Pensions Regulator agrees pay deal worth up to 7.55%

Union says more than 300 officials will qualify for the top-tier uplift after long-running dispute
Telecom House in Brighton, where The Pensions Regulator is based Photo: Google Maps

By Jim Dunton

13 Dec 2024

Officials at watchdog The Pensions Regulator are set to receive pay rises of up to 7.55% after management tabled an improved offer following a long-running dispute.

Members of the PCS union who work at the Brighton-based agency, which is responsible for protecting arrangements for workplace pensions, had taken more than 60 days of strike action between September last year and March this year when action was suspended.

They were calling on TPR, which is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, to better the 3% pay offer it tabled for staff at a time when rank-and-file civil servants were getting rises in the region of 4.5%.

Under the improved offer, staff at the agency will get uplifts of 7.55%, 6%, 4.25% or 2% depending on where they are in their respective pay band.

PCS said 381 staff would get the maximum 7.55% uplift, with a further 195 qualifying for a 6% rise. It said the breakdown meant 62% of staff would get a rise of 6% or more.

According to TPR's 2023-24 annual report and accounts, the watchdog had an average of 991 staff during the year. To qualify for an uplift, officials must have been employed by TPR as of 31 March this year.

PCS described the deal as "groundbreaking" and added that it would also mean the majority of employees moved from below the mid-point of their pay band to "at least the mid-point".

If the offer is accepted, eligible staff will see the rises backdated to April this year.

PCS added that TPR had also submitted a "pay flexibility" case to HM Treasury that could result in lost pay from 2023-24 being remedied.

A TPR spokesperson said: "We are pleased to have reached a pay settlement for 2024-25, which is fair to our staff and prioritises those at the lower end of their pay band."

PCS members are due to discuss the offer at a meeting on 16 December. TPR said it expected to be able to include backdated pay resulting from the deal in January's wage packets.

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