The new academic year brings a wave of employment and HR developments that schools and trusts need to act on. A new draft pay and conditions document for teachers, a confirmed pay increase for support staff, important shifts in employment law and updated government expectations on flexible working all require attention this term. 

Here, we share the key changes, what they mean in practice, and what you should be doing about them.

Teachers' pay 2026

The draft School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2026 has been published, bringing with it a number of notable changes to teachers' pay and conditions. The document remains in draft form and subject to consultation, but schools should use this window to prepare.

Pay award of 3.5%

A pay award of 3.5% has been applied across all pay and allowance ranges and advisory points, with one exception: the minimum of the unqualified teacher range (rest of England) increases by 5%. 

Schools should note that the award will need to be backdated to 1 September 2026 once the Pay Order is in force.

TLR payments: Proportionality is now mandatory

One of the key changes in the draft STPCD 2026 is that TLR proportionality, previously an optional provision, is now a mandatory requirement. 

All existing and new TLR1 and TLR2 payments must be calculated based on the proportion of the TLR responsibility undertaken. Schools that have not yet adopted this approach will need to review their existing TLR arrangements and ensure compliance from 1 September 2026. 

Upper pay range progression

Schools will now need to decide whether pay progression for teachers on the upper pay range will operate on an annual or biennial basis. This is a mandatory decision, not a discretionary one. 

Whichever approach is chosen, it must be clearly set out in the school's pay policy.

Non-consolidated recognition awards

The draft STPCD 2026 also introduces a new discretionary power for governing bodies to make modest non-consolidated recognition awards to teachers. 

This is entirely optional, but schools that choose to introduce a scheme will need to ensure that clear published criteria and robust governance arrangements are in place. 

This includes setting out how staff are nominated, the nature of the award, any appeal process, and an annual reporting obligation covering the number of awards made and their total value, alongside monitoring of equality implications. Schools considering this should involve their governing body from the outset.

Importantly, the STPCD 2026 remains in draft form and subject to consultation. Our advice is not to implement the pay policy, or take any binding decisions under it, until the Pay Order has been made into law, which is anticipated on or around 6 November 2026. 

Schools may use the draft to begin preparations and consult with governors and staff in the meantime, but no commitments should be made until the Pay Order is in force. 

If you’re struggling to update your policies in time for them to be ratified and to ensure compliance, you may want to consider these best practice polices, all updated for the 2026-27 academic year.

Support staff pay: 3.3% Green Book increase confirmed

Agreement has been reached on a 3.3% pay increase for Local Government Services (Green Book) staff, effective from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The increase applies to all pay points (SCP 2 to SCP 43) and allowances. Schools and trusts should ensure this increase is applied promptly.

Schools should also be aware of the position in relation to former employees. Where a former employee requests backpay, you will need to consider whether that employee had a contractual entitlement to receive the NJC pay increase – either expressly or impliedly – and whether any proposed payment is compliant with the Academy Trust Handbook. 

The position is not always straightforward, and schools should obtain advice before making or declining any such payment.

School Support Staff Negotiating Body

The government published its response to the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) consultation before the summer, confirming the scope and purpose of this new body. The SSSNB will apply to directly employed support staff in roles up to and including middle leadership, including academy trust employees in support staff roles working outside academy sites, and staff on NJC, or 'Green Book' terms fall within its remit. 

Its role will be to negotiate pay and conditions, advise on training and support career progression, and to set minimum statutory terms and conditions. No employee will see their existing pay, terms or conditions reduced as a result, and the government has indicated that maternity pay will be the first area the body addresses.

The SSSNB is expected to be formally established in autumn 2026 under secondary legislation, with any changes expected to take effect from the 2027–28 financial year at the earliest. 

Current NJC arrangements remain in place for 2026–27 so no immediate action is required, but schools and trusts would be well placed to review which of their support staff are employed on NJC terms, so that they are prepared when further guidance is issued.

Employment Rights Act 2025: Key changes

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) has been a regular feature of our updates, but this autumn brings a number of further provisions into force. 

• The time limit for bringing an employment tribunal claim will increase from three months to six months. This is a significant change that in practical terms, means that schools may face claims arising from events that took place up to six months earlier, and should ensure that contemporaneous records of decision-making and processes are maintained to a high standard.
• A number of new trade union rights will take effect, including rights of access to workplaces and enhanced protection against detriment for employees taking industrial action. For further detail, please see our previous article. 
• The employer's duty relating to sexual harassment will be extended to require employers to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This is a higher threshold than the current duty and will require schools to demonstrate that they have taken proactive, comprehensive steps to prevent harassment. Schools should review their anti-harassment policies, ensure that staff training is up to date, and consider whether their current arrangements would withstand scrutiny against the "all reasonable steps" standard.
• A new duty will be introduced requiring employers to protect employees from harassment by third parties, which could include parents, visitors or contractors. Schools should consider what steps they can take to prevent third-party harassment, including reviewing their policies on acceptable behaviour by visitors and other third parties, and ensuring that staff know how to report incidents of harassment by third parties.

A recording of our recent webinar on the key changes taking effect in autumn 2026 will soon be available to watch on demand.

ACAS draft Code of Practice 

ACAS has published a new draft Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, with the consultation having closed on 23 September 2026. 

If adopted, the draft Code would represent a significant shift in the regulatory framework: 

1. Informal resolution would be brought within the statutory Code for the first time, with a clear expectation that parties attempt to resolve issues informally before moving to formal processes. 
2. The draft Code would broaden its scope from employees to workers. 
3. More detailed guidance on when suspension is – and is not – appropriate, reflecting the direction of recent case law. 
4. The draft Code would for the first time specifically address the duty to make reasonable adjustments during disciplinary and grievance processes.

Schools should not wait for the final Code before reviewing their current approach to managing workplace issues, particularly the extent to which their processes support early and informal resolution. We will provide further guidance when the outcome of the consultation is known. 

Flexible working: From encouraged to expected

The government's guidance on flexible working in schools has been updated. The most notable change is one of tone: schools and multi-academy trusts are now "expected to have a clear flexible working policy in place", a shift from the previous position in which this was simply encouraged. Any school that does not yet have a policy in place should treat this as a priority for the autumn term.

The absence of a policy is likely to be a relevant factor in any Employment Tribunal proceedings arising from a flexible working request. Beyond compliance, a visible commitment to flexible working is increasingly important for recruitment and retention in a competitive staffing market.