighting social value accreditations or making your sustainability credentials visible.”

The research is part of the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2024 guide, which received nearly 15,000 responses, with over 1,900 coming from professionals working in the construction and property industry.