Union members have rejected this year's Cafcass pay offer in a consultative ballot.
As a result, Napo, the main union representing staff at the family court body, has entered talks with Cafcass's management in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
UNISON members, meanwhile, voted to accept the 2025-26 offer, which consists of:
- A 3.06% across the board increase in pay.
- An £850 rise in London Weighting, which is currently £5,101.
- A £500 rise in the target salary (the higher of the two pay points for each salary band) for band 4.
- A £1,000 rise in the commencement salary (the lower pay point) and a £500 rise in the target salary for band 5.
- A £500 rise in commencement salary for band 6.
As Cafcass's family court advisers (FCAs) - its frontline social workers - are on band 7, those outside London would receive only the 3.06% increase.
The proposed across-the-board rise is lower than the 3.2% awarded to local authority staff, including social workers, in England this year and the 3.6% given to NHS practitioners. It is also lower than the rate of inflation, which was 3.8% in the 12 months to September 2025.
Cafcass's pay settlement for staff is always shaped by civil service policy, which this year permitted government departments - including Cafcass's sponsor, the Ministry of Justice - to increase their average pay bills by 3.25% in 2025-26, with an additional 0.5% to deal with specific workforce issues, such as low pay.
In response to UNISON's acceptance of the offer, its lead officer for Cafcass, Sue Glithero said: "The increase is below the level staff and the union had wanted. However, workers in the service chose not to take part in industrial action in UNISON's consultation and have accepted the pay deal.
"The focus will now be on trying to secure an improved offer next year that better deals with cost of living pressures."
