NJC pay spine for council and school support staff 2026/27

The NJC pay spine is the single list of pay points used to set salaries for most council staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for support staff in many schools. From 1 April 2026 it runs from £25,614 at spinal column point (SCP) 3 to £56,293 at SCP 43, after a 3.3% award. The spine itself is national. Which points belong to which grade is up to each employer.

The full spine from 1 April 2026

The 2026/27 award is 3.3% on points 3 to 43, backdated to 1 April 2026. The figures below are the official 1 April 2025 values multiplied by 1.033 and rounded to the nearest pound. The lowest and highest points match the published 2026/27 figures, but the National Joint Council circular itself could not be checked. Treat the table as a guide, and go by your employer’s published scale if a figure differs by a pound.

SCP	Annual	SCP	Annual	SCP	Annual	SCP	Annual
3	£25,614	14	£30,515	25	£37,563	36	£48,738
4	£26,016	15	£31,015	26	£38,510	37	£49,817
5	£26,427	16	£31,525	27	£39,481	38	£50,908
6	£26,847	17	£32,046	28	£40,444	39	£51,928
7	£27,274	18	£32,578	29	£41,177	40	£53,051
8	£27,709	19	£33,119	30	£42,123	41	£54,143
9	£28,153	20	£33,673	31	£43,149	42	£55,224
10	£28,608	21	£34,237	32	£44,253	43	£56,293
11	£29,071	22	£34,811	33	£45,529
12	£29,542	23	£35,570	34	£46,579
13	£30,023	24	£36,581	35	£47,665

All values are full-time annual salaries for a 37-hour week. SCP 2 was deleted from 1 April 2026, which is why the spine starts at 3.

Turning a spine point into an hourly rate

The usual NJC formula divides the annual salary by 52.143 (weeks in a year) and then by 37 (hours in a full-time week). SCP 3 works out at about £13.28 an hour. Other points: SCP 5 about £13.70, SCP 10 about £14.83, SCP 20 about £17.45 and SCP 43 about £29.18.

Every point on the spine is above the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over. The Real Living Wage is a voluntary rate, announced on 15 October 2026 at £14.10 outside London and £15.45 in London. SCPs 3 to 6 fall below £14.10, and SCP 7 (about £14.14) is the first point above it. Councils that are accredited Living Wage employers usually pay a supplement to lift the lowest points, and accredited employers are expected to bring in the new rate within six months of the announcement. The Real Living Wage vs the National Living Wage guide explains the difference.

How grades map onto the spine

Think of the spine as a ladder of points, with grades as the rungs an employer groups together. A council or school might decide that its Grade 3 covers SCPs 5 to 7 and its Grade 6 covers SCPs 17 to 22. Those numbers are made up for illustration. Every employer draws its own grades, usually through a job evaluation scheme that scores each job on things like knowledge, responsibility and working conditions.

The same job title can therefore sit on different points in neighbouring councils, and a teaching assistant grade in one area may start several points higher than in the next. Compare the SCP range in the advert, not the grade name. The spine points explained guide covers how adverts describe them, and how to read the salary on a job advert covers pro rata and FTE wording.

Within a grade you usually move up one point a year until you reach the top, subject to your employer’s rules. Some employers tie the move to appraisal or to finishing a probation period.

Who is and is not on the spine

The spine applies to staff on the “Green Book” national agreement. That means most council employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus support staff in maintained schools: teaching assistants, administrators, site staff and catering staff. Many academy trusts use it too.

Teachers have their own pay document. Chief officers and chief executives have separate national arrangements, and council staff in Scotland are covered by a separate Scottish negotiating body. Some councils run local pay deals outside the NJC, and their adverts usually say so.

The Employment Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, provides for a School Support Staff Negotiating Body. It still needs secondary legislation, and its first pay outcomes are expected in 2027/28 at the earliest. Until then, school support staff stay on NJC arrangements.

Pension contributions on the spine

Staff on the spine are normally in the Local Government Pension Scheme. The member rate depends on actual pay, not the full-time figure. For 2026/27 the main section rate is 5.8% on pay from £18,401 to £29,000, 6.5% from £29,001 to £47,300 and 6.8% from £47,301 to £59,800. The 50/50 section halves both the contribution and the pension built up. The Local Government Pension Scheme guide has the full bands, and the take-home pay calculator shows net pay for any point.