BT agrees pay rise for all but highest-paid workers

BT Group has agreed to give a cost-of-living pay rise to all but its highest-paid workers.

The deal includes a £1,500 pay rise for all UK colleagues earning £50,000 or less from 1 January next year. BT said this was a consolidated salary increase, not a one-off payment, covering all frontline staff, and 51% of managers in the UK.

The Communication Workers Union - which is recommending that its members accept the deal - said this represents a 6% to 16% pay rise, depending on the pay grade.

BT chief executive Philip Jansen said: "This award is based on the principles we have followed throughout this difficult period. It gets help to as many of our colleagues as possible; favours our lower paid colleagues; and gives people the security of a built-in, pensionable increase to their pay.

"Crucially, it has been worked on in conjunction with the CWU. As I’ve said throughout, whatever our differences, our unions are vital partners. We will now build on this collaboration: We have agreed with both our union partners that we will all lean into the opportunities and challenges the future will bring, specifically our transformation plans and the delivery of the £3bn cost savings by the end of FY25. Ultimately, we all want BT Group to be successful so that we can do the best by our people and customers for years to come."

CWU Deputy General Secretary Andy Kerr said: "I wish to pay tribute to our members for coming out to strike in such serious numbers.

"Their determination has moved BT into a position where they could no longer ignore the case for a consolidated pay rise - without such unity, the company would have offered a cost-of-living bung at the very best."

BT said it was still committed to running a 2023 pay review for UK staff, but this will now move to September 2023 and take into account the January cost-of-living pay rise.