Impact of revised minimum wage rates in the DWP

The introduction of the 2026 rates of the national living wage (NLW) will impact over 20,000 AA and AO staff across the DWP with the addition of some EO staff who chose to opt out of the Employee Deal in 2016. For the fourth consecutive year members of staff in the AA and AO grades will be paid the legal minimum that any employer can pay without breaking the law on 1 April.

Revised rates

The new minimum legal wage rates are as follows:

• For those aged 21 and over the NLW will increase from £12.20 per hour to 12.71.
• For those aged 18-20 the minimum wage will increase from £10.00 to £10.80
• For those under 18 and apprentices the minimum wage will increase from £7.55 to £8.00.

Pay anomalies

The fact that so many people will need to have their pay uplifted to the national living wage will reinforce the serious anomalies in the DWP pay structure.

AO and AA pay

• Outside London there will be no difference in pay between AAs and AOs despite the work of AOs being more complex and requiring more responsibility
• AAs both outside and inside London will be on the same rate of pay – this means the end of London Weighting in the AA grade.  
• For AOs the London weighting differential continues to be eroded year on year.
• The revised rate of the national living wage means that there will no longer be a difference in pay for AOs and AAs whether they opted in or out of the Employee Deal.

Addressing the anomalies

PCS has been clear with the DWP in four years of pay talks that these anomalies are unacceptable and unfair and need to be remedied.

PCS pay priorities in the DWP

The DWP GEC believes that:

• Chronic low pay must be addressed
• No member of staff should have to experience the indignity of having their pay raised to meet the legal minimum pay rate of the National Living Wage every April.
• There should be meaningful pay differentials between all grades.
• There should be an end to the pay differential between members who have opted out and those who opted into the Employee Deal.
• Staff who have transferred into DWP from other employers should receive a decent pay rise
• There should be no capability based or performance related pay for DWP staff
• Everyone in DWP deserves an inflation proof pay rise
• The DWP needs to do everything in its power to fund these reasonable demands.

As PCS continues our endeavour to secure better pay for all members, it is imperative that members stay engaged. You are the union. PCS represents you, but it is our collective strength, our standing together that gives us the ability to win.

If you know of a non-member, please ask them to join and be part of the campaign for fair pay in DWP Join PCS.