Teachers are trying to escape untenable workloads, toxic cultures, or leadership that’s worn them down – but far too many hit the same wall: a new school offering them M6 when they’re already at UPS3. It’s happening everywhere, and it’s quietly becoming normalised. That should worry all of us.

The narrative is always the same. ‘Budget constraints.’ ‘We can’t justify upper pay scale from the start.’ etc, etc, etc (yawn).

It sounds reasonable until you actually sit with what’s being asked: for an experienced, highly skilled teacher to accept less than they’re worth, work their way back up a ladder they’ve already climbed, and effectively subsidise a school’s budget by taking a pay cut for doing the same job.

That’s not okay.

Here’s the reality no one seems to want to say out loud:

If you are a UPS3 teacher, you’ve earned it. Through consistency, expertise, impact, and a proven track record. That doesn’t vanish at the school gate just because you’re applying somewhere new.

Your professional value doesn’t shrink when you change buildings.

If your performance in a new setting turns out to be below expectation — fine, there are mechanisms to address that, including the possibility of moving down. That’s accountability. But starting lower because a school wants the experience without paying for it? That’s exploitation.

Every time someone accepts M6 after being on UPS, it reinforces the message that schools can keep doing this. It chips away not only at individual teachers’ financial security but at the profession’s standards as a whole.

Schools will continue to push the boundary as long as enough people allow them to.

Know your worth.

Know your worth. Stand your ground. The more teachers refuse to play this game, the faster it collapses. Because schools cannot and should not sustain a system where they expect UPS-level skill on M-level pay.

The profession is already fuelled in so many ways by good will. It has to stop.

Don’t let desperation nudge you into a decision that diminishes your value. Getting out of an untenable job shouldn’t require sacrificing your pay, your dignity or the recognition you’ve already earned.

Hold the line. It protects you — and it protects everyone coming behind you.

Should UPS teachers be expected to ‘do more’?

• UPS isn’t a bonus for extra jobs. It’s recognition of sustained, high-quality teaching over time.
• Schools often try to attach endless add-ons to justify paying UPS — but the pay scale wasn’t designed as payment for extra duties; it reflects experience, impact and consistency.
• If a school wants someone to lead, create, or run additional projects, that should be part of a separate TLR — not used as a bargaining chip to drag an experienced teacher back down to M6.

The bottom line: UPS reflects who you are, not how many spare hours you can be squeezed for. If a school expects UPS3 expertise, they should pay UPS3 money.

How this harms M pay scale teachers too

• When UPS3 teachers accept M6 pay, it distorts the job market. Schools get used to the idea that they can have top-tier experience for mid-tier money.
• That puts genuine M6 teachers at a disadvantage. Why would a school choose an M6 candidate when they can get a UPS-level teacher for exactly the same salary?
• This drives wages down for everyone, depresses progression opportunities, and creates a warped system where experience is punished instead of rewarded.

If this continues, we’ll end up with an entire tier of teachers trapped — M6 teachers unable to move up, UPS teachers pushed down, and schools benefiting from the imbalance.

The profession loses. Students lose. Teachers lose.

This is why holding the line matters. Refusing to accept less than UPS3 when you’ve earned UPS3 isn’t selfish — it protects the pay structure for everyone else trying to progress.

Thanks for reading.

Please share with your teacher colleagues and friends.