Over a year has passed since the Probation trade unions submitted a joint pay claim for 2025-2026, and despite meetings with Government Ministers who failed to deliver on their promise to produce a pay offer by Christmas and after several subsequent complaints, pay negotiations between senior Probation management and the unions resumed last week after a totally inexcusable delay.
Following the conclusion of these, a formal pay offer was received which was immediately considered by your Probation Negotiating Committee (PNC). Napo is a member led union and the role of the PNC as a nationally elected body is to arrive at a recommendation based on the merits of the employers offer. Having done so, the PNC unanimously voted to advise our members to reject this pay offer.
Since then, preparations have been under way by all parties to prepare communications and it has been agreed that these would be issued today.
Employer's pay offer main points
The employer proposes:
- A 4% increase to all pay points and bands
- A 4% increase to the following allowances: London Weighting,Prison Supplement and Standby
- Removing the minimum pay point of Band A to maintain a 5% difference between the maximum point Band 6
The employer will be issuing the full offer - with details of changes to the monetary value of all pay points - to all staff via the HMPPS Intranet - this afternoon.
Some reasons why you are being asked to reject the offer
It’s an insult
Following a disrespectful delay of over a year since the union claim was submitted, a 4% rise after years of inferior pay rises for Probation staff is an insult. The offer fails to come anywhere near to our original claim of 12% and doesn’t reflect the fact that Government Ministers have praised the huge efforts of Probation Staff in terms of their efforts to deliver Government initiatives, for example on numerous schemes to relieve prison overcrowding, in the midst of an ongoing workload crisis. It’s time that our pay should reflect that fact, and that our pay award should match the words of praise from Ministers and HMPPS senior managers.
Inadequate funding and failure to recognise the rise in the cost of living suffered by our members
This pay offer represents what HMPPS tell us were the results of discussions between HMPPS and other parts of Government (the Treasury and Cabinet Office), including the submission of a business case by the former to increase the total amount it can spend on it's wage bill. It is clear that this has produced a completely unsatisfactory outcome, with a pay offer that falls below the recorded inflation figure for all but one month of 2025. If Napo members reject this pay offer resoundingly the onus will be on the Government to produce an improved pay offer as a matter of urgency.
Comparison
The offer does nothing to move us to a position where our salaries are more comparable to those paid to the other staff working within the criminal justice system (including the Prison Service), local government and the wider Civil Service.
Who makes the decisions?
It's clear that despite the commitment of senior management negotiators, we are not in the room with those who make the final decisions on your pay. Even more reason for the Probation Service to be removed from HMPPS and the restrictions of the Civil Service Pay Remit.
Where's the money going?
The Government can seemingly find money to fund new Prisons and spend huge amounts of money on Electronic Monitoring to private companies unfit for purpose Additionally, we know that there has been an underspend of £100 million by the Probation service in this financial year. Why have we not seen any of it?
Reward and Recognition Schemes
Money that should have been made available to all staff is still squirreled away in schemes that in our view are liable to be operated unfairly and without appropriate transparency.
Geographical Allowances and Market Forces Supplements
The employer has refused to offer any movement whatsoever on the above.
Minimum wage implications
Members at the lowest pay point of Band 2 will, on the first of April 2026 yet again see their salary fall below the minimum wage on April 1st because of the inadequate rise to their payband in this pay offer.
What happens next?
We are finalising arrangements to hold an indicative electronic ballot of all full members of Napo (Probation England and Wales) next week.
Full details of the timetable and how to have your say on the 2025-2026 pay offer will be issued in the next few days, with current plans to launch the ballot next Wednesday (4th of February) with this running until the last week of the month. It is probable that the other Probation unions will consult their respective members over the same period. You are not being asked to vote on industrial action and your decision to accept or reject the pay offer will be personal to yourself. If the offer is rejected, then Napo is mandated to organise a separate statutory postal ballot where you will be asked to agree to take action and action short of strike action.
It is vitally important that you ensure that you have registered your preferred e-mail address on the Napo database and checked that we have your correct home postal address. Click here to find out how you can easily do this yourself or contact membership@napo.org.uk with your current details.
If you know of any colleagues who are not a member of a trade union but who are considering joining Napo, it’s important to stress that only members of a trade union will be able to vote in an indicative ballot. All Napo members should do whatever they can to recruit new members as our greatest strength remains in numbers - further information will follow on the 'cut off' date by which new members joining will be able to vote in the ballot on this pay offer after it launches.
Branch Chairs meeting
The first of a series of weekly catch-up meetings for Napo Branch Chairs will be held on Wednesday 29th January at 4:00pm. Details will be posted shortly
Members meetings open to voting members only
Wednesday 4th February 12.30-13.30
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/35636308734116?p=aMArfM95tV3rl0UlxF
Meeting ID: 356 363 087 341 16
Passcode: xA9ix6sG
Links will be shared in further mailouts for the following meetings:
Thursday 12th February 13.00-14.00
Tuesday 17th February 12.30-13.30
Monday 23rd February 12.30-13.30
Branch meetings
It will be at the discretion of Branches to invite non-union members who may wish to become members of Napo so that they qualify for a vote in the indicative ballot. Branches are asked to avoid holding meetings at the same time as the National meetings listed above.
Napo will be issuing more information imminently in advance of the indicative ballot where you will be asked to vote No to the 2025-2026 pay offer, and you are also urged to take the opportunity to join one of the members meetings to raise questions.
Napo HQ