Staff salary, grades, overtime and leave
FOI reference - FOI-465
Date - 10 April 2026
Request
- Salary ranges:
For each grade or band, please provide the minimum and maximum salary or spot rate. Where applicable, please include locational pay ranges or allowances, for example London or other regional pay. - Grade structure:
Where your organisation operates its own grading structure, please confirm the equivalent Civil Service grade for each band. - Pay deal arrangements:
Please confirm your organisation’s headline 2025 pay award and the average increase in remuneration costs. Where applicable, please also summarise any changes to terms and conditions associated with the award and confirm whether an HM Treasury approved pay flexibility case was used to increase remuneration costs above the 2025 Civil Service Pay Remit. - Pay progression:
Please confirm how staff progress to the maximum pay point within their grade or pay band, for example time served progression, performance-based progression, or discretionary progression. - Non-consolidated pay:
Please confirm whether your organisation operates a non-consolidated pay pot, including bonuses or reward and recognition schemes. Provide the total value expressed both as a percentage of the pay bill and in monetary terms. - Contracted working hours and breaks:
Please confirm the contracted working hours used for hourly pay and National Living Wage calculations, including whether hours are gross or net, whether breaks (i.e. lunch) are paid or unpaid, and any variations by grade or contract. - Weekly calculation:
Please confirm whether contractual pay calculations are based on 52 weeks, 52.2 weeks, or another arrangement, particularly in the context of National Living Wage calculations. - Overtime, TOIL and On Call:
Please provide details of overtime arrangements, including payment rates (i.e. Plain Time, Double Time etc), and whether TOIL or on call arrangements apply, including any allowances or grade-based variations. - Annual leave:
Please confirm annual leave entitlements for all grades, including public holidays and any privilege or legacy holidays, and whether entitlements increase with length of service. - Flexi Leave:
Where a flexible working hours scheme is in place, please confirm whether flexi leave or equivalent time off is permitted, and any limits that apply. - Leave year and carry over:
Please confirm how annual leave years are determined (i.e. Anniversary of start date, or 1 Apr to 31 Mar etc.) and the maximum leave that may be carried over into or anticipated from a future leave year, including any exceptions. - Buying and selling leave:
Please confirm whether staff may buy or sell annual leave and, if so, any limits and the rate of pay calculation used when buying/selling leave. - Family and special leave:
Please provide summary pay details for maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption, fertility, and bereavement leave provisions. - Sick leave:
Please confirm sick pay entitlements including full pay and half pay periods, and whether disability related absence is treated differently for attendance management purposes. - Volunteering leave:
Please confirm whether volunteering leave is available and the number of days or hours provided.
Response
I confirm that we hold some of the information you have requested. Please see our response to each question below.
Salary ranges
Table 1: 2025 to 2026 pay
| TPR Grade | TPR Title | Bottom of the band | Standard Pay Point (SPP)(Note 1) | Top of the Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Pay Group | ||||
| Grade 3 | Director | £109,307 | - | £150,000 |
| Grade 4 | Head of | £89,031 | £89,930 | £102,905 |
| Grade 5 | Business Lead | £74,348 | £75,099 | £85,933 |
| Grade 6 | Principal | £62,458 | £63,089 | £72,193 |
| Grade 7 | Lead Specialist | £53,533 | £54,074 | £61,877 |
| Grade 8 | Specialist | £45,749 | £46,211 | £52,879 |
| Grade 9 | Lead Associate | £39,353 | £39,751 | £45,486 |
| Grade 10 | Associate | £35,375 | £35,732 | £40,485 |
| Grade 11 | Officer | £31,833 | £32,154 | £36,076 |
| Grade 12 | Lead Administrator | £28,896 | £29,188 | £32,589 |
| Grade 13 | Administrator | £25,991 | £26,254 | £29,171 |
| Advisory Pay Group | ||||
| Grade 4 | Head of - Advisory | £118,519 | £119,716 | £137,673 |
| Grade 5 | Business Lead - Advisory | £108,014 | £109,105 | £125,471 |
| Grade 6 | Principal - Advisory | £88,564 | £89,459 | £102,877 |
| Grade 7 | Lead Specialist - Advisory | £62,666 | £63,299 | £72,793 |
| Grade 8 | Specialist - Advisory | £50,470 | £50,980 | £58,627 |
| Grade 9 | Lead Associate - Advisory | £42,852 | £43,285 | £49,777 |
| Digital Pay Group | ||||
| Grade 4 | Head of - Digital | £94,723 | £95,680 | £107,348 |
| Grade 5 | Business Lead - Digital | £84,275 | £85,126 | £95,507 |
| Grade 6 | Principal - Digital | £71,535 | £72,257 | £81,070 |
| Grade 7 | Lead Specialist - Digital | £62,581 | £63,213 | £70,922 |
| Grade 8 | Specialist - Digital | £53,037 | £53,573 | £60,106 |
| Grade 9 | Lead Associate - Digital | £41,096 | £41,511 | £46,574 |
Notes for Table 1: 2025 to 2026 pay
- Note 1: In 2025, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) moved from performance-based pay to an approach where salaries are based on the role itself. A Standard Pay Point (SPP) was introduced for each grade. The SPP is reviewed as part of the annual pay review and is the salary at which all those in the roles assigned to that grade and pay group will ultimately be paid. Achieving the transition of salaries to the SPP will be carefully managed over multiple years, with the constraints of the Civil Service Pay Remit and the strategic decisions TPR chooses to make, dictating the specific length of time.
