Public sector workers, whats your pay rise?

Variable - 5% with some grades getting less to "smooth out curves" and the lower grades getting more.

I don't know yet. I'm expecting 3-4% I also think there might be some background discussions about shifting to a 4 day week, just not sure if my employer is bold enough to stick their head over the parapet to be one of the first.

I think where there is no budget for pay rise (i.e. everywhere), changes in working patterns is not a bad alternative. Appreciate this is not possible for all workplaces and politically it is difficult to do, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't try..

My bit of the civil service is coming to the end of what seemed a very generous 3 year deal after 10 years of austerity, although various terms and benefits were removed as part of the deal.

Low expectations for next year,even if the Tories sack 20% of the civil service as Boris was planning.

Wife is local government, got 1.5% and expects the same again.

We are OK at the moment,but I have just voted for strike action to show support for colleagues who are not as fortunate and are beginning to struggle.

5% for my wife - NHS Scotland. As hels says there is also a "floor" rate so the lowest paid get a slightly higher increase.

Civil service, Non-departmentmental government body.

We have not even been told what we are getting yet for 2022 yet it should have been announced in April and brought in shortly after. It will probably be quite low 1-2%.
We also have this strange pay system where certain roles get a far better increase than other very similar roles - it’s all pretty crap and divisive tbh.
Last year they introduced a scheme at my grade where the pay rise would’ve been a wage decrease and a removal of overtime pay - strangely not many opted into that scheme.

We are not allowed to strike, by law, otherwise I’d be up for that.

My employer (Fire service) have just revised their offer to us up from 2%, which was frankly insulting considering the last 12 years and the current inflation rate, to 5% which whilst isn’t exactly going to be life changing is I think likely to be the best we would get even if we did take industrial action.

the problem with all this is there is no new money that comes  from the magic money tree that the tories shake bare regularly to bail them out. Any rise has to come within the existing budget, so there will be cuts job losses/natural wastage etc within all PS.

Its the Tory way

Arms length Government body, Environment sector.

2% fixed value consolidated pay increase.
Unconsolidated (one off) award of £750 or £1110 depending on performance rating.
5% increase to standby

Unions haven't agreed it yet, it was due in July.

Think it was 1.75%, but was a sliding scale dependent on grade, so some got 3% in a bid to narrow the pay bands i believe, those on under a set amount were brought up to a higher minimum so had higher, but more varying pay rises.

3% most likely - I'm a professional services manager at a University. It's currently under negotiation with unions, but our exec start paying us the uplift whilst in negotiation so we don't have to get back pay unless they agree to a higher figure. Last uni i worked at didn't do this and we once had to wait 11 months to get our uplift
I don't expect we'll get anymore, but it would be nice as the most I've had in the last 8 years is 1.5% and usually 1%

We're a real living wage employer so lowest bands just got 10%+

Dept for Education = 3.5% and an unconsolidated £500 (that's for financial year 2022-23, it was confirmed in August as usual).

It was 18%, however it was also too late because as you might expect from such an increase, I was chronically underpaid and leaving.

@Bruneep - the job losses within the PS aren't too bad a thing as in my experience with dealing with many facets is that there is a lot of dead wood anyway and over bloating of people who really do not do that much. You just wouldn't get away with it in the private sector. As long the losses come from the right area then it could be a good thing for the remaining staff.

NHS, think its 4% gross but not worked it out properly as Pensions contributions % going up next month, this always happens every pay increase.

4% which is leading to ballots for a dispute.

I was PS for 29.5 yrs there is only so much you can cut and demoralise the staff as you do so.

More dead wood in HOC yet they seem immune from any cuts to fund their "independent pay rises" that they get awarded

NHS here 4%, however increased pension contributions have seen at least 2 of my colleagues who are at the lower end of the pay scales taking home less money.
Union is balloting for strike action although I understand that the government is looking to outlaw strike action within the NHS (and other organisations)

University - 3% with additional 2% for a year, which means no pay rise next year effectively. Some lower grades re-aligned, but they really need more ! Unison strikes at present over pay.

there is a lot of dead wood anyway and over bloating of people who really do not do that much

My experience of the Civil Service is that they don't target the "dead wood and people who really do not do that much" in any cuts.

I can only speak for ministerial depts, but any remaining dead wood was all gone by about 2018 - we've been hacking into the heartwood for quite a while.

