News and updates
The 2025/26 national pay negotiations update
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has proposed a pay settlement of 1.4% on all Spine points for the 2025/26 pay round. UCEA has confirmed that the formal dispute resolution procedure set out in the New JNCHES agreement has been exhausted and has therefore advised that implementation of the pay settlement should proceed. Accordingly, the council has submitted a Grade to the Regent House, and this has now been approved. The Notice and Grace can be viewed in Reporter.
The pay award will be implemented in the August 2025 payroll.
Background
Each year national level talks are held under the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (New JNCHES) which form the basis of the annual pay review.
The date of implementation of the annual pay review is 1 August. However as the stipends and salaries of certain University staff require the approval of the Regent House, the University of Cambridge waits for the pay negotiations to be completed before submitting a grace to Regent House in line with the final settlement. Once the settlement has been approved it is backdated, if required, to 1 August of the relevant year and the salary scales are updated.
The pay award covers all relevant stipends and associated payments in the salaries of non-clinical academic and academic-related staff and assistant staff. For contract research staff and other staff supported on non-central funds, payment of any increase is conditional upon funds being available to meet the cost of the increase from the relevant funding source.
Members of New JNCHES are the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) for the Higher Education (HE) employers and the following HE unions: EIS, Unison, GMB, Unite and UCU.
Details of the national pay award negotiations can be found on the UCEA website.