Teacher pay in Northern Ireland

The latest confirmed pay scale for teachers in Northern Ireland is the 2025/26 one, which gave 4% from 1 September 2025. A teacher on the main scale earns between £32,916 (M2) and £43,830 (M6), and the upper pay scale runs from £47,390 to £50,876. The deal was accepted on 13 January 2026. As of mid-October 2026, no offer for 2026/27 had been made.

The current scales

These are the figures in force from 1 September 2025, taken from the Education Authority’s pay circular.

Point	Annual salary
M2	£32,916
M3	£35,185
M4	£37,809
M5	£40,700
M6	£43,830
UPS1	£47,390
UPS2	£49,104
UPS3	£50,876

Principals and vice-principals are paid on a separate leadership scale, and there are allowances for extra responsibility. Those figures are in the same circular and in the Department of Education’s documents, and they are not reproduced here.

Why the scale starts at M2

Northern Ireland has no M1. Beginning teachers start on M2, which is £32,916 under the 2025/26 scale. When you compare a post in Northern Ireland with one in England, compare the starting points, since the labels differ. England’s first point is called M1 and is £34,069 outside London from 1 September 2026, though that English rate is not yet in force in maintained schools because the legal pay document is still a draft.

Movement up the main scale depends on satisfactory service, under the rules in your terms and conditions. Moving onto the upper pay scale needs an application against set criteria, and your school or the Education Authority can give you the threshold guidance that applies.

Where the 2026/27 award stands

There is no 2026/27 award or offer for Northern Ireland teachers. Pay here is negotiated separately from England, Wales and Scotland, and last year’s timetable ran late. The 2025/26 rise, effective from September 2025, was not accepted until January 2026, so teachers waited several months and then received arrears.

Teachers in England have been promised 3.5% from 1 September 2026, and Scottish teachers got 3.25% from 1 August 2026. Neither sets the Northern Ireland figure. The teacher pay award 2026/27 guide tracks all four nations and will show when a Northern Ireland offer appears.

An offer usually goes to the teaching unions for consultation or a ballot before it is accepted. Pay changes only after acceptance and the issue of a new circular, so expect a gap between any announcement and your payslip.

Tax, National Insurance and student loans

Northern Ireland uses the same income tax rates as England: a £12,570 personal allowance, 20% up to £50,270 and 40% above. Employee National Insurance is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270.

Student loan repayments depend on your plan. Most people who studied in Northern Ireland are on Plan 1, which takes 9% of pay above £26,900. On M2 (£32,916), that is 9% of £6,016, or about £541 a year. Anyone on Plan 2 repays above £29,385. The student loan repayments guide covers every plan, and the take-home pay calculator gives a monthly figure for any point on the scale.

Teachers in Northern Ireland are in a separate Northern Ireland teachers’ pension scheme, and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme contribution rates quoted for England and Wales do not apply. Your employer or the scheme administrator can confirm your scheme’s own rates.

Pre-employment checks

Schools in Northern Ireland use AccessNI for criminal record checks. An enhanced check, which is the level needed for teaching, costs £32, and checks are free for eligible volunteers. Basic and standard checks cost £16 each. These fees have been in place since 1 April 2024.

Finding teaching jobs in Northern Ireland

Schools and the Education Authority advertise teaching posts themselves, and England’s Teaching Vacancies service does not carry them. The public sector jobs in Northern Ireland guide covers where to look across health, the civil service and education, and public sector jobs in Belfast lists the main employers in the city.