Respect Probation Pay Probation

Thank you to every member who took part in Napo’s industrial action ballot, which closed on 22 August. While the legal turnout threshold of 50% was narrowly missed at 44.92%, the result sends a powerful message: members who did vote overwhelmingly backed action, with 97% supporting Action Short of Strike and over 90% supporting Strike Action. That level of anger and determination cannot be ignored by the employer.

This is far from the end of our campaign. The Probation Negotiating Committee has met and agreed that once a formal pay offer is finally received – outrageously still not provided since our claim in January – we will move swiftly to re-ballot members. The fight for fair pay and manageable workloads continues, and we are building on the strong platform this ballot has given us. 

Napo will keep pressing the employer, keep exposing the realities of staff shortages, and keep preparing for the next stage. This campaign is alive and still gathering strength.

Your Friday Updates

26/09/2025

What’s happening on the 2025 Pay Claim?

There has been a long and unacceptable delay between the end of the formal 2025 pay claim negotiations and a meeting with the then Lord Chancellor in June. 

This is despite the unions being told at that meeting, that we could expect a high-level response from Ministers within days which would have allowed meaningful pay talks to be resumed.

 Further attempts to revive pay talks

Some three months later we have at last received a formal response to a Pay claim that was submitted in January. Aside from the fact that this in itself is highly disrespectful, it is also hugely disappointing to see that the response still fails to make a pay offer that might form the basis of further negotiations.

Despite this, the unions will be responding to a number of issues that appear in the employers letter, and at the same time we will also be writing to the new Lord Chancellor David Lammy to ask for an urgent meeting with him.

Ballot preparations still being made

As has been previously made clear to members, even though our ballot for industrial action in the summer did not on this occasion provide the threshold we needed to launch action, there is a clear mandate from the Napo Probation Negotiating Committee and your National Executive Committee, that Napo will ballot members again once a pay offer is received.

Obviously, the delay in receiving an offer creates uncertainty as to when another ballot will be held. The position of UNISON and GMB will also become clearer once a pay offer for 2025 actually arrives.

Meanwhile, General Secretary Ian Lawrence, National Chair Ben Cockburn and your Link National Officials and Officers will be pleased to speak at upcoming Branch or Branch Executive meetings to help maintain momentum for the pay campaign and Napo will issue more news just as soon as it becomes available.

29/08/2025

The ballot result was just the start, not the end. Members who voted gave a clear and overwhelming mandate for industrial action – and we’re turning that energy into the next phase of the campaign. We’re learning the lessons, organising harder, and keeping the pressure up on MPs, HMPPS and Government.

Next week the NEC will set out our action plan for the next ballot, with one goal: a bigger turnout and an even louder message for pay justice. No more delays, no more derisory offers. Probation staff deserve respect and decent pay, and together we will win it.

Three things you can do now:

1. Send us MP replies: If your MP has responded to your email, forward it to info@napo.org.uk so we can follow up.

2. Encourage colleagues to join: Every new member strengthens our campaign and boosts turnout for the next ballot.

3. Get active locally: Contact your Napo branch to find out how you can support future action and organising efforts.

Together we build the pressure. Together we win

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