The 2015 Pay Award

During the previous few months we have advised numerous schools on how to apply the 2015 pay award and our advice remained consistent throughout i.e. there is no automatic right for teachers on the top of the main pay range to have their pay increased by 2% and consideration should be given to only increasing pay by 2% for those teachers who have met the criteria for pay progression. As you will know, many schools simply increased the pay of those at the top of the main pay range by 2%, but last week the DfE confirmed: 

“The maxima of the national main pay ranges were increased by 2% from 1 September 2015. However, it is for schools to determine whether and in what circumstances the salaries of individual teachers should be increased by 2%. There is no statutory requirement for all teachers at the top of the main pay range to receive the full 2%.” 

That is not to say that automatically increasing pay by 2% was wrong (indeed the unions were advocating an opposing view), but what is clear is that schools have options when it comes to pay reviews and the link to performance is becoming stronger.