Workplace Report (October 2025)

Pay survey 2024/25

LRD's annual pay survey, based on 641 deals recorded in Payline, shows how persistently higher prices have posed a renewed challenge. The LRD is grateful to all those unions who provide this vital information.

The five pages devoted to the 2024/25 pay survey (pages 19–23) show that overall, the median pay deal was 3.8% for the standard increase and 4.0% for lowest basic rates. More than a quarter of deals beat 5%, and a small number won 8% or higher. On the other end of the spectrum, 15% of deals received less than 3%.

As a trend, historically high wage increases in previous years have tapered off, and the jump in inflation means that unions face a higher bar to clear to increase real wages. While the double-digit inflation figures of 2022 have not been repeated, RPI inflation hit an 18-month high of 4.8% in July. The mean average RPI rate over the pay round was 3.7%, and for CPI an average 2.8%.

On page 4 we can see the latest figures for wages and prices, and according to Payline data, the lowest basic rate has dropped to 3.2%. In the context of predicted UK CPI inflation at 3.5% for the rest of 2025—representing the highest in the OECD—there is the constant threat of real wage deterioration.

Yet modest optimism is justified. Business surveys indicate many will settle at 3–4% in 2026, a level that should keep track and exceed potential future falls in inflation.


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