Rising prices are undercutting household incomes and pay for the average public sector worker has been declining in real terms since August 2021.

In this report, the authors argue that demands for higher pay settlements for public sector workers are justified. Even if the average public sector worker receives a 6 per cent pay rise, they will still be £1,400 worse off this year in real terms compared to before the pandemic.

A stronger pay settlement would help to address four problems facing the public sector: declining living standards, a workforce crisis, the decreasing quality of services and the reality that pay for the United Kingdom’s public sector workers lags behind our international peers.