School support staff across the UK missed out on over £2.2 billion in potential earnings last year due to being paid solely during term time, according to new analysis.
Research by the GMB union revealed that if teaching assistants, cleaners, caterers, and administrative personnel received pay for a full 52 weeks instead of 44, their annual wages could rise by as much as £4,094.
The union, representing more than 100,000 school support staff, calculated that this collective shortfall for approximately 800,000 workers on term-time contracts amounted to £2.2 billion for the 2024/25 period.
Stacey Booth, GMB national officer, said: “Hard-up school support staff are being discriminated against by these term time-only contracts.
“They miss out on more than £4,000 each – every single year.
“The teachers they work with don’t have to put up with it, nor do the council workers they are lumped together with for wages.”
Unison, Unite and GMB have called for school and council workers to get a pay rise of at least £3,000 or 10% for 2026/27, whichever is greater, as well as a minimum hourly rate of £15.
The unions have previously said the real value of local government pay has fallen by more than 26% since 2010, leaving many finding it hard to cope with higher household costs and energy bills.
Currently, school support staff negotiate pay and conditions with the National Joint Council (NJC), the same as council workers.
The Government has committed to creating a dedicated School Support Staff Negotiating Body, but it is not expected to cover support staff pay and conditions until 2027/28.
GMB said the NJC has agreed to meet with unions to discuss wages this month.
Meanwhile, parents are set to receive a new government-backed guide on how to formally complain to their child’s school in a bid to curb a significant rise in escalated and often aggressive disputes.
The comprehensive five-step process, developed by the Department for Education (DfE), charity Parentkind, and schools watchdog Ofsted, aims to foster a more "positive, respectful way" for parents to address concerns with educational institutions.
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