Public sector pay 2008

The combination of the government's continuing restrictions on public sector pay and spiralling inflation have made 2008 another difficult pay round. Here, we summarise the main decisions for each service.

On this page:
Public sector pay policy
Looking forward to 2009
Local government
Opted-out councils
Fire service
Police
Central government departments
National Probation Service
Prison service
Schoolteachers
School support staff
Higher education
Further education
NHS
Table 1: Example local government pay settlements, 2008
Table 2: Pay awards at opted-out local authorities, 2008
Table 3: Example central government pay settlements, 2008
Table 4: Example education pay settlements, 2008
Additional resources on XpertHR.

Key points

  • The median basic pay award in the public sector was 2.5% in the year to the end of November 2008, unchanged from the figure a year ago. The gap between pay awards in the public sector and the private sector remains at one percentage point, with the median private sector award over the same period 3.5%, again unchanged on its position a year ago.
  • The 2008 pay award for 1.4 million local government workers has been referred to Acas, and it is expected to be several months before the outcome is known. The negotiations over this pay deal have led to two days of strike action by Unison and Unite.
  • The government has put a new emphasis on multi-year pay awards in the public sector. Teachers, police officers and NHS staff are now covered by three-year awards, all of which include some form of reopening clause.

Public sector pay policy

The 2008 pay round for public sector employees got off to a difficult start, with several key groups of workers still expressing their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the 2007 pay round. In January 2008, police officers staged a public demonstration in protest at the government's handling of their 2007 pay award. The government had shown its determination to keep pay awards in line with its consumer prices index (CPI) inflation target of 2%, and had staged most of the pay review body awards in 2007 to achieve its aim.

The government made clear in the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review (on the Treasury website) published in October 2007 that it intended to maintain this stance into 2008. This report noted that the government had delivered overall headline pay awards for the pay review body groups averaging 1.9% in 2007/08. It went on to explain: "There remains a risk of second-round effects of higher inflation feeding into inflation expectations and higher average earnings growth. It is therefore important that public sector pay settlements continue to be consistent with the achievement of the government's inflation target of 2%."

In January 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that long-term pay settlements (external website) for public sector workers would help to maintain stability in the economy. He claimed that establishing fixed pay deals over three years with groups of workers such as teachers and nurses would help control inflation. "We must control inflation," Brown said. "There is no point in a big salary rise that is wiped out by a big inflation rise."

The 2008 Budget (PDF format, 3.96MB) (external website) confirmed: "To deliver continuing stability, the government will seek to maintain discipline in pay setting and agree multi-year pay settlements where appropriate", and reiterated that its public sector pay policy would support economic stability through "delivering settlements consistent with achievement of the inflation target of 2%".

The Civil Service Pay Guidance 2008/09 published by the Treasury in February 2008 reiterated this determination. It says: "The Treasury seeks to ensure that levels of, and increases to, pay across the whole of the public sector do not add to inflationary pressure in the economy… For the civil service … the objectives of the pay remit process are: to ensure that increases to pay are affordable within the overall fiscal environment, offer value for money and are consistent with the achievement of the government's inflation target of 2%".

It goes on: "For the 2008/09 remit round, basic awards will be no more than 2%." It says the expectation is for civil service pay awards to average in the region of 3.75%, including the basic award, progression and increases to the bonus pot. There is also "a change in emphasis to multi-year remits".

There was anger and disappointment among the unions at the government's approach. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) (external website) said of the Treasury remit guidance: "The cap of 2% on basic pay rises … again condemns thousands of civil servants to a further year of below-inflation increases. We have made it crystal clear that this is an insult, and that PCS will campaign vigorously to challenge this."

Unite said the government's assertion that there should be a cap on public sector pay increases made a mockery of pay bargaining procedures and the pay review bodies that were appointed to conduct independent pay negotiations.

The mood of the trade unions was made clear by coordinated national industrial action by the National Union of Teachers and the PCS in April, which saw teachers striking alongside coastguards, driving examiners, immigration officials and jobcentre and benefits staff. In June, the TUC held a lobby and rally in London as part of its Speak Up for Public Services campaign.

