2025-26 New JNCHES pay round

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The full and final offer is a 1.4% uplift.

https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/15126/UCEA-full-and-final-offer---May-2025/pdf/UCEA_full_and_final_offer_-_May_2025.pdf

A statement from the joint HE trade unions suggests this is “…a real-terms pay cut of about 1.8%…”.

https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/15125/New-JNCHES-TU-joint-statement-160525---Rev/pdf/New_JNCHES_TU_joint_statement_160525_-_Rev.pdf

This is hugely disappointing, but sadly not unexpected.

I wasn’t even aware this was going on! Not surprising really, given the impending implosion of the sector. Aren’t UCU still disputing last year’s offer? How does that work?

@DrUptonsGardenGnome

As far as I know, every offer for the last several years has remained under dispute. The UCU organise strikes, but nothing ever changes with the full and final pay offer.

It's a massive slap in the face after all we've been through - the VS, redundancies and those of us left covering about 3 FTE equivalent posts each (PS) 😕

I’m still waiting for my place to pay last years pay rise so I won’t hold my breath

Yes, we’ll have to wait until next summer for the measly 1.4% of be implemented. The effect of the delay is a full year with no pay rise.

We had a promotion freeze last year too, and two of us in my department were in the middle of applying (it was announced literally the same day as the deadline) and neither of us would have got a pay rise (both high up on SL and applying for chair).
I'd much rather be a professor than have a 1.4% pay rise.

Because they spend their time calling for boycotts on Israel and terfs ...

I really don't see the point in trying to negotiate the 35 hours week. As if any of us could afford to stop working weekends or long days just to catch up with the workload. Pay and pensions should be the focus.

I'd prefer not to get a pay cut if it helps avoid my institution going bankrupt. Rather than call a strike over the pay settlement UCU should be making a fuss over the NI increase.

Agree. The NHS, schools and LG were exempt - unis should have been as well.

Is anyone's institution actually paying the increase from next month? We've heard nothing at my place, so assume it's being deferred until as late as possible (next July, I think?).

No communication about it at my place yet. Not holding my breath.

Nope - radio silence at my place. Local UCU currently getting terribly annoyed about Palestine Action and new guidance for teaching schoolchildren about gender though.

It's not the last several years. It is every single year since 2008.

We’ve had an email from the VC to say it will be paid from 1 August.

Still radio silence here. So assume it's not being paid. Tens of millions of pounds available to pay external consultants for multiple projects, though.

No comms from my place (Russell Group) but I did notice they’d updated the pay scale with a 1.4% uplift from 1st August.

Same here. I'm point 44 and I think it's going up to just under £59k.

if they ditched all the politics they could attract many more staff to rejoin.

And then if they also just went on strike over one issue such as pay (not an endless shopping list of demands) they could probably force a concession. As it is they don't have anywhere the numbers to have much impact on the universities services so no-one is going to listen to them.

Announcement for my institution (post 92) is that it will be implemented- but we have to wait until Sept. So they’re withholding a month’s worth of it???!!

They’re allowed to defer the payment up until July 2026 (and not backdate it), I expect that will happen in a fair few places. So it’s basically a year without a pay rise, because, let’s face it, whatever pay rise there is the following year won’t be implemented just one month after the 2025 rise. There is still a deathly silence at my place, and I’m not expecting any implementation this year, even though we are not in the dire straits of some other institutions.

Finally received the 2024 pay rise this July ( the very last date they could push it back towards) Promotion process frozen for two years as is recruitment to vacant positions. I’m guessing another year for the 2025 pay rise

I’m very relieved to be at the tail end of my career and feel for those early/mid career academics. Plate Glass university

@GCAcademic Ah, I wasn’t aware that it could be deferred.
Hopeless, isn’t it? And I have no faith in UCU at national level - my branch are great with individuals locally, but beyond that absolutely useless.

Update on UCEA says “On 17 July …UCEA wrote to HEIs participating in the pay round to advise them to implement the final offer, with effect from 1 August 2025.”

https://www.ucea.ac.uk/our-work/collective-pay-negotiations-landing/2025-26-new-jnches-pay-round/

Advise rather than instruct? Can UCEA insist on implementation or is it still up to the individual HEI?

The deferral clause that UCEA had in place in the full and final offer was:

“As with previous years, there is a clause that allows an HEI with extenuating circumstances to defer implementation of the pay uplifts by up to 11 months on the grounds that this is determined to be in the wider interests of the institution’s sustainability or due to immediate cashflow issues. This would be done following discussion of the reasons with the institution’s recognised trade union(s).”

And they clarify that it's deferral, i.e. without backpay