April 2026

The joint trade unions submitted our 2026/27 pay claim to UCEA, the employers association, on Tuesday 10th March.

The headlines of the claim are:

• An increase on all pay points of at least RPI + 3% or £3,000, whichever is the greater, to be paid in full in August 2026
• An increase to bring the minimum hourly rate of pay to £15/hour and for all HEIs to become Foundation Living Wage employers
• A review of the New JNCHES pay spine, in line with the already agreed Terms of Reference for the working group, and for this review to proceed irrespective of progress on the 2026/27 pay negotiations
• UCEA to work with the unions to develop meaningful and inclusive career pathways for professional services staff. These discussions would include career progression, career pathways, and grade drifts for professional services staff.
• Proceed with joint working on the other three negotiating groups on Contract Types, Workload, and Equality pay gaps and other areas of agreed joint work, in order to agree principles that can be developed into enforceable national agreements within a clearly defined timescale. This work should proceed irrespective of any position taken by any of the New JNCHES trade unions on a pay offer made by UCEA.
• UCEA to work with the joint trade unions to lobby the UK government on Higher Education funding reform
• To convene meetings of the Scottish sub-committee of New JNCHES as set out under the New JNCHES agreement.
• UCEA to work with the joint trade unions to avoid redundancies.

A copy of the full joint trade union side pay claim can be found on the EIS website. 

Two of the three New JNCHES meetings have taken place so far, the first on Tuesday 31st March in London and the second on Thursday 9th April in Glasgow. At both meetings, trade union representatives put forward a robust case for all of the items included in the pay claim, highlighting that sub inflationary pay offers and impositions over the last 15 years has caused an erosion of salary value and severe financial implications and hardship for many staff across the sector.

During the first meeting, UCEA tabled an offer of 1.5% uplift on all spinal points (with the exception of a 2% uplift on spinal point 7). Trade unions stated that this, again, was another sub inflationary pay offer and a real terms cut in wages at a time when the rate of inflation (RPI) currently sits at 3.6% and is expected to rise in the coming months. As such, this was not an offer which would be acceptable to members and required to be improved.

At the second meeting, UCEA tabled an improved offer of 1.8% uplift on all spinal points (with spinal point 7 remaining on a 2% uplift). Again, trade union representatives stressed that this offer is still well below inflation and could not take this to their members. Trade unions have asked UCEA to table a further improved offer at the next meeting.

Across both meetings, positive discussions took place on other aspects of the pay claim including establishing a review of the national pay spine, developing a joint position on the sustainability of UK higher education funding to lobby UK Governments and revisiting the previous work done to explore good practice on job security.

However, as a consequence of trade unions balloting for industrial action on last year’s pay dispute, UCEA have stated that they do not wish to reestablish the three other working groups (Contract Types, Workload or Equality Pay Gaps), having already completed the work of these themselves and without trade union input. The joint trade unions are extremely disappointed with the employer’s position regarding these working groups and have requested a copy of the documents and outputs of the work which UCEA has done on these areas before the next New JNCHES meeting.

The third New JNCHES meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 13th May in London, where discussions on pay and the other elements of the pay claim will continue.