In September 2008, the TUC congress (external website) condemned the government's "continued pursuit of a pay policy across the public sector of 2% annual rises … despite rapidly rising inflation" and voted for coordinated action by the unions against the policy. In his speech at the congress (external website), Chancellor Alistair Darling defended the government's pay policy, saying: "In the public and private sectors, pay rises must be consistent with our inflation target. Otherwise every penny in pay rises will be quickly swallowed up in higher prices."

The worsening outlook for the economy, increasing unemployment and signs that inflation will continue to fall and may move to deflation in 2009, seem to have taken some of the heat out of the unions' anger for the time being. The long-term pay awards that seemed unattractive at the start of the year may now appear more realistic, and Prospect notes that the prime minister's pronouncement that multi-year deals provide certainty looks more valid now than it did in January 2008.

According to IRS analysis of 59 pay settlements, the median basic pay award in the public sector in the year to November 2008 remains at the same level as last year: 2.5%. IRS also collected details of 17 pay settlements, many for central government departments, for which no basic increase could be identified.

Looking forward to 2009

The government's call for discipline in pay awards was restated in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report (PDF format, 1.7MB) (external website): "Looking forward, the objectives for public sector pay remain unchanged - recruiting and retaining a high-quality workforce; affordability and value for money for the taxpayers; and consistency with achieving the Bank of England’s inflation target. Continued discipline in pay awards, with multi-year settlements where appropriate, is essential to drive value for money and maintain high-quality public services, particularly in the context of a global economic downturn."

However, at the start of December developments in civil service pay talks appeared to indicate a softening of the government's stance.

Local government

The pay award for the local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, negotiated by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC), had been referred to Acas at the time of writing.

The three unions (Unison, Unite and the GMB) were split over the final offer made in April 2008 by the employers. The offer, worth 2.5%, is to increase all spinal column points by 2.45%, with staff on the three lowest spine points receiving an additional £100 a year, increasing the value of the offer to 3.3% for the lowest-paid group. The GMB, albeit reluctantly, accepted the offer in a move described by the union's national secretary as "a vote against strike action" rather than a vote in favour of the offer. However, Unite and Unison voted for two days of strike action in July. Following the strike action, talks continued, but no improved offer was made by the employers and, in September, the union side, including the GMB, decided to refer the matter to Acas for binding arbitration.

Because of the delay in making the pay award, the employers have implemented their final offer and backdated the payments to April 2008. The decision by Acas is not expected until early 2009.

Chief officers in local authorities were also offered a 2.45% pay rise, which has been implemented with effect from 1 April 2008. However, the officers' side has said that this may also be referred to arbitration. The staff side representing youth and community workers has also requested that their pay award go to arbitration.

Local government workers in Scotland, who are covered by a separate agreement, have had a long-running dispute with their employers. All three unions rejected an improved three-year offer worth 2.5% in each year, and voted for industrial action. When talks resumed, Unison said it was "bitterly disappointed" that the same increase for a single year was being offered. A further day of strike action followed. Further action was suspended when an improved offer of 3% from 1 April in the first year of a two-year deal, with 2.5% in the second year, was put on the table. This offer was narrowly accepted by Unison but rejected by the GMB and Unite. At the time of writing, the unions had not reached a joint position.

Other examples of local authority pay settlements are shown in table 1.

Opted-out councils

IRS has collected details of pay awards at 27 local authorities (see table 2) that have opted out of the main national pay agreement. The median increase among these is 2.75%, slightly better than the final offer made to those covered by the NJC settlement, which has been referred to Acas. Comparison with the awards made in 2007 shows that 10 councils had made an award at the same level as the previous year, 10 had made a lower offer, and seven had awarded a higher settlement.

Fire service

The pay award for 55,000 firefighters from 1 July 2008 was 2.45%, while the brigade managers received an increase of 2% from 1 January 2008.

Police

In January 2008, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith wrote to the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) asking it to consider a multi-year deal for police officers from September 2008. She made a commitment that if such a deal could be agreed, the government would implement it in full. However, the staff side delayed starting negotiations on the 2008 pay award, pending the outcome of the Police Federation's legal challenge to the government's decision not to backdate the 2007 pay award for police officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Police officers in Scotland received the 2007 award in full.

It was announced in June 2008 that the legal challenge had failed, and focus returned to the 2008 pay award. However, at the July meeting the PNB registered a failure to agree, and the matter of police pay was referred to the Police Arbitration Tribunal for the third consecutive year. The hearing was scheduled for 21 October. Events described in the next two paragraphs superseded the need for the meeting.

