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- Date:
- 22 October 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
Pay awards have now held at 3% for much of 2025 - the new normal for UK pay settlements. The latest Brightmine analysis confirms another period of steady outcomes and limited change across sectors.
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- Date:
- 22 October 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
Pay awards have been stable throughout 2025, but lower than seen in the previous two years. We now take stock of the pay setting environment and look ahead to likely activity in 2026.
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- Date:
- 30 September 2025
- Type:
- Commentary and insights
The national minimum wage (NMW) is often seen as a simple legal requirement: as long as you pay your workers at least the statutory rate, you are meeting compliance requirements. However, the rules are nuanced, and misunderstandings can lead organisations to costly errors, enforcement action and reputational damage.
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- Date:
- 24 September 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
To help guide your 2026 pay award planning, explore when pay settlements typically take effect across the economy.
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- Date:
- 24 September 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
Pay awards have cooled in the last 12 months, with the majority of deals being lower than those given in the previous year. As organisations navigate tighter budgets and shifting market pressures, this report reflects on the pay awards delivered in the last year, as collected by Brightmine.
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- Date:
- 24 September 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
Pay awards show little sign of movement, as the median basic settlement stays fixed at 3% over the summer. The latest analysis highlights a continuation of the stability seen throughout 2025.
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- Date:
- 24 September 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
As inflation dipped in 2025, the value of pay awards followed suit. We look at our pay settlement data in detail to reveal the differences between sectors and industries over the past year.
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- Date:
- 15 August 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
Pay award levels have remained consistent throughout 2025 so far and show no sign of moving. The latest Brightmine pay award analysis explores the trends in pay deals, as organisations and collective bargaining units continue to settle for 2025.
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- Type:
- Quick reference
Updated to reflect the NJC pay scale, as agreed in July 2025, applicable from 1 April 2025.
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- Date:
- 23 July 2025
- Type:
- Survey analysis
Standing steady at a 3% median, pay awards have remained consistent so far in 2025. As public-sector pay deals have started coming into effect, we are seeing these awards remain higher than the private sector, a trend we have recorded consistently since mid-2023.