At 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, pay and reward arrangements are negotiated locally through local pay bargaining. This means the university works directly with our recognised trade unions to agree pay increases, benefits and other reward-related terms and conditions that reflect 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s specific context, priorities and financial position.

Across much of the UK Higher Education sector, pay is negotiated through national pay bargaining coordinated by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), in which sector-wide pay increases are agreed collectively and applied across participating institutions.

Local bargaining allows 51³Ô¹ÏÍø to take a more tailored approach to reward, giving the university and trade unions the opportunity to consider pay, benefits and broader employment terms together. This flexibility helps ensure that 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s reward approach supports our ability to attract, retain and recognise the talented people who contribute to the university’s success.

Annual Pay Bargaining Process

How does the process work?

The pay bargaining for 2026/27 will commence on Thursday, 16 April 2026, with the aim to conclude negotiations prior to August 2026, when they will be implemented. The process will run as follows:

  1. The University Management Board (UMB) will set the pay mandate, which is the total amount 51³Ô¹ÏÍø can spend on the annual pay award and benefits.
  2. The Joint Trade Unions make their pay claim, which sets out a request for a specified pay increase amount, benefits and the rationale behind it.
  3. At the opening meeting, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's Negotiating Team will present an initial response to the JTU pay claim (in line with the pay mandate set by the UMB).
  4. A number of negotiating meetings will take place on a mutually agreed-upon basis. Following each meeting, both 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's Negotiating side and the JTU side will draft joint statements on the progress made. These statements will be published on this web page and made available for all staff to view.
  5. At the end of the negotiations, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's Negotiating Team will submit a final, written offer to the JTUs. The JTUs will share this with committee members and trade union members 24 hours before it is published on this web page.
  6. The final written offer will be presented by the JTUs to their members for a vote on whether to accept or reject it. The outcome of the JTU members' vote will be presented to the UMB.
  7. In previous years, the typical process saw the  People Function team apply any salary increase to all salaries covered by local pay bargaining, effective from 1 August (with the changes to salaries processed by Payroll). Where a decision to implement a pay award is made after 1 August, the pay award is backdated to 1 August. 
Which salaries are covered?

The academic, research and professional, technical, operational services, learning and teaching salary scales are covered by this local pay bargaining process.

Clinical salary scales – which are set by the NHS, not by 51³Ô¹ÏÍø – are not covered by this process.

For staff who are employed on the national pay scales, any annual pay award is determined by  between UCEA (the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association) and HE Trade Unions.

Awards History

In the table below, you can see the historical pay awards granted both locally and nationally.

Year of award Date 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Award National Award

2008-09 

01-Oct-08 

5.00% 

5.00% 

2009-10 

01-Aug-09 

0.50% 

0.50% 

2010-11 

01-Aug-10 

0.50% 

0.40% 

2011-12 

01-Aug-11 

2.20% 

0.60% 

2012-13 

01-Aug-12 

1.00% 

1.00% 

2013-14 

01-Aug-13 

2.00% 

1.00% 

2014-15 

01-Aug-14 

2.00% 

2.00% 

2015-16 

01-Aug-15 

1.00% 

1.00% 

2016-17 

01-Aug-16 

1.20% 

1.10% 

2017-18 

01-Aug-17 

2.0% 

1.70% 

2018-19 

01-Aug-18 

3.0% 

2.00% 

2019-20 

01-Aug-19 

3.10% 

1.85% 

2020-21 

01-Aug-20 

1.60% 

0.00% 

2021-22 

01-Aug-21 

1.80% 

1.50% 

2022-23 

01-Aug-22 

3.30% 

3.00% 

2023-24 

01-Aug-23 

5.50% 

5.0% 

2024-25 

01-Aug-24 

5.60% 

2.70% 

2025-26 

01-Aug-25 

2.0% 

1.40% 
Who is involved in the process?
51³Ô¹ÏÍø's negotiating team Negotiations support Joint Trade Unions 
Kathryn Al-Shemmeri Olivia De Launey Jacquest UCU - Vijay Tymms
Audrey Fraser Jamaica Kelly UCU - Tom Pike
Anna Caffyn   UCU - Amanda Sackur
Carey Southward   UCU - Charlotte Kestner
Chris Watkins   Unison - Tanya Hunt
Jane Hay   Unison - Boyana Petrovich
Jason Riley   Unison - Aurick Sahota
Lizzie Burrows   Unison - Oliver Davis
Richard Craster   Unite - Ailsa Levvy
    Unite - Antonio Mateiro
    Unite - Mike Jones
    Unite - Ahlam Khamliche
Pay Award 2026/27

This section will be updated once local pay bargaining has concluded. 

Who can you contact?

The 2026/27 local pay negotiation meetings will commence on Thursday, 16 April 2026. If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact one of the following: