Employee Benefits poll: Almost half (46%) of organisations do not think recent public sector pay rises go far enough to support employees, according to a survey of Employee Benefits readers.
Meanwhile, 45% think that they do go far enough to support staff, whereas 9% were unsure if they do or not.
Last month, Employee Benefits reported that the government offered more than one million public sector workers pay rises of between 5%-7%. These include consultants, dentists and GPs in England, prison officers in England and Wales, armed forces, senior civil servants, junior doctors in England and school teachers in England. They have received rises of 6%, 7%, 5% and a £1,000 consolidated increase, 5.5%, 8.8%, and 6.5%, respectively.
The 6.5% pay award for teachers will boost starting salaries to at least £30,000 across the country, representing an up to 7.1% increase. This is on top of the 5.4% pay rise in 2022/23, resulting in pay increasing by more than 12% over two years. In addition, police officers in England and Wales across all ranks will receive a 7% pay rise.
The government’s Education Hub said: “The government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. Schools will receive an additional £525 million in the 2023-24 financial year and £900 million in the 2024-25 financial year. Our strong expectation is that all schools will use these additional funds for teacher pay as is intended.”
Steve Barclay, health and social care secretary, added: “We’re giving junior doctors, consultants and senior NHS staff a fair and reasonable pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review bodies. It also balances the need to keep inflation in check, while giving some staff significant pay increases.”