Following the announcement of the failure to agree, in September 2008 the home secretary launched a consultation on proposals to implement a pay review body for police officers, as had been suggested in Sir Clive Booth's report, "Determining Pay in the Police Service". The Police Federation of England and Wales accused the home secretary of being "petty and vindictive", and called for her resignation.

Meanwhile, the two sides of the PNB continued to hold "out of committee" talks, and in October reached agreement on a three-year pay deal. This was approved by the home secretary, Scottish ministers and the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, and was announced on 15 October 2008. The award is worth 2.65% in 2008, 2.6% in 2009 and 2.55% in 2010. The agreement includes a reopener clause stating that if either the official or the staff side of the PNB produces "new evidence of a substantial and material change to police officer recruitment and retention", both sides will enter into discussions relating to the following year's pay award.

In making the announcement, Smith said: "As a result of today's agreement the government will end the current consultation process for a police pay review body and has made a commitment not to take any legislative steps to introduce a police pay review body during the lifetime of this parliament."

The Police Federation of England and Wales welcomed the pay deal, which it described as "the best multi-year settlement secured in the public sector". It said: "This allows the PNB the opportunity to demonstrate that it can work effectively rather than facing the immediate uncertainty of a pay review body."

At the time of writing, a three-year pay offer for police staff in England and Wales (outside the Metropolitan Police area) was being put to the trade union side of the police staff council. The offer would increase the pay spine and standby allowances by 2.6% from 1 September 2008, 2.6% from September 2009 and 2.58% from September 2010.

The Metropolitan Police support staff have rejected an offer of 2.5%. In Scotland, negotiations on the pay award for police support staff were ongoing at the time of writing.

Central government departments

As has been the case in previous years, the process of clearing remits with the Treasury caused negotiations in many departments to be delayed, and by November several departments had yet to agree a pay award for 2008. These included HM Revenue & Customs, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (which has subsequently imposed an award). Pay awards were also implemented without agreement from the unions at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (see table 3).

The civil service unions have been increasingly frustrated by the way the Treasury deals with pay in the civil service compared with other parts of the public sector. They say that for other groups the cost of progression is funded separately from the headline pay award, whereas in the civil service the cost of progression is included. This means that there is less money available to fund any basic increase, which often results in staff at the top of their pay band receiving no consolidated increase.

The Council of Civil Service Unions wrote to the Yvette Cooper, chief secretary to the Treasury, in June to highlight its concerns about the Treasury pay remit process. It called for:

  • separate funding for pay progression in line with other parts of the public sector;
  • efficiency savings to be fed back via higher pay awards;
  • a reduction in the number of bargaining units in the civil service;
  • the link between pay and performance appraisal to be broken; and
  • the limit on basic increases of 2% to be removed.

The PCS voted for a national strike to be followed by an overtime ban across the civil and public services in November, but suspended the action at the promise of renewed talks. Sir Gus O’Donnell, head of the civil service, agreed that discussions should take place to address the concerns at the heart of the pay dispute. On 1 December O'Donnell wrote to the civil service unions - Prospect, the FDA and the PCS - saying that the Treasury would, in the pay guidance for 2009/10, introduce flexibility to recycle efficiency savings into pay.

In his letter to the PCS (PDF format, 230K) (external website), O'Donnell said: "It is worth me reiterating the chief secretary's [to the Treasury] earlier assurance that there is no 2% limit on public sector pay."

He also said that Cabinet Office officials would agree the process to continue the dialogue on pay reform.

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “This agreement is an important breakthrough and forms a positive basis on which we can take the union’s pay campaign forward." PCS believes that the agreement gives scope for additional discussions to take place on future stages of long-term pay awards that have already been implemented. Dai Hudd, deputy general secretary of Prospect, was more cautious, although he called it "potentially a helpful development".

National Probation Service

Probation officers, administrative staff and middle managers at the National Probation Service entered a new two-year pay agreement from 1 April 2008. The issue of incremental progression caused dispute, with the unions Unison and Napo determined to maintain the progression system introduced in the previous agreement. The new agreement maintains incremental progression, but rather than being in April, the date for payment progression increases has moved to October. The pay award gives an increase on all pay points of 2% from 1 April 2008, and a non-consolidated lump sum in recognition of the change in date for progression increases. From 1 October, staff receive progression increases, and the minima of the four lowest pay bands have been raised by one pay point. If the overall increase over the year is less than £900, staff receive a non-consolidated payment to make up the difference. A similar agreement was reached for chief officer grade staff.

