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Pay in Sixth Form Colleges in England

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Sixth-Form College Pay Update - October 2012

Following an extremely unsatisfactory pay increase of 0.75% in September 2010, to which the NASUWT did not agree,  the sixth-form college employers refused to make any offer to increase pay for sixth-form college teachers in 2011 or 2012.

The NASUWT is continuing to work to protect all members from adverse changes affecting pay, conditions of service, pensions and jobs of teachers in sixth-form colleges. The NASUWT balloted members in November 2011 as part of our national trade dispute with the Government. The Union has also been seeking to facilitate action on pay and working conditions on a college-by-college basis. Members have been surveyed on action in relation to pay and a joint teacher union survey is currently being undertaken of members in sixth-form colleges on workload and working time.

The NASUWT, along with other unions representing teachers in sixth-form colleges, has continued to seek improvements in the pay, conditions of service and job security of members working in the sixth-form college sector through engagement with both Government and the employers. Despite the best efforts of the NASUWT to try to persuade the Government to reconsider the steps it is taking and our efforts to ameliorate the impact through engagement with the employers in the Sixth Form Colleges Forum Joint Negotiating Committee, it has not proved possible to make the sort of progress we would like to have seen. 

The NASUWT’s current industrial action enables sixth-form college members to take industrial action on pay. The Union wrote to members in sixth-form colleges in September 2012 stating that the provisions of the National Ballot can be applied if they believe that their pay, conditions of service, pension or job security is so threatened that they need to take steps to protect their interests through appropriate legal industrial action. Members or their Workplace Representative should make contact with their Local Association Secretary, National Executive Member or Regional Centre to seek support. Contact details for all of these are available via the 'Get Support' button above.

Further information is available in Sixth-Form College News.

The National Joint Council for Sixth Form Colleges

The National Joint Council (NJC) for Sixth Form Colleges was set up following the establishment of the colleges as autonomous corporations on 1 April 1993. The remit of the NJC is to negotiate national pay and conditions of service for staff in sixth form colleges, and to recommend agreements reached in the NJC to individual colleges. National agreements negotiated through the NJC are implemented by Colleges to maintain a national bargaining platform rather than individual college bargaining. The NASUWT chairs the Teachers' Side and the Sixth Form Colleges Forum provide the Employers' Side. 

The NASUWT is committed to achieving parity of pay for teachers working in sixth form colleges with colleagues in schools. 

Pay Scales

The pay scale for sixth-form college teachers has been frozen since September 2011. There main scale has six annual increase points followed by a 3-point Professional Standards Payment (PSP) range. Movement to the PSP range is after application for assessment under the Professional Standards (similar to the threshold in schools). Teachers with additional responsibilities are placed on one of the 5 levels of the management range. The management range has 3 PSP points for each of the 5 levels. The salary scale is contained in Appendix 2 of the Teaching Staff in Sixth Form Colleges Conditions of Service Handbook. 

The Professional Standards Payment Manual is Appendix 8 of the Teaching Staff in Sixth Form Colleges Conditions of Service Handbook.

Performance Management

The Performance Management Framework for teachers in Sixth Form Colleges is contained in Appendix 7 of the Teaching Staff in Sixth Form Colleges Conditions of Service Handbook.

NASUWT Sixth Form College Advisory Committee

The Committee is elected annually and comprises of five nominees from branches (four from sixth form colleges and one from the general FE sector), two members of the Salaries and Pensions and Conditions of Service Committee and one member of the Education Committee, together with the three negotiators on the Sixth Form College NJC.

The Committee meets to consider issues that are particularly relevant to members in sixth form colleges and is always receptive to information from our sixth form college members.

Family Friendly Rights

The NASUWT produces guidance for members with children on the provisions for maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave. The guidance also contains information on rights to time off for family and domestic reasons. Information on the occupational entitlement to maternity, adoption, paternity and parental leave and pay are contained in Appendix 5 and Appendix 6 of the Teaching Staff in Sixth Form Colleges Conditions of Service Handbook.

Advice on the legal requirements is assessing risks in relation to new and expectant mothers’ job activities is set out in the Health and Safety Executive booklet New and Expectant Mothers at Work: A Guide for Employers (new window).

Members have the right to apply to work flexibly where they have:

  • children aged under 17;
  • disabled children aged under 18; or
  • carer responsibilities. 

The NASUWT has produced guidance on requesting Flexible working, and generally on Part-time work and job-share arrangements. 

Many sixth form colleges will also offer the opportunity for teachers to participate in salary sacrifice schemes for childcare vouchers/benefits, cycles for work, mobile phones and other benefits. Detailed guidance on salary sacrifice is provided by HM Revenue and Customs (new window).

Temporary workers and supply teachers

The NASUWT provides advice on the rights of Teachers who work on a temporary basis or fixed-term contracts.

Tax

The Union provides a brief outline of the various tax allowances which teachers are eligible to claim under UK legislation in the NASUWT's brief guide to tax for teachers. 

Further information or assistance

Members needing further information or assistance should contact their Local Association or Regional Centre.