Updated to include the Brightmine pay settlement data for the three months to the end of November 2025. Brightmine will publish the next pay figures on 21 January 2026.
After a short-lived lift from public-sector pay deals in the autumn, the UK's median basic pay award has settled back to 3%, confirming 2025 as a year of flatter, more subdued pay growth than 2024.
Drawing on our latest research data, Brightmine content managers Bar Huberman and Sheila Attwood set out the key priorities for HR and reward professionals in 2026. CEO Scott Walker also joins the podcast to discuss one of the key trends of recent years - AI in the workplace.