Prison service

Protests in the prison service over the [Article:85313#pri "2007 pay award"] resulted in the reinstatement of the statutory ban on industrial action by prison officers when the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill received royal assent on 8 May 2008.

The Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) published its report in February 2008, and the government accepted its recommendations, which came into effect from 1 April 2008. The recommendations included a restructuring of the operational support grades pay scale to speed up pay progression for this group, and increases to pay scales of between nil and 2.7%. The PSPRB estimated that its recommendations, including the pay scale restructuring, would result in a paybill increase of 3.2%, of which 1.4% is the result of incremental progression.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) called the offer "disgraceful", and questioned the independence of the review body. At the POA conference in May, Justice Secretary Jack Straw addressed the issues of pay and industrial relations in the prison service. He told prison officers that he would lay aside his right to issue a remit letter to the review body in future "save in exceptional circumstances". He also announced that £50 million was to be made available for workforce modernisation for 2009/10 "if we get the right deal".

By December 2008, many issues remained unresolved in the talks on workforce modernisation, and the POA was questioning if there was enough money in the offer for all the changes being sought. Feelings among prison officers were running high, and morale was reported to be low. Talks with the prison service were expected to continue in December.

The POA is continuing to fight for the restoration of trade union rights for its members, and intends to challenge the government's position in the European courts.

Schoolteachers

The School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) took on board the request of the secretary of state for education to make a recommendation on a three-year pay award for teachers in England and Wales.

It proposed a pay increase of 2.45% from 1 September 2008, with additional increases for some London teachers. It also recommended "indicative" increases of 2.3% from September 2009 and 2.3% from September 2010.

Although it recommended a multi-year deal, the STRB emphasised the importance of ensuring that a "robust" review mechanism was in place to give "reasonable risk-sharing between employers and employees". The review body emphasised that a review of this nature was a condition of its endorsement of a three-year award.

It therefore proposed to review the 2009 and 2010 recommendations "without reference to a trigger or the secretary of state’s discretion".

Although some other teachers' unions expressed their dissatisfaction with the award, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) was the only one to take industrial action, staging a one-day strike in April. The NUT held another strike ballot in October/November 2008, but decided not to go ahead with further action in spite of a small majority voting in favour. Instead, the NUT committed its continued support to the TUC's Speak Up for Public Services campaign.

In June, Ed Balls, secretary of state for children, schools and families, asked the review body to report by June 2009 on the appropriateness of the proposed pay increases for 2009 and 2010.

In spite of the inflation-linked reopening clause in the pay award covering the period to August 2008 being triggered, the STRB declined to seek a remit to review the pay of teachers for 2007/08, saying the evidence was not compelling enough to convince it for the need to do so.

The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers agreed a three-year pay award for teachers and associated professionals in Scotland that came into effect from 1 April 2008. The deal gives an increase of 2.25% in the first year, 2.5% in the second year, and 2.4% in the final year.

School support staff

The Department for Children, Schools and Families announced that a School Support Staff Negotiating Body (external website) would come into being at the end of September 2008. This body will be responsible for establishing and implementing a framework for negotiations on the pay and conditions of school support staff in maintained schools in England. Philip Ashmore, a member of the NHS Pay Review Body, has been appointed independent chair of the new body. The move was welcomed by unions, with Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, saying it was a "very important development".

Higher education

The final two stages of the five-stage, three-year pay award agreed by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES), covering 2006 to 2009, were implemented in 2008. The deal paid the greater of 3% or £420 from May 2008, and the greater of 2.5% or the September retail prices index (RPI) from 1 October 2008. September RPI stood at 5%, and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) said that despite having to make "difficult adjustments to planned budgets", its members indicated that they would keep their part of the agreement. It added, however, that this increase would be taken into account when pay negotiations started for the next increase due in August 2009.

A further element of the 2006-09 pay agreement was the commitment to reform national bargaining for the sector. As part of this, a "New JNCHES" (external website) has been established, and in September the members (UCEA and the higher education unions with the exception of the University and College Union (UCU) agreed a constitution for the new body and a timetable for the next round of pay negotiations. The New JNCHES will also discuss higher education pensions and the national framework agreement for the modernisation of pay structures in higher education.

