Summer Term 2023

Welcome to our Summer Term updates 

We very much hope that you are feeling refreshed and prepared for the new term ahead.

A quick reminder that we published our Spring termly newsletters - HR Briefing in February 2023 (HR customers can access this here) and HR Bytes which takes an in-depth look at HR issues was published in March 2023 (again HR customers can access this here).

Don't forget that you can also view ongoing ad hoc news and updates via our Latest News page.

School Teachers’ Pay 2023/24

On 29th March the Unions confirmed that the DfE have offered a £1,000 one-off payment for their members this year and a 4.3 per cent pay rise for most teachers in 2023-24. The National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT suggested that its members should reject the offer.  This is on top of the 5% pay increase enforced in September when the inflation index stood at 10.1%. The government claims that this offer is fully funded, but the Unions indicate that the majority of schools would have to make cuts next year to afford it.

The Trade Unions committed to undertake consultative ballots on whether to accept the offer. 

• On 3rd April the NEU announced that their consultative ballot rejected the offer by 98% on a turnout of 66%. The NEU, having secured a mandate for strike action for schools will write to the Secretary of State to inform her of the next two days for strike action on 27 April and 2 May

• On 8th April NASUWT announced that it will re-ballot teachers for industrial action after members voted to reject the government’s pay offer

• NAHT and ASCL have rejected the government's pay offer.

Industrial Action Update

We start the Summer Term with strike action by teachers  and thought it would be useful to highlight some of the resources we have available to support your school through a period of industrial dispute.

HR Customers can find detailed guidance both on the legal and practical implications of industrial action here, plus a selection of detailed FAQs and a range of template letters confirming deduction of pay following strike action.

As the concerns around pay are driven strongly by the current cost of living crisis you can also access resources to assist you in supporting the financial wellbeing of your staff here.

Although industrial action will no doubt cause disruption we would advise schools wherever possible to be sympathetic to staff concerns about the rising cost of living and the impact it is having on their pay.  The industrial action is nationally led - which may affect the tone of your communications with staff. Ultimately, staff are free to take action or not, however, showing that you understand their concerns may go some way to maintaining workforce engagement - the school is not responsible for the pay deal on the table. The ‘trade dispute’ with staff is with the government rather than being a matter which you as their local employer have control over. You can take control of the communications with your staff by considering sending out a sensitively worded communication to help them make up their minds about whether they genuinely wish to take action, emphasising that whilst you are sympathetic to their concerns over pay, you also know that staff genuinely want to do right by their pupils.  

You can find details of our online training offer for this term on our Training page.