- Note 2: Starting pay arrangements for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (Grade 1) and Executive Directors (ED) (Grade 2), are individual and are subject to agreement with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and operate within the Senior Staff Salary guidance from HM Treasury. Remuneration for Executive Directors and the CEO are disclosed in our annual report and accounts.
Grade structure
TPR has its own grade structure which is not comparable to the civil service, and we are not able to provide a comparison.
Pay deal arrangements
In 2025, in line with the Civil Service Pay Remit, TPR received approval for a 3.25% increase to its pay bill, along with an additional 0.5% targeted at the lowest-paid grades. In 2025 TPR applied a graduated approach to salary increases, based on an employee’s position within their pay band, with employees at the bottom of the pay band receiving higher percentage increases than those at the top. The average pay award in 2025 was 4.18%.
No HM Treasury approved pay flexibility cases were used to increase remuneration costs above the 2025 Civil Service Pay Remit.
Pay progression
TPR is in the process of moving all staff to a single Standard Pay Point (SPP) for each grade. This means that all staff in a particular grade will be paid the same salary. As a result, there will be no further progression above the standard pay point, with the pay-range gradually moving to a single pay-point. This means that employees lower in the pay band will receive higher percentage increases than those at the top and caps at the top of the pay bands may be held. Performance is rewarded through discretionary non-consolidated bonus awards, not consolidated pay awards.
Non-consolidated pay
Our non-consolidated pay pot is set at the standard civil service pay remit level of 2.3% of TPR’s pay bill which equated to £1,698,560 in 2025-26. The pot is used to pay non-consolidated bonus awards and is subject to the constraints of the Civil Service Pay Remit and are directly linked to an employee’s end-of-year performance rating, with eligibility limited to employees rated “Stands Out” or “Exceeding Expectations.”
Contracted working hours and breaks
35 hours per week for most staff, 37.5 hours per week for those who have TUPE'd over. Lunch breaks unpaid. Hours are net for all staff.
Weekly calculation
Standard hourly pay rates (used for overtime and holiday calculations) for employees under TPR terms and conditions are calculated as follows: Annual Salary/52 weeks/35 hours per week.
There is a small population of employees under TUPE terms and conditions; their hourly rates are calculated based on: Annual Salary/52 weeks/37.5 hours per week.
(In both cases, the hours per week used are the standard working hours for full-time employees, excluding breaks.)
All staff are paid according to a monthly pay period (i.e. no one is paid weekly), and to ensure National Living Wage (NLW) compliance, we calculate an hourly rate by dividing the annual salary by 12 (i.e. pay periods in years) and 23 (i.e. maximum working days in the month) to ensure that any annual salary is high enough to ensure that the NLW hourly rate is being paid.
Overtime, TOIL and On Call.
For staff on regular TPR terms and conditions, normal hours of working are from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 a.m. with one hour of lunch, therefore full-time employees are required to work 35 hours per week. (Most staff are able to use flexi-time to vary their actual working hours across the month within certain limits.)
For staff on TUPE terms and conditions, full-time employees are required to work 37.5 hours per week.
Overtime: Overtime is classed as any time worked that has been pre-agreed by the manager as eligible for payment beyond the normal working hours.
