Teachers in Northern Ireland have been offered a 4% pay rise for 2025/26. Teaching unions have welcomed the pay offer and each individual union will now consult their members on the offer.
The Management Side of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee submitted a formal offer for a 2025/26 teachers’ pay award to the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC) on 6 January 2026.
As well as Department of Education (DE), the Management Side includes representatives of all the education employing authorities, sectoral bodies and Department of Education (Education Authority, Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, Governing Bodies Association, Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta, NI Council for Integrated Education and DE).
The proposed pay award includes a 4% consolidated increase to all teacher salary scale points, effective 1 September 2025 and a 4% increase to Teaching and Special Needs Allowances, also effective 1 September 2025.
In a joint statement, the bodies represented at Management Side said: “This offer reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring fair and competitive remuneration for teachers in Northern Ireland.
“We very much value the vital role of teachers and believe this pay award represents the best that can be achieved against the back drop of increasing financial pressures.”
Each of the 5 unions represented at NITC will now consult their respective memberships following which Management Side will be advised of the outcome.
