School support staff employed by councils have been offered a pay rise of almost £2,000.
The across-the-board offer of at least £1,925 from the National Employers for local government service, which sets pay for around 1.4 million workers, is worth 9.42 per cent for the lowest-paid, and 3.88 per cent for those above the top of the pay spine.
The deal, if accepted, would come into effect from April this year. It is similar to an offer agreed last summer and backdated to April 2022.
Councils linked last year’s hike for the lowest-paid to the rising minimum wage, calling it a “mitigating step” to stop many support staff falling onto it.
Sian Goding, chair of the National Employers, said under the deal the lowest-paid, currently earning £20,441, would have seen their pay rise by £4,033, or 22 per cent, since April 2021.
The increase in the national paybill as a result of the offer would be £1.09 billion, a rise of 6.42 per cent.
Goding said the organisation was “acutely aware of the additional pressure this year’s offer will place on already hard-pressed council finances, as it would need to be paid for from existing budgets”.
“However, they believe their offer is fair to employees, given the wider economic backdrop.”
A spokesperson for the GMB union said it had received the offer, and had also secured a “commitment that GMB had called for to review and refresh all school support staff roles which haven’t been updated for ten years”.
“We will now discuss the offer further with the Local Government Association.”