Further education

The final offer from the Association of Colleges (AoC), of an increase from 1 October 2008, rather than the 1 August review date, was accepted by the six unions involved in further education in England. The offer increases salaries by 3.2%, or £550, whichever is greater. This brings the minimum wage recommended by the AoC to £6.91 an hour. Allowances also increase by 3.2%. The increase for those on the lowest pay point as a result of the £550 underpin is worth 4.32%.

NHS

This was the first year in which the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) made recommendations following the extension of the remit of the Review Body for Nursing and Other Health Professions in July 2007 and a change of name. The review body now covers 1.3 million NHS staff in the UK, except doctors, dentists and very senior managers.

The NHSPRB's main pay recommendation for 2008 was an increase of 2.75% on Agenda for Change pay rates from 1 April. However, at the time the NHSPRB was preparing its report for 2008, separate discussions on a possible multi-year agreement were taking place between the Department of Health (DH), NHS Employers (which represents trusts in England), and the two largest health unions: the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison.

On 7 April 2008, health secretary Alan Johnson announced that the DH had agreed a proposed three-year pay package with NHS Employers, Unison and the RCN. The three-year deal incorporated the NHSPRB recommendation for a 2.75% increase on all pay points and allowances in the first year, 2008/09, with a 2.4% increase in the second year and a 2.25% increase in the final year. The deal also included some restructuring of pay bands in the second and third years.

The deal was initially agreed for England, but the health departments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland subsequently agreed to the proposal. The package was subject to consultation by all the unions covered by Agenda for Change. Although several unions, including Unite and the Royal College of Midwives opposed the deal, the unions representing the majority of staff accepted the agreement, and in June a joint statement was issued by 12 health unions agreeing to sign, but saying that they would not hesitate to trigger the reopener clause (see below) if inflation continued to rise. Unite, however, did not accept the deal, which it said equated to a pay cut.

Throughout the period of the deal, the NHSPRB will monitor the situation. If it finds evidence of a "significant and material change in recruitment and retention and wider economic and labour market conditions" it will be able to request a remit from the secretary of state to review the agreement.

Shortly after the deal had been agreed, Unison announced that it would trigger the reopening clause in the deal, and said it would submit new evidence to the pay review body, making the case for the pay rates for 2009/10 to be reviewed.

In October, the health unions made a joint announcement that they had submitted evidence to the NHSPRB supporting their case for talks to be reopened.

Karen Jennings, staff side chair, said: “Hardworking staff across the NHS accepted a three-year pay deal six months ago believing government and economic predictions that inflation had peaked and would start to fall. This clearly hasn’t happened, no one then could have predicted the worldwide credit crunch or that inflation would hit a 16-year high.

“NHS workers, particularly the low paid, are finding it extremely tough to make ends meet. Keeping down pay now will have serious consequences for the future of the health service. The NHS needs to be an attractive career option and that means paying workers decently. The reopener clause was intended to be a safety net for NHS staff, they need that safety net now.”

Unite continued to protest against the "derisory" pay deal, and held a day of work-to-rule action on 3 December. On 16 December, the NHSPRB announced that it had decided not to ask the government to reopen talks, but would review the position in autumn 2009.

Doctors and dentists are covered by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (RBDDR). The review body recommended that all salaried members of its remit group should receive the same basic increase of 2.2% from 1 April 2008. This group includes consultants, salaried general medical practitioners, and doctors and dentists in training. The value of the awards available to consultants was also increased by 2.2%.

The awards for independent contractor general medical practitioners and general dental practitioners were considered separately.

For general dental practitioners in England and Wales, the RBDDR recommended an increase in the gross earnings base of 3.4%, intended to give an increase in income of 2.2% after taking account of increased expenses. The same increase was applied in Scotland and Northern Ireland to gross fees, commitment payments and sessional fees for taking part in emergency dental services.

For independent contractor general medical practitioners, the review body recommended an increase in the global sum of 2.7% which, after taking into account practice expenses, gives an increase in income in line with the general uplift of 2.2%. However, because the review body recommended that this should be offset by reducing the correction factor payments, it acknowledged that most practices would not receive any increase in payments as a result of the increase in the global sum, and that expenditure under the global sum would increase by approximately 0.2%. This recommendation was accepted by the government, but because it involved negotiating changes to the general medical services contract with the British Medical Association, the implementation was delayed until 1 October. Those practices that should have benefited received payments to compensate for the delay.