Police - we got a blanket payment of £1900 for all ranks. So depending on rank - between 8-5 %.

@bruneep yes I was aware that the government are refusing to fund any rise, and I have only seen the release from the union so I don't know what the employers side is proposing to fund the new offer. I suspect that where I am (London) there are some savings that could be made, but the service has already been cut massively since 2010 including shutting 10% of our stations. I suspect we'll find out before long.

the job losses within the PS aren’t too bad a thing as in my experience with dealing with many facets is that there is a lot of dead wood anyway and over bloating of people who really do not do that much. You just wouldn’t get away with it in the private sector. As long the losses come from the right area then it could be a good thing for the remaining staff.

Yep, the loss of all those public sector jobs hasn't caused too many issues over the last 10 years.

Not enough taxes being collected, not enough Police, not enough CPS and court staff to get justice for victims, not enough social workers to stop kids dying, not enough teachers to deliver education and chances to the next generation, not enough people in the NHS to bring down waiting lists, not enough environmental enforcement to stop all that shit in the rivers, not enough people to process the backlog of asylum claims,not enough passport staff to let people go on holiday.....etc etc

Yeah, we're all a pile of lazy spongers we can do without.

I'm not hearing about soaring productivity in the private sector, funnily enough.

I think ours works out at about 4% (NHS) but they're changing the pension contributions from next month so I think my pension actually goes down a bit.

I'm quite happy with it tbh as our wages aren't bad at all.

I’m a research software engineer at one of the national labs.
I’ll get 2% this year, following the 0% we got last year.
We are massively underpaid compared to our market value and have real trouble with retention and recruitment. One of my colleagues literally doubled his wage when he moved into the private sector.
“Think of the pension” has become something of a mantra.

Central government. 2% overall but bottom end of pay bands getting a bit more than those at the top so probably 1-3% for individuals.

Think I may be in the same civil service department as MCTD. @lamp 's comments are a bit unpleasant, deliberately confrontational and a simple troll. There's no dead wood left anywhere that I can see within my end of the civil service or the other public organisations that I deal with; everyone is working flat out to bring in funds and provide the best services that we can in terrible conditions. Yet, those in better paid work out in the private sector love to throw mud around without any knowledge of what it means to have vast backlogs of work and not enough resources to deal with it.
We're still far behind the curve, after ten + years of austerity, 0 or 1% rises all that time, punishing pension increases and more NI too. So despite 5% earlier this year, 5% last year and 3 the year before, I'm still taking home about the same as I was 15 years ago. Try that for size..
I've also spent most of that time under a continuing threat of redundancy, an office closure where many did reluctantly leave, with then a brief reprieve for a temporary move to a transitional site and impending redundancy again. Then a last minute stay of execution to become a rare homeworker attached to a regional centre far away. So all my new colleagues and support network are a couple of hours travel away. Over 400 jobs gone from Dundee and barely a peep from the press.

I reckon by a rough thought or two, I've only received pay rises in about half the years I've been working. So, I've certainly been losing out for years. Who knows what we will get this year. German company, their economy is probably worse than ours and they are known for tightening the belts early. My job is likely at risk next year.

Original offer was 2% gone up to 5%. Balloting for strike action. Last year's pay rise was made on the promise that this year's would have been inflation+ if they'd offered 5% at first negotiation we'd probably have accepted it.

Every year negotiation starts in fed and it take almost a year for the agreement so back pay is almost always crippling.

1.8% average, union rejected, revised offer of 2.2% which union supported and was approved, low paid workers had reasonable rises

Pisstake

Funny enough we have a massive retention problem and roughly 40% turnover

Re think of the pension, ours has been eroded so it’s slightly worse than you’d get with a bank. And I keep expecting there to be a raid on what is already there on the grounds of affordability? Illegal probably, but they have form of trying to pull fast ones. Ie, the age discrimination cockup last time they “reformed”…..ie… stripped your contractual benefits back

I’m also expecting the redundancy terms to be changed based on the fact they will be looking to cut back on the PS

I'm in Higher Education (professional services rather than academic):

2020: 0%
2021: 1%
2022: 3%

Almost a carbon copy of @nerd.

I’m a scientific software engineer at an arms length body.
We haven't got details of this FY. Meant to be announce "ASAP" after April but last financial year's rise of 1% wasn't confirmed until November/December last year.
We are massively underpaid compared to our market value and have real trouble with retention and recruitment.
“Think of the pension” has become something of a mantra.

