School leaders’ union NAHT will ballot its members in Jersey on a new pay offer from the Island’s government.

At a meeting this evening, the offer, which covers the 2023 calendar year, was put to members in detail.

An online ballot will now be held in which they will decide whether to accept or reject the offer. It will run for six days up to and including Monday 23 October.

The decision means a strike planned by NAHT members today, Wednesday 18 October, has been suspended.

The new offer from the States Employment Board (SEB) includes backdating the previous 7.9% pay offer to 1 January and the department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) giving school leaders an additional Education Reform Allowance worth approximately 2.5%.

They will also receive a further one-off allowance for next year if joint work between NAHT and the Jersey government to address changes to school leaders’ roles over the years and the impact of the Education Reform Programme has not been completed by October 30, 2024.

The offer also pledges to explore the possibility of a healthcare plan for school leaders, along with commitments to review terms and conditions and to explore other benefits.

NAHT members had staged a day-long strike in September – the first in the union’s history in Jersey.

Rob Kelsall, NAHT’s assistant general secretary, said: “The last thing dedicated educational professionals want to do is go on strike, but prior to this new offer there had been no tangible improvements to the previous deal.

“The stark reality is that the pay of school leaders on the island has fallen by more than 11% in real terms since 2012, while at the same time workload has increased, especially on the back of the pandemic.

“It is now for members to determine whether this offer is a sufficient first step in beginning to reverse these pay cuts and make school leadership in Jersey a more attractive proposition amid a growing recruitment and retention crisis in the education profession.”

NAHT members began action short of strike (ASOS) in early July. School leader members are refusing to engage with certain government requests, including responding to calls or emails outside core hours, discussing their industrial action, facilitating unsolicited school visits, and participating in non-statutory consultations, surveys, meetings, or data requests.

98% of participating NAHT members backed ASOS in an industrial action ballot in June, with 86% backing strike. Turnout was 68%.