The "very senior managers" in the NHS in England were added to the remit of the Senior Salaries Review Body in July 2007. In the light of settlements elsewhere in the NHS, the review body recommended a 2.2% increase to the pay of the very senior managers, from 1 April 2008, saying it was "not persuaded by the government’s argument on affordability". The Department of Health wrote to employers to say that executive staff who are not covered by the very senior managers' pay framework should receive increases to basic pay of no more than 2.2%.

This article was written by Rachel Sharp, researcher/writer, Pay and Benefits Bulletin.

Table 1: Example local government pay settlements, 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement

Previous settlement

Local authorities, Scotland - chief officials (1,064)

First year of three-year pay deal: 2.5% increase to pay scales from 1.4.08.

2.5% in second year of two-year award, from 1.4.07.

Local authorities, England and Wales - craft and associated employees (6,000)

2.45% increase on pay rates and pay-related allowances, from 1.4.08.

2.475% on all pay rates and pay-related allowances from 1.4.07.

Local authorities, England and Wales - chief executives (407)

2.45% basic increase from 1.4.08.

2.475% basic increase from 1.4.07.

Local authorities, England and Wales - teachers in residential establishments (1,650)

First year of three-year pay award: 2.45% increase to pay scales and allowances from 1.9.08.

2.5% increase to pay scales and allowances in second year of two-year deal from 1.9.07.

Local authorities - firefighters and control staff (55,000)

2.45% increase to pay rates and continuing professional development payments from 1.7.08.

2.4% increase from 1.7.07.

Local authorities - principal fire officers (240)

2% basic increase from 1.1.08.

2.3% increase in second year of two-year pay deal from 1.1.07.

Local authorities, England and Wales - workshops for the blind (560)

2.45% increase to pay rates, plus an additional £100 per year, from 1.4.08.

2.475% increase to pay rates from 1.4.07.

Local authorities, England and Wales - coroners (150)

Salary points increased by 2.45% from 1.4.08.

2.475% increase to salary points from 1.4.07.

Table 2: Pay awards at opted-out local authorities, 2008

JANUARY 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement (basic  increase)

Previous settlement (basic increase)

Tandridge District Council - all (350)

2.72%

3.3%

Waverley Borough Council - all (500)

2.75%

3.7%

APRIL 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement (basic  increase)

Previous settlement (basic increase)

Aylesbury Vale District Council - all (822)

2.7% across-the-board increase plus different amounts for various grades to align them with market rates, ranging from nil to 2.88%.

3.0%

Buckinghamshire County Council - all except executives (9,200)

2.5% on salaries up to £20,739, 2.25% on salaries above this level.

2.5%

Cherwell District Council - all (600)

3.0%

3.0% in final year of three-year award.

East Hampshire District Council - white-collar staff (320)

3.0%

3.0%

Hertsmere Borough Council - all (350)

2.5%

3.0%

Huntingdonshire District Council - all (1,300)

3.3%

3.0%

Kent County Council - all in Kent Scheme (25,000)

2.5%

2.0%

Maidstone Borough Council - all (650)

2.5%

2.5%

Mid Bedfordshire District Council - all (300)

4.0%

3.0%

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council - manual, clerical and professional staff (600)

2.7%

2.7%

Shepway District Council - all (550)

2.5%

2.5%

South Oxfordshire District Council - office-based staff (283)

4.1%

3.4%

Surrey County Council - all on local pay arrangements (17,000)

2.75%

2.0%

Surrey Heath Borough Council - all (287)

2.13% pay increase from 1.4.08, and an additional 0.5% from 1.10.08.

3.13% pay increase from 1.4.07, and an additional 0.49% from 1.10.07.

