Pay and conditions of employment is a devolved responsibility of the Welsh government. This means that teachers are employed under the School Teachers Pay and Conditions (Wales) Document (STPC(W)D) with pay determined through the recommendations of the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body (IWPRB).
Whilst teachers in Wales are covered by the STPC(W)D, which is distinct from the English STPCD, teachers in both England and Wales are also covered by the
Burgundy Book arrangements. The two iterations of STPCD tend to be updated annually and mainly cover pay and hours of work. The Burgundy Book was published in 2000 and updated in 2023, and mainly covers other aspects of terms and conditions of employment.
After five years of devolved pay, there are now some significant differences compared to England. For example, pay rates are marginally higher, performance-related pay has been removed and the STPC(W)D references all leadership pay points (unlike the English equivalent that only references Group minima and maxima).
The biggest difference most recently is that the dispute over pay was settled much earlier in Wales than in England.
Following negotiations with trade unions, the original 5% increase to pay points resulting from the 2022 recommendations of the IWPRB was revised upwards. This resulted in pay points being increased by 6.5% with effect from 1September 2022 together with a one-off payment to teachers and leaders worth 1.5% of annual pay.
This brought about a revised STPC(W)D which can be found
here. Funding remains a concern and in
his letter to local authorities, the Minster for Education and the Welsh Language confirmed that the additional increase would be paid by way of variation letter to the Education Grant.
These negotiations also changed the original proposal that pay points should be uplifted by 3.5% in September 2023. Instead, pay points are due to increase by 5% from 1 September 2023 and we await the draft STPC(W)D which will bring about this change.
The revised offer from the Welsh government on both 2022 and 2023 pay can be found
here.
The IWPRB has also been consulting on a strategic review of pay and conditions. ASCL made its
formal submission to this review back in December 2022 and this was followed up by an oral evidence session in July 2023.
In addition, the IWPRB has commissioned research into pay and conditions in other countries and ASCL will be attending a workshop in September 2023 to discuss the findings. This will be followed by further oral evidence sessions in October 2023.
We will be able to update members more fully once these sessions have taken place.