2% This is my 13th year without a proper pay rise. Sounds like I work for the same people as pictonroad.

Think I may be in the same civil service department as MCTD.......There’s no dead wood left anywhere that I can see within my end of the civil service or the other public organisations that I deal with;

I agree there's no dead wood left -old attitudes (plus their useful experience) had mostly gone by 2018.

Not to say there aren't issues with inefficiency and poor management, usually due to ever changing government priorities.

Not seeing many people lining up to take these cushy easy jobs they like to say exist

2% after the department refused to meet the union with ACAS
original offer was c.3.5%/yr for 3 yrs with reduction of holiday, sick and redundancy

Not seeing many people lining up to take these cushy easy jobs they like to say exist

On the flip side why complain but stay put when you could be earning more with less pressure in the private sector?

I last worked in the public sector 15 years ago and there were plenty of people getting by doing the bare minimum leaving others to cover their work. From friends who still work in the public sector that's still true but but those who actually care have even more to do.

On the flip side why complain but stay put when you could be earning more with less pressure in the private sector?

Some of us like to feel that we're doing useful work, rather than just making some psychopath businessman even richer or helping some American megacorp destroy the planet.

This is particularly prescient in the tech sector. I could work for Facebook for 3 times my salary but I think that Facebook are an evil corporation that have damaged the mental health of countless adults and children. I could work for Amazon with their Union busting.

I know people who work for private companies that moan about lazy bastards doing nothing, so don't come on here making out it's only the PS that has lazy people.

for @Gribs, I have my own escape plan in place, which requires more training and involves a career change when I hit the age I can claim the first chunk of pension, relatively shortly.
These days it's more that we're desperately filling in where gaps rapidly appear all across the business; few new staff stay for long. New entrants rapidly realise that there's no truth in the 'pay scale', so that they realise they're going to be stuck at the bottom forever until or unless you get promoted. Many newcomers, especially the young, seem to think that they are experienced and ready for promotion at 18-24 moths, which is hilarious as it takes a good ten years to become truly proficient at what can be a very tricky and confrontational job at times. It's utterly thankless, which is why I'm leaving as soon as I can. The snidey comments dripping down from Westmonster don't exactly help; nor does the partisanship and division being deliberately stoked in every single field of UK politics. Anti-growth..? Anyone who resists is labelled by truss in an attempt to divide.

I should make it clear that I certainly wouldn't go back to work in the public sector with the state it's in. Better pay for productive existing staff and competitive recruitment would be a start, along with getting rid of the less productive existing staff. That's obviously easier said than done and true for most workplaces.

I'm a teacher in a sixth form college.

Last year we were offered an increase of 1% from 1 September 2021 on all pay points and allowances and an additional 0.5% pay increase on pay points 6, 7 and 8. So, as someone on point 9, I got 1%.

Negotiations for September 2022 are still ongoing, because they usually wait to see what happens in schools and try to match that. My union is balloting on strike action, so that tells you how they're going.

Since 2010 we've had 0% or below inflation pay rises, increased pension contributions for a worse pension, and a 5% increase in contact time with more students per class. So, doing more work for less money.

New entrants rapidly realise that there’s no truth in the ‘pay scale’, so that they realise they’re going to be stuck at the bottom forever until or unless you get promoted

I think this is the real kicker. When the jobs are advertised they advertise the pay band as being between X and Y per year. However, policy is to pay the recruit at the band minimum, despite any previous experience! So they are paid X. There is no "point per year" pay scale increment, and hasn't been for ten years. So there is absolutely no way to progress to Y. It's false advertising, really.
The only way to get more money is get promoted, but that is like dead-man's shoes and narrows rapidly once you get to my grade (band E for any UKRI people).

The only way to get more money is get promoted

and then just end up stuck at the bottom of that scale (as I have been for a number of years)

moving across to a comparable job, directly opposite in the private sector for me would require a complete suspension of morals, which I'm not prepared to do. So I stay put and do my best to support this country and more importantly, the people who live in it by being as effective as I can in an important job.

moving across to a comparable job, directly opposite in the private sector for me would require a complete suspension of morals, which I’m not prepared to do. So I stay put and do my best to support this country and more importantly, the people who live in it by being as effective as I can in an important job.

For me too.