Pay bargaining toolkit

Foreword

On 1 July 2026, the Government accepted the School Teachers' Review Body's (STRB) recommendations on teachers' pay, awarding a 3.5 per cent increase from September 2026 followed by a further 3 per cent increase from September 2027.

NEU pressure from our Save Education campaign resulted in a significantly increased pay offer – a 6.5 per cent increase over two years, rather than the Government’s original plan to spread it across three years, and an additional £700 million in 2026/27 to pay for it. This is a testament to our members’ strength of feeling on pay. 

Nevertheless, the pay award remains only partially funded at the time of writing. Schools already facing the consequences of more than a decade of devastating cuts are being left to find 1.1 per cent from existing budgets to fund pay rises for teachers and support staff, the latter having been offered 3.3 per cent by the National Joint Council (NJC). 

Without full funding, these pay awards risk further cuts in services for children and young people, job losses, and increased workload for an already overstretched profession. The Government must abandon its self-imposed fiscal constraints, which perpetuate austerity and continue to damage to our education system. We will continue campaigning for education to be properly funded.

Furthermore, this settlement does not demonstrate that Labour is serious about addressing the extent of the pay correction needed for educators. Securing pay restoration remains a key priority for the NEU. 

To win substantial increases in school funding and meaningful progress towards pay restoration, the National Executive has decided to proceed with a formal national ballot, as part of our wider Save Education campaign. The success of our ballot depends on our ability to build the NEU in every workplace, and you, as an NEU workplace representative, are central to that effort.

However, securing fair pay and funding is only part of the challenge. Although NEU pressure forced the Government to abandon proposals to reduce the salary safeguarding period from three years, it is now proposing a non-consolidated recognition award scheme. Such schemes undermine pay transparency, weaken collective pay structures and create further inequities within schools.

Additionally, whilst the Government's intention to curb excessive academy CEO pay is welcomed, proposed restrictions on future salaries do not address the substantial sums already committed through existing remuneration arrangements. 

This term, our priorities are to resist the introduction of non-consolidated recognition awards, secure fair treatment for part-time teachers holding TLRs, and hold multi-academy trusts to account for how resources are allocated, including excessive executive pay that diverts funding away from the education workforce.

Addressing these issues requires organised and proactive NEU workplace groups. Strong workplace organisation and the ability to deliver national change go hand in hand. 

This pay bargaining toolkit is designed to help you and your colleagues take a proactive approach to pay bargaining, challenge unfair pay practices and secure fair pay for teachers and support staff. This is essential to recruiting and retaining the educators needed to deliver the high-quality education that every child deserves.