Further Education (FE) Pay Claim 2025-26 in England
Online consultative ballot on pay now open.

Latest update: 15 October 2025

Unite the union's consultative ballot on the 2025/26 pay offer of 4% from Association of Colleges (AoC)  is now open. Your national negotiators are recommending that you vote to REJECT.

Voting is online. Please click on the red box to cast your vote. Voting closes at 5pm on Monday 10 November. 

Click to vote

OUR DEMANDS: FAIR, REASONABLE AND AFFORDABLE

The joint unions in further education, Unite, UCU, Unison, GMB and NEU submitted a pay claim to the AoC in May 2025. The two elements of the claim are:

  • A 10% pay increase or £3,000, whichever is greater;
  • Progress on new national bargaining arrangements which can deliver binding agreements on FE employers that are members of the Association of Colleges. 

FE unions calculate that funding for English Further Education colleges has been increased by £1.2bn. On 22 May 2025, Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education announced the most recent increase of an additional £160 million for FE colleges and 16 to 19 providers in England 2025/26.

On 17 September the joint trade unions met with the AoC for the second meeting under the Joint National Forum (NJF). The meeting was organised so that AoC could make a pay recommendation, after it failed to do so at the NJF meeting in June. The AoC's did make a  pay recommendation of 4% for those member colleges 'where their financial circumstances and funding allocations allow them to do so'. 

A joint statement from the FE unions in response to the 2025/5 pay offer, including an Appendix 1 which sets out the AoC's pay offer can be found be opened and downloaded here.

The joint unions say that the pay recommendation of 4% for those colleges that can afford it will make little difference to staff working in FE who have in recent years endured low pay awards and seen their pay fall further behind staff working in school and sixth form colleges. 

For the lowest paid staff, a 4% uplift will be negligible and the recommendation fails to address the compression of pay, particularly at the lower end of the pay scale.

At the September NJF meeting the FE unions urged the AoC to make a joint approach to the UK government to discuss and agree new national bargaining arrangements for the sector that will deliver binding national agreements including on pay. The joint unions are prepared to join the AoC in lobbying government to ensure sustainable funding which will enable the sector to  recruit and retain highly valued staff.

                                                                                                                                                       

Earlier updates

The first National Joint Forum (NJF) meeting to discuss the Further Education joint trade union claim in England has been postponed until Monday 26 June 2025. This follows Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, announcing on 22 May 2025 an additional £160m funding for FE Colleges and 16 to19 year providers in England in 2025-26.

 Bridget Phillipson’s letter, click here to read, states that “ The investment announced today will be delivered via core 16 to 19 funding rates. It particularly reflects those areas where recruitment and retention challenges are greatest and linked to the need to support economic growth. Full details will be shared in due course”

 Both the Association of Colleges (AoC) and the joint unions are seeking clarification as to how this additional funding will be applied so that when the NJF meets on Monday 26 June 2025 we can have meaningful negotiations on the joint union pay claim.

 A further update will be issued after the NJF on Monday 26 June 2025

The Joint Claim

 In England, on Friday 4 April, the joint unions submitted a pay claim for 2025-26 to the Association of Colleges (AoC). The key elements of the claim in relation to support staff are:

Pay  
  • A 10% or £3000 increase in pay, whichever is greater. This is a first step to restore the significant (or state a figure) cut in real pay for FE staff over a decade. 

  • All colleges to become Foundation Living Wage employers.

  • The AoC agree to time limited talks on the introduction of standardized increments and pay scales.

  • Joint work with a commitment to close gender, ethnic and disability pay gaps.
Workload
  • The resourcing of more administration staff. 

  • Agreed national policy on the delivery of guided learning hours.
     
  • A set of agreed boundaries for contacting staff by email or phone.

  •  A set of agreed workload and wellbeing protocols.

Binding national bargaining

Agree a new national pay agreement in Further Education that has binding outcomes. 

Stay updated!

Check back for regular updates. We'll issue updates after every NJF meeting and members will be consulted on any outcomes. Please make sure that your membership contact details are up-to-date here.