Thanet District Council - all (800)

2.75%

3.86%

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - all (447)

2.5%

3.0%

Wealden District Council - all (550)

2.75%

2.5%

JULY 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement (basic  increase)

Previous settlement (basic increase)

Ashford Borough Council - all (450)

2.8%

2.9%

Babergh District Council - all (300)

3.0%

3.2%

City of London Corporation - all (3,500)

2.5%

2.75%

Dover District Council - all (467)

2.5%

2.5%

Guildford Borough Council - all (1,200)

3.0%

3.0%

Runnymede Borough Council - all (500)

3.0%

2.8%

SEPTEMBER 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement (basic  increase)

Previous settlement (basic increase)

Rother District Council - all (280)

3.0% in final year of three-year award.

3.0% in second year of three-year award.

Table 3: Example central government pay settlements, 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement

Previous settlement

Armed Forces Pay Review Body - armed forces (174,780)

2.6% increase in basic pay and allowances from 1.4.08.

A 3.3% increase in basic pay for the majority of services personnel from 1.4.07. Personnel on pay level 1 received 9.2% and those on pay level 2 received 6.2%.

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform - all below senior civil service (2,735)

Pay awards from a 3.7% paybill increase, with individual consolidated awards ranging from nil to 4.88%, from 1.8.08.

Pay awards from a 3.48% paybill increase, with individual consolidated awards ranging from nil to 5.11%, from 1.8.07.

Department for Children, Schools and Families - all except senior civil service (2,700)

First year of three-year pay award worth 4% of paybill in each year, plus bonuses from a pot worth 1.3% of paybill, from 1.4.08. Junior staff (executive officers and below) also get a £200 non-consolidated payment in each year of the deal.

Second year of two-year deal gives average 3.8% increase for satisfactory performers from 1.4.07.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport - all except senior civil service (450)

4.3% average increase in earnings, from 1.8.08.

3.5% average increase in earnings from 1.8.07.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - all except senior civil service (4,700)

Paybill increase of 3.25% from 1.7.08.

Overall paybill increase of 2.9% from 1.7.07.

Department for Work and Pensions - all except senior civil service (113,248)

 

3.6% paybill increase in second year of three-year deal, plus non-consolidated individual performance bonuses and top-up payments, from 1.7.08.

3.6% paybill increase in first year of three-year deal, plus 1.4% for non-consolidated individual performance bonuses and top-up payments from 1.7.07.

Home Office - all non-industrial staff below senior civil service (23,311)

Second year of three-year pay award: 3.39% increase to average earnings from 1.7.08.

First year of three-year pay award: 3.41% increase to average earnings from 1.7.07.

Welsh Assembly Government - all except senior civil service (6,500)

Second year of three-year pay deal: 3.2% paybill increase from 1.4.08.

First year of three-year award: 3.2% paybill increase from 1.4.07.

Northern Ireland Civil Service - all except some agencies and senior civil service (25,000)

Third year of three-year deal: 4% average earnings growth from 1.8.08.

Second year of three-year deal: increase in earnings growth of 4% from 1.8.07.

Table 4: Example education pay settlements, 2008

Organisation - employee group (nos. covered)

Latest settlement

Previous settlement

Schoolteachers - England and Wales (525,590)

First year of three-year deal: 2.45% basic increase from 1.9.08.

Second year of two-year deal: 2.5% basic increase from 1.9.07.

Local authorities (Scotland) - schoolteachers and associated professionals (54,000)

First year of three-year deal: 2.25% increase from 1.4.08.

Final year of four-year deal: 2.25% increase from 1.4.07, plus supplemental increase of 0.5% covering December 2007 to March 2008 as a result of a reopening clause.

Further education (England) - lecturers, managers and support staff (230,000)

The award gives an increase of 3.2% on salaries, or £550, whichever is greater, over a 10-month period, from 1.10.08.

2% pay increase from 1.8.07 and 1% from 1.2.08, with the second instalment rounded up to ensure overall award is at least £500.

Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff - lecturers and support staff (300,000)

Final stage of three-year pay award effective from 1.10.08: 5% basic increase (September RPI).

Second year of three-year pay award: 3% basic increase from 1.8.07, plus a further increase of 3% or £420 from 1.5.08.

Sixth-form colleges - teachers (8,575)

2.45% on all salary points from 1.9.08.

2.5% on all salary points from 1.9.07.

Sixth-form colleges - support staff (5,197)

2.45% on all pay spine points except lowest two points (8 and 9) which were increased by 3.6%, from 1.9.08.

2.5% basic increase plus additional increase to lowest pay spine point (8) bringing it to £6 an hour, from 1.9.07.

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