Staff at Natural England are set to get a two-year pay deal worth an average of more than 12% in return for concessions on working hours, annual leave entitlement and overtime rates.
The Prospect union, whose members have backed the offer, said the deal represents an average increase of 7% in 2025-26 and 5.1% in 2026-27, representing a cumulative uplift of just over 12.4%.
Civil service pay-remit guidance from the Cabinet Office allowed departments a 3.25% average increase in 2025-26, with the potential for an additional 0.5% rise to target “specific departmental workforce issues”. Guidance has yet to be published for 2026-27.
Natural England is the government’s independent adviser on the environment and is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. According to its most recent annual report and accounts, it has roughly 2,800 staff.
Prospect described the deal as a “vital pay flex agreement” that will address “structural problems” in Natural England’s pay system that are fuelling recruitment and retention problems.
It said the deal – which 91% of Prospect members at the organisation voted to support in a recent ballot – would reduce the length of Natural England’s pay ranges, align terms and conditions within the organisation – and bring them closer to those in the wider Defra group.
In return for the headline pay rise, holiday entitlement at Natural England will reduce to 30 days a year, with new starters beginning on 25 days a year. Prospect said that some “legacy organisation” staff were previously entitled to 34.5 days a year.
The new deal also includes an increase in the working week from 36 hours to 37 hours and reductions in overtime pay.
Prospect said the deal, which includes additional funding from Defra, should help to attract and retain talent by offering better salaries and move colleagues up through their pay range to better reflect their knowledge, skills and experience.
Steve Thomas, Prospect deputy general secretary, said the deal is proof that there are ways for civil service employers to improve their pay structures, despite the boundaries of the government’s annual pay-remit guidance.
“There are still a lot of improvements which could be made, by offering a genuine and enduring pay progression mechanism for example, but this is still a huge step forward and one that other areas can learn from,” he said.
“One of the main advantages of the new structure is that it will bring many staff who are stuck at the bottom of their pay scales onto a much more competitive level, rewarding service and improving incentives to stay with Natural England.
“Pay flex cases can be slow and cumbersome and without significant reform cannot be a substitute for proper recognition of specialist civil servants. What they do show is that by working with unions employers can find innovative ways to reverse the decline in civil service competitiveness with the private sector.”
Civil Service World sought a response from Natural England. It had not provided one at the time of publication.