Teachers accept a 4% pay rise

The unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland have accepted a pay rise of 4% for 2025/26.

The pay rise will be backdated to 1 September 2025.

For most teachers, a 4% increase will see their pay rise by between £1,000 – £2,000 a year before tax.

The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) said the offer was “the best achievable outcome on pay for this year”.

The 4% pay increase in Northern Ireland matches that given to teachers in England.

However, the pay deal is likely to contribute towards the Department of Education (DE) overspending its budget by over £200m.

The Education Minister Paul Givan has previously said that staffing and pay costs mean he will struggle to balance his budget for this year.

Givan recently criticised a multi-year budget put forward by the Finance Minister John O’Dowd, and said it would lead to significant cuts.

But on Monday the First Minister Michelle O’Neill said Executive Ministers were obliged to do all they could to agree a multi-year budget.

The first minister said the funding on offer from London was “inadequate” and that all ministers had hard choices to make.