FE pay offer 2025 in England - Consultative Ballot

  • FE pay offer 2025 in England - Consultative Ballot

    This ballot will close on Monday the 10th of November at 5pm

  • The Further Education unions (Unite, UCU, Unison, GMB and NEU) submitted a joint pay claim 2025-26 to the Association of Colleges (AoC) in May 2025. The two key elements of the pay claim are a demand for a pay increase of 10% or £3000 whichever is greater and progress on new national bargaining arrangements which can deliver agreements which are binding on FE employers who are members of the Association of Colleges.

    The claim was submitted at a time when FE unions calculate that funding for English Further Education colleges has been increased by £1.2bn with the most recent increase of £160m being announced by Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education on 22nd May 2025. The main increase in funding has been aimed at provision for 16 to 18 year old students whilst funding for Adult Education skills budgets has been cut by 6%.

    At the National Joint Forum (NJF) on Tuesday 26th June 2025 the AoC announced that it would not be in a position to make a pay offer until September, primarily because FE colleges had only just received their funding allocations for 2025-26 and the AoC need to consult members colleges on the level of pay award they could afford. However, they recognised the expectation that any pay offer had to take account of the pay offer to schoolteachers of 4% for 2025-26 and the AoC did not want to see the pay gap between School and Further Education staff widen any further.

    At a further National Joint Forum meeting on Wednesday 17th September 2025, the AoC made a pay offer the most important element is a recommendation that member colleges should make a make an award of 4% for 2025/26 for all staff, where their financial circumstances and funding allocations allow them to do so.

    At the NJF meeting the FE unions urged AoC to make a joint approach to government to discuss and agree new national bargaining arrangements for the sector that can deliver binding national agreements including on pay. The joint unions are prepared to join the AoC in joint lobbying of government to ensure sustainable funding for the sector which will enable to recruit and retain highly valued staff.

    I include a joint statement from FE unions on the next page in response to this pay offer for 2025-26, which includes an Appendix 1 setting out the AoC’s pay offer for 2025-26.

    Your National Negotiators are recommending that you vote to reject the pay offer on the grounds that the 4% pay offer is not applicable to all AOC member colleges and therefore acceptance of this offer will not guarantee that members receive this award. In addition, the pay offer is below the 4.6% Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation figure for August 2025.

    It is the strong view of your National Negotiators that the only way to achieve pay rises for all staff is through the achievement of binding national bargaining arrangements. We will be making this position clear in further discussions with the AoC on future bargaining arrangements.

    Regards,

    Andy Murray
    National Officer, Education Sector

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  • Your National Negotiators are recommending that you vote to reject the pay offer on the grounds that the 4% pay offer is not applicable to all AOC member colleges and therefore acceptance of this offer will not guarantee that members receive this award. In addition, the pay offer is below the 4.6% Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation figure for August 2025.

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