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London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – The pay gap between public and private sector employees in Britain widened further from 2008 to 2010, according to a study by British think tank Policy Exchange released over the weekend.

According to the report, a government sports and leisure assistant got an average pay hike of 13.5 percent during the three-year period, while a worker in a private company with a similar job go only an average pay hike of 12.2 percent.

Worse off were private school teachers who even got a 12 percent pay cut, while their public school counterparts received a salary adjustment of 2.1 percent.

Reckoned on an hourly basis, the hourly rate of a mid-income public employee was $20.31 (GBP 13.54), while that of a private sector worker was about $15.09 (GBP 10.06).

However, certain private sector high earners such as bankers, football players and television stars have salaries that were much higher than their public counterparts.

Union officials however are downplaying the Policy Exchange study citing the return of the culture of large city bonuses, while council staff are going through job reductions.

Private company workers, though are expected to catch up because state workers’ pay is frozen until 2008 as Britain reduces its budget deficit and debt. Chancellor George Osborne has sought at least a two-year nationwide wage freeze for public workers and to reform pension systems for state workers.

The only exception to the rule of the larger pay hike was in Yorkshire. The pay disparity was particularly felt in Wales and the northwest.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 20.4 percent of U.K.’s population are employed in the public sector. The number had actually gone down from 21.1 percent and is expected to be further reduced because of the coalition government’s austerity measures.

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