Northern Ireland FE pay scales

In February 2020 UCU reluctantly declared a dispute over the pay and conditions of staff working in Northern Ireland's further education sector.

With wages falling well behind cost of living increases and spiralling workloads, the union has been pressing employers to work with us to improve conditions for our members but unfortunately negotiations have thus far failed.

We are therefore preparing to ballot our members for industrial action but continue to urge employers to meet with us to negotiate a better deal for staff, students and the colleges that communities in Northern Ireland depend on. 

2017 position

The below was imposed in FE lecturer salaries without agreement.

1. payment of the outstanding 0.07% increase in salary rates (including allowances ie. threshold, dean, responsibility and re-organisation) from 1 September 2015.
   This uplift applies to all staff employed under the lecturer's contract of employment (ie. associate lecturers, full-time lecturers, principal lecturers' and heads of department)
2. 1.00% increase in salary rates (including allowances ie. threshold, dean, responsibility and re-organisation) from 1 September 2017
   This uplift applies to all staff employed under the lecturer's contract of employment (i.e. associate lecturers, full-time lecturers, principal lecturers' and heads of department).
3. 1.00% increase in salary rates from 1 September 2017 relating to staff employed under the hourly paid part-time lecturer's contract.

Salary scales

Please note: the 2014 scales below are the latest official scales provided by Colleges Northern Ireland and do not reflect the impositions detailed above.

• Lecturer scales
• Principal lecturer scales
• Part-time hourly paid teacher scales

For the latest department head and management spines, or principal and director scales and all further notes, please see the lecturers' award circular [168kb] and the principals and deputy directors' award circular [188kb].