pay freeze
noun [ C ]
ukus(also salary freeze); (wage freeze) HR, WORKPLACE
a situation in which a company stops increasing employees' pay because of financial difficulties:
Union leaders are considering the company's proposals to change working hours, reduce overtime, or impose a pay freeze.
ECONOMICS, GOVERNMENT
a government policy of preventing pay increases in order, for example, to deal with inflation:
The government are now proposing a pay freeze for public sector workers.