PAY 2026
We have received several enquiries regarding when the 3% pay rise mentioned in the agreement will be paid.
The pay rise for all within Royal Mail Group, except new entrants, is not dependent on the ballot result, as our members voted yes to the pay rise formula in July 2025.
Royal Mail normally takes six to eight weeks to build the new pay codes into PSP and to calculate arrears following any pay deal. We have been told that the target date for the increase and arrears for weekly-paid employees is Friday, 5th June, and for monthly-paid employees, the end of June.
The 3% will flow through to all elements of pay such as London pay ranges, Scottish Distant Island, pensionable allowances, Scheduled Attendance and overtime rates.
All members will be aware that a review formula was in place if the average CPI for January, February and March 2026 was above 3%. However, this review was linked to the company’s financial and commercial position. We decided that it was unlikely at this point that Royal Mail would agree to anything above 3% due to the delay in the USO and the fact that the company, at best, will break even for the financial year.
The decision was therefore made not to delay the pay rise any further and to have the review following the USO deployment. The Bank of England confirmed on 22nd April that the CPI for March was 3.3%, bringing the average for January, February, and March 2026 to 3.1%. If we had activated the review, then the pay rise would have been delayed even further.
Finally, new entrants will have the chance to vote on their pay rise, which is 4.75% (an additional 1.75%). If new entrants vote yes, Royal Mail aims to pay the increase and the arrears to new entrants in their monthly pay at the end of June.
Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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