Understand the pay award for 2026-27
The National Joint Council (NJC) pay award for the financial year 2026-27 is an increase of 3.3% on each scale point. Scale point 2 has been removed.
This equates to a:
- £818 rise for those on scale point 3, from £24,796 to £25,614 per annum – now the bottom of the spine following the deletion of point 2. Staff on the old point 2 (£24,413) will move to £25,614, a rise of £1,201
- £1,798 rise for those at the top of the pay spine, from £54,495 to £56,293
This will be backdated to 1 April 2026.
You can access a copy of the full pay scales on the Unison website (select 'Read the letter to employers in full here').
London pay scales
The Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) pay scale, used by many London councils, has been agreed for 2026-27.