The Scottish teachers’ pay deal for 2021-22 has been agreed. Teachers new to the profession and in their probationary year will now earn over £28,000, while more experienced classroom teachers at the top of the scale will earn over £42,000.

Headteachers at the top of the scale, meanwhile, are edging ever close to earning £100,000, with the deal taking the maximum they can earn to £99,609.

The deal, however, has been grudgingly accepted by teachers and heads.

The increase for those earning over £80,000 was capped at £800 - that prompted the general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, Jim Thewliss, to say the pay deal discriminated against school leaders and was “a slap in the face” given the long hours they had worked during the pandemic.

Members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Union, meanwhile, voted to reject the deal in a consultative ballot. And while members of Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, followed the union’s advice to accept the deal, it says it will be pushing for “a fairer and far greater pay settlement for 2022-23”. 

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said last week the offer fell short ”of the pay increase that Scotland’s teaching professionals deserve” and the EIS had already submitted a claim for “a 10 per cent pay increase for Scotland’s teachers and associated professionals”.

The 2021-22 deal includes:

• A 1.22 per cent increase at all pay points with effect from 1 April 2021.
• A further 1 per cent increase at all pay points effective from 1 January 2022.
• A one-off non-recurring payment of £100 to each member of staff (pro-rata for part-time) for all those in post on 31 March 2022 and based on working hours at that time.

The EIS has published updated salary scales.

Impact of 2021-22 pay deal on classroom teacher salaries:

Impact of 2021-22 pay deal on depute and headteacher salaries:

Further details of the impact of the deal on salary scales can be found here and advice about how to claim back pay for those who have left teaching or retired can be found here.