AoC delays pay recommendation until September

The Association of Colleges has delayed making a pay recommendation to its college members due to “late decisions” on funding this year.

The college membership body met for the second time with the National Joint Forum (NJF) trade unions today to discuss its 2025/26 FE pay claim. 

Unions wanted a 10 per cent pay rise and national workload agreements.

They were told colleges should not expect to receive a “firm” non-binding pay recommendation until the week beginning September 15.

Last month, the government accepted the independent school teachers’ review body (STRB) recommendation of a 4 per cent pay rise for school teachers in 2025/26.

The same day, it also announced £160 million for 16 to 19 FE providers, delivered through a boost to per-student 16 to 19 funding rates.

AoC chief executive David Hughes said the timing of the funding boost, as well as the extra £155 million to cover national insurance hikes, was the reason for the delay in its pay recommendation.

“There’s been lots of late decisions on funding this year,” he said, adding that most colleges received updated 16 to 19 allocations this week.

He added that more time was needed to understand the “moving parts” of the national insurance funding covering between 50 to 85 per cent of colleges extra costs, plus the lack of clarity on in-year student growth in September. 

Hughes added: “Colleges just haven’t had enough time to work with their boards to set the budgets. We all know that these aren’t just one-year decisions. If you make a big pay award now, and you get an extra 300 students in September and you take them on, can you afford to do both?”

He told FE Week that AoC was expected to match 4 per cent pay rise, but it needed to work with colleges who had low 16 to 19 numbers on their affordability of such a pay rise.

There are a reported 35 colleges with over 20 per cent of income from adult education funding, as well as colleges with large apprenticeship funding. 

Governing boards of these colleges will need to go to the drawing board to “really understand the implications of quite a few moving parts”.

This summer, the AoC said it is inviting the unions to be involved in its campaign on adult education funding.

“I don’t think we’ve done that piece of work well enough now to convince Treasury. So that’s where we are,” he said.

Last year, the AoC did not make a recommendation until October, offering up a “disappointing” 2.5 per cent pay rise for 2024/25 after the government refused to include colleges in the £1.2 billion public sector pay award.

Unions ‘disappointed’

Hughes added that the unions were “very disappointed” that the AoC was not able to make a recommendation today.

“In my view, we had a reasonable discussion,” he said.

But UNISON national officer for education Leigh Powell told FE Week: “Leaving staff without any certainty about pay with further delays is extremely disappointing. The Association of Colleges had already been given more time.

“It beggars belief the association has only just realised the complex arrangements for further education have led to pay disparities between colleges. Unions have been telling them for years.

“The extra money put into further education over the past two years, hasn’t been reflected in staff pay packets. That must change.”

The FE pay claim for 2025/26 made by the unions also urged the AoC to call for a “better” bargaining system that would align with the STRB. 

The government has made no suggestion that an FE pay review body would be on the cards in the future, though its employment bill will introduce new pay review bodies for school support staff and adult social care workers.

Hughes said the college membership body has repeatedly offered to do research with the unions on the true cost of matching school pay with college staff pay.

The pay claim also demanded more resources for college admin staff, a national policy on delivering guided learning hours and a set of agreed workload and wellbeing protocols.

Hughes said it will carry on with the workload working groups with the unions but said he pushed back at representatives for “frankly” not putting “as much energy” into college workload issues as they do in schools.

Today, the University and College Union also presented the results of its FE consultative ballot at negotiations, which found 86 per cent of members said they would be prepared to take strike action to secure an “above inflation pay rise, binding national bargaining and a national workload agreement.

UCU did not provide FE Week the breakdown of the results, including turnout rates and raw votes. Its FE committee will consider the results and decide on the next steps at a meeting on July 4.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “It is disappointing that even after delaying negotiations until today, the AoC was unable to come to the table with any pay recommendation whatsoever.

“The skills minister has already made clear that additional funding confirmed by the spending review should be used to raise pay.

“Likewise, our consultative ballot gained an overwhelming 86 per cent yes vote in support of strike action. It is imperative that the AoC now comes back tot he table in September with a serious pay recommendation to help close the earnings gap between college teachers and those in schools and avoid potential strike action.

“It is clear the current bargaining framework is not delivering for college workers, causing a recruitment crisis, which in turn is harming student learning. Staff and students urgently need a new deal for FE, centred on higher pay, binding national bargaining and action on workloads.”

The unions were contacted for comment.