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Public sector pay

Recent developments

The government accepted the majority of the 2025/26 pay awards recommended by Pay Review Body (PRB).

In the Economic Evidence to the Pay Review Bodies 2026-27 Pay policy paper, the government said it has continued to make progress on delivering more timely pay awards, having delivered both the 2025-26 pay awards and remitted the 2026-27 pay round two months earlier than the previous year.

Average public sector pay growth in April 2025 was 5.8% and was at a similar level the previous three years.

All workers are entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). In 2024 Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that the NMW has supported pay growth for lower earners, particularly in the public sector.

How public sector pay is determined

The mechanism varies across the public sector:

• Pay awards for about 45% of the public sector – including the armed forces, the police, teachers, the Senior Civil Service and the NHS – are decided by government ministers and based on the recommendation of eight Pay Review Bodies (PRBs).
• Pay awards for the Civil Service are decided by individual departments based on guidance issued by the Cabinet Office.
• Pay awards for local government workers are agreed in negotiations between employers and trade unions through the National Joint Council for Local Government Services.
• For devolved public sector bodies, pay policy is set by the devolved administrations.

Trends in public sector pay

In April 2025, median weekly earnings for full-time employees in the public sector were 7% higher than those in the private sector. The gap had been narrowing before the pandemic but increased again in 2020, partly because of the private sector’s greater use of furlough (when employees were paid 80% of their usual salary while they were unable to work during lockdowns). The gap has been narrowing again since 2021 and it has remained at 7% over the last two years.