On 27 November, the unions and council management met to continue negotiations on the proposed Pay Award for 2026/27. Following these discussions, and within the boundaries of what is affordable to the authority, the council has revised its offer for the 2026/27 Pay Award. The revised offer is:
a pay increase of 3% across all scale points and allowances for 2026/27 from 1 April 2026
a commitment to paying the increase to the Real Living Wage (RLW) as the minimum pay level – the rate of pay used, for example, for our apprenticeships
The Real Living Wage rate applied from 1 April 2026 will be £13.45 per hour.
This revised offer builds on the council’s original proposal made on 2 October, which was:
a pay increase of 2.5% across all scale points and allowances for 2026/27
a commitment to paying the increase to the Real Living Wage (RLW), the rate of pay used, for example, for our apprenticeships.
Throughout this process, the Council has continued to review relevant information, including benchmarking with other Surrey authorities (Surrey County Council, the Surrey Police & Crime Commissioner, and other District and Borough councils), while ensuring that any increase remains affordable and sustainable for the authority.
Next steps
The unions have agreed to engage with their members in preparation for the next meeting, which is scheduled for 13 January 2026. If you have any queries, or would like to give your feedback about the Pay Award 2026/27 and you are not a member of either Unison or GMB, please speak to your manager or email HR@reigate-banstead.gov.uk with the subject line: “Pay Award 2026/27 Feedback”. This latest update is available on the Knowledge.