In cases where overtime working is agreed, the rates will be as follows for staff on regular TPR terms and conditions:
Table 2: Rates of pay where overtime working is agreed
| Weekdays | Saturday | Sunday/Bank holiday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff within grades 9 to 15 | Time and a quarter hours (after 7 hours have been worked) | Time and a half | Double time |
| Staff within grades 1 to 8 | No entitlement | No entitlement | No entitlement |
If it is necessary to work weekends the prior written approval of the relevant line manager must be obtained before any overtime is worked. The line manager should give consideration as to whether time off in lieu is more appropriate. Working on Sundays and Bank holidays should be an exception.
Staff who work between the hours of 8.00pm and 7.00am are paid an unsocial hours payment, enhancing the rates above by an additional payment as follows:
- Between 8.00pm and 11.00pm – an additional one quarter of hourly rate (Enhanced Evening rate).
- Between 11.00pm and 7.00am – an additional one third of hourly rate. (Enhanced Night rate).
Employees that fall within grades 1 to 8 are not entitled to payment for overtime, except in exceptional circumstances where it is necessary for them to work unsocial hours.
Staff on TUPE terms and conditions are paid:
- Monday to Saturday: time and a half
- Sunday and public holidays: double time
Part-time staff (both TPR and TUPE terms and conditions) are paid at plain time for overtime worked on weekdays where the hours worked are within normal full-time weekly working hours.
On Call: Only employees who are clearly designated by their manager as needing to be on-call, and who have signed a contractual agreement as being available and on-call for a given period, receive an on-call allowance. This allowance is a regular fixed monthly allowance paid on top of their basic salary. Any time worked during the on-call period is recorded in fifteen minute increments as “hours worked” and will be paid at the appropriate overtime rate as set out above.
Annual Leave
25 days per annum for those in post since 1st January 2008. For those employed prior to 1st January 2008, entitlement is 30 days per annum. 30 days per annum for employees at and above grade 3. In addition, all statutory and public holidays are paid. Annual leave does not increase with length of service.
Flexi Leave
Flexi leave is permitted as part of TPR’s Flexitime policy. This policy applies to all employees, with the exception of the CEO, Executive Directors, Directors and full-time compressed hours workers. A maximum of 14 hours can be taken as flexi leave in any accounting period, the accounting period being one calendar month. Employees must have sufficient credit to cover the absence. All requests are subject to line manager’s agreement. (This policy is non-contractual).
Leave year and carry over
1st January to 31st December. Up to five days can be carried over from one year to next but must be used by end March. Where sickness or operational reasons have prevented all leave being taken, managers, on advice from HR, may agree for more than five days to be carried over.
Buying and selling leave
There is no provision to buy leave, but up to five days per annum can be sold. The calculation is based on completed calendar months of service and on a working day basis, annual salary divided by 260 to get daily rate, then multiply that number by number of days due to be paid.
Family and special leave
- Maternity: enhanced statutory pay if qualifies to full pay weeks 1 to 26.
- Paternity: statutory enhanced to full pay for first two weeks. Shared parental leave enhanced statutory to full pay for weeks 1 to 26.
- Adoption leave: statutory enhanced to first 26 weeks topped up to full pay.
- Bereavement: up to five paid days if close relationship.
- Parental leave: up to 2 weeks paid.
All of the above subject to qualifying for such enhancements.
- Fertility provisions: may claim back flexitime taken for appointments subject to manager approval.
Sick leave
During the probation period, payment of occupational sick pay (OSP) during sickness is at management discretion.
After the probation period, and providing the reporting procedures are followed, employees are paid a maximum of 52 weeks of OSP in their current absence, but this entitlement is reduced by any absence already paid in the previous four years from the start date of their current absence.
Occupational sick pay is paid at full pay for 26 weeks as long as no more than 26 weeks of full pay OSP has been paid in a rolling 12-month period; where more than 26 weeks of full pay OSP has been paid within a rolling 12-month period, further absence will be paid at half pay for the remainder of any OSP entitlement.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid in accordance with current statutory regulations. For each day’s absence, SSP is offset against any OSP due for that day (i.e. SSP is topped up to full- or half-pay OSP until such time as OSP entitlement has expired, and thereafter only SSP would be paid).
Volunteering leave
We do not have a volunteering leave scheme.