Public sector pay rises v private sector.

[Katypp]

We hear endlessly on MN that public sector workers are underpaid, overworked and do not have the advantages workers in the private sector have. All nonsense of course, as is the rhetoric about being able to earn much more for the same job in the private sector.
Teachers are being balloted about rejecting a 2.8% pay increase the year after they received a 5.5% increase.
I thought it woukd be interesting to try and get an idea of the reality of the public v private sector pay debate.
I'll start.
Work for a FTSE 100 company. This year we are getting 2%, last year was 1.5%.
I am paid just under £33k for a professional, skilled job, albeit in a generally low-paid sector. So less than a bin driver apparently.
There is no direct comparison to my job in the public sector, but the nearest equivalent was advertised at £38-£42k a couple of years ago.

I'm getting 2% this year. DH works for a private company and is getting zero raise.

My sister works for a private company and is getting 5% plus a bonus which rivals my yearly salary 😂

Same, I could definitely earn more in private than nhs, probably double. But the NHS gives me more flexibility and stability, and greater job satisfaction, so for now I am going to stick with it.

And that is the huge issue. The labour government haven't funded the pay rises, so that, plus NI increase, plus cuts to high need block funding for SEN means school are I'm much more challenging financial position than a year ago

not to mention falling rolls which is impacting budgets

The DM and the government love to say that most nurses are on a really high wage. However those on high band 8 or 9 are vanishingly small. The vast majority of nurses are on band 5. The DM and government love to massage figures as rage bait for the general public.

I would take a PPA every day over a pay rise. Never going to happen though.

Yes that’s correct. Their pay increase has to come out of the pre-existing school budgets (which is not increasing 🙄) therefore they’re many schools are having to sack TAs etc to make ends meet which ultimately is decreasing the quality of teaching and learning to many of the SEND children who desperately need the support from the TAs and this also means i the already high workload on the teachers will increase etc.

The pay increase looks great on paper but it’s actually a load of fluff.

Try being self-employed! No holiday pay, no sickness pay, no pay increase for years.
I know, I know, my choice entirely.
I spent many years in both the private and public arenas. Pros and cons to both including pay. But ultimately I could not stand the amount of time and money wasted in meetings in the public sector. It used to drive me potty, just pushing paperwork around a table, drinking coffee. (I know this probably isn’t the case in front line NHS)
Anyway, I digress…

*and in teaching ☺️

was just about to post this

I hate the fact the government sit on the STRB report too. It should be published as soon as it is written!

He’s primary head of upper school. Worked his way up like you do in any career. Hates his job, regularly claims he could earn better in a non teaching job yet doesn’t apply for any of the jobs he’s annoyed he doesn’t have. Obviously a teacher without responsibility will earn less. A “standard” teacher with 6 years experience will earn £43,607. If teachers looked at their work as a standard 9-5 with 5 weeks holiday (like other jobs that pay similar) they would see where their planning could be done. The benefit is that they can choose to flex work hours in the holiday, work late at night and offset the leave so they can take more holiday time. Pretending teaching is 8-3 with 12 weeks holiday is misleading.

Wowza! Where does he work? I am a teacher on no where near this. However, and I'm sure I'll get flamed by teachers here, I really don't think I get paid badly. You have to choose life and not let work slump you down. My children achieve ARE and above (bar the few) and I have a good work life balance. At the end of the day I am replaceable. My union are constantly on at me (as union rep) to get everyone involved in the pay debate but I really think it's being done to death. Teachers could get paid loads more but it won't effect how they teach. Money needs to be invested in the schools for more staff! Sorry little rant off the back of your comment. I think I'm in the minority.lol x

The lower pay claimed from public sector workers often ignores the higher pension contributions. You also have to take into account that job safety / guaranteed progression obviously comes at a price - and that is fair enough!
Back to the OP, I am getting zero raise for the second year in a row, so I find this shocking:
Teachers are being balloted about rejecting a 2.8% pay increase the year after they received a 5.5% increase

Really? I'm also civil service and while we do have access to a car park if we're up early enough that's no different from any other sector in my city. We have access to hot water and cold water, but have always supplied our own tea coffee milk etc. as to gift vouchers are you talking about the My lifestyle scheme where we and staff from many other organisations can buy discount vouchers? I've been a civil servant for many years and I've never been given a gift voucher, and if I am ever offered anything (occasionally visiting delegations will bring gifts for officials) I have to declare it, value it and am sometimes allowed to keep it if it's worth less than £15. If it might lead to a perception of a conflict of interest it has to be declined. So a free highlighter pen or post it notes from a conference is fine, and I have a cd somewhere of typical Bavarian music, but pretty much anything else is an automatic "that's very kind of you, but I can't accept."

This. I retired last year. SInce 2010 I had two pay increases - one last year. My salary was £52k - comparable private sector salaries were at least £10-15k more. I got no bonuses and no overtime. And before anyone says it, I didn't switch sectors because I believe in the public sector - I had no issues and didn't complain.

Oh and it just so happens that I have got my government controlled pension payrise through this morning. I have no idea what I am going to spend my massive 1.7% "payrise" on. A Cadbury's cream egg, possibly.

Become a Nurse then. Plenty of vacancies in my Trust and look at the wonderful pay you will receive for your hard work......oh wait.

TeenLifeMum · Today 10:26

bil feels hard done by as a teacher but he’s on more than me (£62k last time he mentioned it) so I assume the historically poor pay teachers received is such an ingrained rhetoric they believe it.

If he is on £62K he is either teaching private or he is not a "teacher" he is on the leadership scale. and you should stop spreading BS.

@Katypp

which bits are nonsense?

I’ve been in private sector for all my career for 6 different employers. Only one of them had a yearly pay rise as a policy, the rest I had to fight for it, even when promoted. Most people change companies to get a significant pay rise.

Sure there are lots of perks and freebies and I’ve had some great experiences.

But I’ve also been made redundant 3 times, discriminated against with no action taken, and post 50 prospects are very poor as ageism in the private sector is very real.

I’m actively trying to get into public sector the pay might not be great, but the pension, job security, flexibility and prospects more than make up for it.

The DM and the government love to say that most nurses are on a really high wage. However those on high band 8 or 9 are vanishingly small. The vast majority of nurses are on band 5.

Or that a lot of those band 5's are very experienced nurses ! Also they quite often fail to mention how much nurses contribute monthly to their pensions, I contribute approx £300 a month.

My own experience of being a public sector professional with degree and professional qualifications, pay freeze for a decade and a salary for a position that in the private sector I was offered double

Teachers are striking due to the fact it is unfunded, so straight out of stretched budgets.

I work public sector, we are all getting pay cuts and have been told by my local authority if we don't accept it they will fire and rehire.

Private.

9% per year for as long as I can remember.

Sometimes we have had 2x pay rises per year, one for performance and one for market conditions

Teachers pay award comes from existing budget. That’s the problem.