JTU 23/2025
11th April 2025
PAY CLAIM
Back at the end of December 2024 we advised members that we had submitted the following pay claim for 2025:
- One year claim
- 12% increase on all pay points
- 12% increase on all cash allowances – e.g. London Weighting, Geographical Supplements etc
- An increase in the minimum salary to be no less than £15/hour
- The conversion of the current Regional Reward and Recognition funds into a single fund for staff retention purposes, to be the subject of collective bargaining.
Unfortunately, pay talks have been delayed on account of uncertainty over when the government is going to tell the civil service what it can spend on pay rises this year. This announcement is not expected before May. These delays are a negative consequence of the Probation Service being part of the civil service.
As soon as we have more news about when pay talks are likely to start, we will let members know. We understand how vital it is for members to get a decent pay rise this year, and how important it is for HMPPS to demonstrate that it values its staff by offering a decent, inflation-proofed pay award for 2025.
GETTING YOUR INCREMENT ON TIME?
Back in December last year we alerted members to the fact that the civil service way is to hold back paying staff their annual pay increment (moving up your pay band once you have done your CBF) until after the pay award for the year in question has been settled; albeit with back pay of the increment rise to 1 April. Outside of the civil service, by contrast, public sector workers get their increments paid on time.
The unions insisted to HMPPS at the end of last year that any delay to you getting your increment was unacceptable and asked HMPPS ensure that you got your increment on time on 1 April, and you not have to wait months to get what you are due.
Unfortunately this is not going to happen in April, but, following our representations on members’ behalf on this issue, HMPPS has been in discussion with the Cabinet Office to see whether it is possible to make payment of this year’s increment for eligible staff as close to 1 April as possible and not have to wait until pay talks have been concluded.
The unions are continuing to press for this outcome and hope that there will be better news to come on this shortly.
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
Once again this year, the lowest Probation pay point was overtaken by the National Living Wage on 1 April. This shows just how poorly HMPPS is paying staff on pay band 2.
At the end of last year the unions asked HMPPS to delete the lowest pay point of pay band 2 on 1 April 2025 and to move the staff concerned onto the next highest pay point. This is what we achieved for members on the lowest pay point last year as part of the re-opened pay talks which concluded in October.
HMPPS has said that this issue can only be resolved for 2025 as part of this year’s pay talks. Low pay must be resolved once and for all in the Probation Service, so that the lowest pay point does not get overtaken every year by the National Living Wage!
That is why the unions have asked for a £15/hour minimum salary as part of our pay claim for 2025. The scandal of low pay cannot go on.
OVERTIME EXTENSION SCHEME
The unions said at the time that the overtime scheme was extended to pay bands 4 to 6 that this should be made permanent. So we are pleased that HMPPS has got approval from the Treasury to extend the scheme again, post 31 March, due to on-going operational pressures. As we said at the time, the likelihood of these pressures disappearing anytime soon is vanishingly small.
The overtime extension scheme covers England and Wales and Regions should not be gatekeeping the scheme or denying staff reasonable access to it. If you think you are being unreasonably denied access, contact your local trade union representative.
FAIR UNSOCIAL HOURS PAYMENTS
At last HMPPS has begun constructive talks with the unions over changing the way that staff have to claim unsocial hours payments, to make it easier and fairer for staff to be paid this allowance. We hope to have more news for you on this shortly.
Ian Lawrence Ben Priestley George Georgiou
General Secretary National Officer National Officer
Napo UNISON GMB/SCOOOP