EUREST (EX QUADRANT) PAY SETTLEMENT 2026
The annual Pay Review Date for our Ex-Quadrant members in Eurest was 1st April and the department has been in discussions with Compass Group/ Eurest on achieving a settlement for the April 1st Pay date.
It was anticipated the discussions this year could prove extremely difficult, especially against the backdrop of another significant rise to the National Living Wage (NLW), which is relevant with regard to our National C Grade members. The rise in the NLW this year (4.1%) far outstripped all inflation measures and again, made reaching a uniform agreement for all grades extremely challenging.
A negotiators agreement has now been reached with the employer on pay for all CWU grades in Compass Group/Eurest, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive.
- 50p minimum increase to each hourly rate of pay thus maintaining the 9p differential to NLW for the National C grades (lowest paid grade), a priority issue for the department, where the 50p uplift would fall below 3% the business have confirmed all employees will receive a minimum of 3% increase.
- The retention of the £1 premium (O/T) rate for all grades as per current arrangements for hours worked over and above 37.5. I.E. Overtime is paid at £1 per hour more than the standard hourly rate.
- No change to Night duty allowance rates or rules.
On basic pay the above process is in line with 2025’s pay agreement and does apply a uniform monetary pay uplift for all Grades across the three Pay Ranges. It also ensures that the previous commitment to maintain the Premium overtime hourly rate at £1 above basic pay rate.
As with the 2026 deal the uniform uplift in pay rates results in varying percentage pay rises depending on the starting point. Rises range between 4.1% for National C Grade employees to 3% for Inner London A Grade employees. In the case of the National C Grade although the full 4.1% increase would not have been required to honour the NLW, we have been successful in ensuring that the full uplift was achieved to ensure that we maintain the buffer between C Grade pay and the NLW. C Grade employees are by far the majority grade within the Eurest structure.
Following discussions with the employer, arrangements are being made to ensure that the pay uplifts will be included in April salaries, should the deal be endorsed. If that is not possible then as a minimum, pay for the National C Grade will be uplifted to the new National Minimum Wage from April 1st with remaining rises applied subsequently and backdated to the pay review date.
The ballot timetable will be:
Papers Despatched: Wednesday 25th March 2026
Closing Date and result: Tuesday 14th April 2026
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org or jmansell@cwu.org quoting reference LTB 085/26.
Yours sincerely,
Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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