Experience of the uplift

The pay award was published on 8 August. Again, there was a bit of buzz about the office as we deciphered what had come from above.

As an AO opted into the Employee Deal, I was to receive 6.25% uplift and a non-consolidated award of £210. At first glance, this didn’t seem too bad. But what was is really like?

With inflation being 5.9%, 0.26% uplift, our pay rise is not worth much in real terms. We also need to consider the only reason for a big differential to what previously offered, was due to the fact all AAs and AOs had been on the same wage for the first few months of the financial year. In our office there were mutterings of doing the work of the lower grade if they were getting the same money. 

So, to me this ‘rise’ was worth 69p an hour more than what I was on previously and as the cost-of-living crisis is still in full swing, it doesn’t help much, in fact just on my mortgage rate alone the rise means nothing as its negated with my higher payment there. I am not any better off than I was prior to the pay rise and will continue to campaign for better improvements on pay.