Teachers have seen bigger falls in their average pay in real terms since 2010 than the public sector as a whole, research has found.
Teacher pay fell by 9 per cent between 2010 and September 2023, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.
It had dropped 13 per cent between 2010 and 2019, but has had stronger growth since 2019, including last summer’s pay deals.
Public sector pay as a whole fell by 2.3 per cent between 2010 and 2023.
The IFS has analysed how pay rises in some public sector jobs have failed to keep pace with inflation, meaning staff have faced a cut in real terms.
In a report published today, the IFS said: “In recent years, the government has generally sought to hold down real-terms pay in the public sector, offering pay awards below the rate of inflation, in large part due to broader pressures on the public finances.”
IFS researchers compared public and private sector pay since 2007. Public sector pay had increased by 1.4 per cent from 2007 to 2010 in real terms, while private sector pay fell by 0.7 per cent.
However, between 2010 and 2023, private sector pay grew by 4.7 per cent.
Researchers said public sector earnings grew initially during the pandemic but were hit much harder by the rise in inflation afterwards “due to government pay restraint”.
Higher-paid occupations such as teachers and doctors, in general, have also seen much larger falls in their average pay over time compared to the public sector as a whole.
Researchers said pay deals in the public sector have consistently benefitted “lower-paid workers more than higher-paid workers both within and across professions”.
Jonathan Cribb, the report’s author and associate director at the IFS, said: “Doctors, experienced teachers and senior civil servants are all paid considerably more than the average worker.
“That might make holding their pay down, while increasing the pay of lower-paid public sector workers, look attractive to the government. But pay needs to reflect skills and outside options.”
He added: “Large cuts to the pay of higher earners in recent years have contributed to problems of recruitment and retention, as well as industrial strife.”
Mr Cribb called for pay for higher earners in the public sector to remain competitive with the private sector.
Teachers got a 6.5 per cent pay rise in the summer after industrial action.
Last week, five education unions issued a joint call for a “fully-funded, inflation-plus and undifferentiated” pay increase for teachers.
In February, the Department for Education suggested to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) that the teacher pay rise should be lower than the last two years.
“As users of public services, we all lose out if the government is unable to recruit and retain workers in sufficient numbers, with the most vulnerable members of society often disproportionately affected,” said Mark Franks, director of welfare at the Nuffield Foundation.
A DfE spokesperson said record-high teacher pay awards have been delivered across the last two years of more than 12 per cent on average.
“An experienced classroom teacher can earn up to £56,959, and those classroom teachers taking on sustained additional responsibilities can earn up to £72,649,” the spokesperson added.
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