As part of the resolution to the 2023 pay dispute, the government established a workload reduction taskforce. One of its key recommendations was the removal of the requirement for maintained schools to implement performance-related pay (PRP). Consequently, as of September 2024, the STPCD no longer mandates the use of a PRP system in schools.
This is a significant win, however, removing the requirement for schools to use PRP will not automatically end it. Academy trusts, which are not statutorily required to follow the school teachers’ pay and conditions document (STPCD), are already free to abandon PRP, however most trusts have not done so (see Appendix D of the printable toolkit for a list of MATs that have already abolished PRP).
We should also note that the recommended changes to PRP were not only due to its inherently discriminatory nature and its undermining of teacher professionalism, but also because of the ‘administrative and workload burden’ it created. Why should Performance Related Pay be abolished? of this toolkit contains arguments that can help you to negotiate the abolition of PRP in your workplace.
Further, while the link between appraisal and pay remains in many performance management policies, elements of PRP still persist - particularly in relation to progression onto the upper pay range (UPR). The NEU believes that all pay progression, including movement onto and within the UPR, should be automatic and take place annually.
Local authority schools
A model pay policy should be negotiated with the local authority (LA) by your NEU branch.
However, school governing bodies are ultimately responsible for determining pay policies. Therefore, consultation and negotiation over the pay policy should take place at a workplace level through NEU workplace reps.
Your NEU branch will notify you when they have negotiated a model pay policy with your LA that removes PRP
Once received, it will be down to you and your members to negotiate its implementation.
LA schools are still obliged to retain a threshold application process. However, adoption of a pay policy that meets the criteria of the NEU pay policy checklist will ensure this process is a formality and not onerous.
Academies
Pay policy negotiations for academies take place at trust level and are conducted by an NEU officer or lead rep. Unlike LA maintained schools, academies belonging to a multi- academy trust are obliged to adopt the pay policy agreed at trust level.
Your NEU branch will notify you when they have negotiated a model pay policy with your LA that removes PRP. Your trust is under no obligation to adopt the LA policy, however if your trust academy has not removed PRP, its removal at neighbouring LA schools will help you make the case to members and management.
You and your members can take strike action at your school to secure improvements to your trust’s pay policy. However, to maximise effectiveness, you should contact the NEU officer or lead rep who negotiates with your trust to inform them of your intention.
You should also seek to network with other reps in your trust with a view to coordinating action.
Unlike LA schools, academies can remove the threshold application, essentially removing PRP in its entirety. So even if your trust has removed PRP, there may still be room for improvement.
A list of MATs who have removed the threshold application, effectively combining the main and the upper pay ranges into a nine-point scale, can be found in Appendix D of the printable toolkit.
Actions for reps
As pay is devolved to schools and academy trusts, NEU members need to work together to ensure the removal of PRP.
Follow the bargaining cycle at the beginning of the autumn term to secure the removal of PRP at your school.
