New independent research on teacher
pay in England confirms how poorly teacher pay compares to other
professions. This supports the National Education Union's
case that fully funded and significant teacher pay improvements
are urgently needed.
The research by Incomes Data Research (IDR), commissioned by the
NEU, finds:
- Teachers' earnings consistently
rank lower than those for most other professional groups.
- Teachers' earnings sit near the
bottom of the rankings for professional groups.
- The size of the gaps between the
earnings of the teachers and other professional groups are very
wide.
- Increases in teachers' earnings are
generally smaller than for most other professional groups.
- Teachers' pay awards have improved
recently, relatively speaking, but they have been behind those
across the whole economy for most of the past 17 years.
- The recruitment problems that
affect teaching are likely to be connected to earnings
comparisons.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National
Education Union, said:
“This research is damning. It underlines the damage to the
competitiveness of teacher pay and to recruitment and retention,
following years of pay cuts against inflation. It explains why so
few teachers feel their pay reflects their growing expertise or
the additional responsibilities they undertake.
“We need a major pay correction with teacher pay significantly
improved against inflation and other professions – but the
Government's planned unfunded 2.8 per cent increase from
September will be below inflation and way behind earnings growth
in the wider economy.
“The crisis in our schools is worsening and it won't be solved
without urgent action. We urge the Government to pay attention to
the facts and change course now on teacher pay.”
Editor's Note
How does teachers' pay compare with that for other
professions?, IDR, March 2025: https://neu.org.uk/latest/library/how-does-teachers-pay-compare-other-professions
