The result of the 2025 pay ballot is as follows:
For: 75%
Against: 25%
Spoilt: 0%
We have communicated this to the company.
Thank you to everyone who voted and the local workplace reps for the hard work they put in running the ballot.
Unite in AXA reps will be issuing ballot papers to members to allow them to vote in the pay ballot that runs from today to 14th February. If you do not receive a ballot paper, please contact your local reps.
Details of the pay offer can be found in the Joint Statement (see below or on ONE) and sees a 3.5% pay pot for Associates to Professionals distributed via a pay matrix, all staff receive private medical insurance from 1st July and increased maternity leave benefit.
The pay offer is in line with inflation and what other insurers are offering, but with the provisional of PMI and improved maternity terms on top and we are recommending acceptance of the company offer by members.
Joint Statement 2025
This statement applies to all AXA UK employees other than those in AXA Health. The 2025 pay budget (the amount available to spend) has been negotiated by AXA and Unite. Regarding pay:
We’re also pleased to announce that changes will be made to benefits to offer more wellbeing support, and more support to new parents. This includes:
Unite members will go to ballot (i.e. vote on the offer) between 4 – 14 February and all pay increases will be effective 1 April 2025. AXA Health has also released their own pay statement today on ONE.
Overall budgets
Negotiations have now concluded with an offer of a 3.5%overall pay budget increase for all e across the Associate to Professional grades. This reflects an above inflationary increase (CPI). AXA employees in these grades will also see the introduction of the EMBS provided by AXA Health.
Similarly, a budget increase of 2.5%will apply to the Senior Professional to Senior Leader grades, as agreed during a consultation which also included Vox and AXA’s Manager Representatives. This is in line with CPI inflation and keeps our pay for this group in line with the market.
These budgets are increased irrespective of the significant increases in Employers National Insurance, which are broadly equivalent to 2.2% of current salary bill.
How AXA distributes pay awards – matrix vs. discretionary approaches
AXA distributes pay awards based on either a matrix or discretionary approach, according to grade. Both approaches are described in more detail below, but this table shows which approach, and proposed pay budget value, applies to each grade in 2025:
| Matrix | Discretionary | |
| Associate | 3.5% | N/A |
| Senior Associate | ||
| Professional | ||
| Senior Professional | N/A | 2.5% |
| Leader | ||
| Senior Leader |
Professional grades have been included in the matrix approach for the 2025 pay round as they were in 2024 and 2023. This practice will be reviewed for the 2026 pay round.
2025 Matrix pay distribution approach (Associate, Senior Associate & Professional)
The total 2025 pay budget increase for this group is 3.5%, however the actual pay award for each individual will be influenced by their performance rating and the position of their salary in the pay range. Following the matrix below, this means that larger awards will be provided to those with a higher performance rating and those positioned at the lower end of the pay range.
| Position in range | |||
| Performance rating | Low | Medium | High |
| Outstanding | 4.40% | 4.20% | 4.05% |
| Excellent | 4.05% | 3.85% | 3.70% |
| Successful | 3.70% | 3.50% | 3.10% |
| Partially Successful / Developing | 2.45% | 1.75% | 1.60% |
| Unsuccessful | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
2025 Discretionary pay approach – Senior Professional, Leader & Senior Leader
Managers who are responsible for making pay decisions during the pay review process (also known as Pool Heads) will use their discretion to provide pay awards for AXA employees in Senior Professional to Senior Leader grades, keeping within the 2.5%budget.
Pool Heads consider a range of factors when making a decision on an individual’s pay, including their performance, position in the salary range, the external market and comparison to peers. Outcomes are reviewed centrally to ensure fairness. The process for these checks and the guidance provided to Pool Heads ahead of pay review are reconsidered each year to ensure that they continue to be fit for purpose and lead to appropriate pay outcomes.
Adjustments to pay ranges
In line with AXA UK’s commitment as a Living Wage employer, minimum salaries in the UK pay ranges will be uplifted to the new Living Wage as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation effective from 1 April 2025.
| Hourly rate | 35 hr/week annualised | 37.5 hr/week annualised | |
| National | £12.60 | £22,932 | £24,570 |
| London | £13.85 | £25,207 | £27,008 |
Pay ranges have been assessed again to determine whether further adjustments are required, keeping the external market in mind. The revised 2025 pay ranges will be available in the Leader area on One towards the beginning of March and will be effective 1 April 2025.
Entry and Effective spot rates in Insurance
The Entry and Effective spot rates established in October 2024 to replace the previous development frameworks will be increased effective 1 April 2025. The new hourly rates that will apply are:
| Grade | Spot | Rate at 1 Oct 2024 | Rate from 1 Apr 2025 |
| Associate | Entry | £12.00/hour (the Living Wage) | £12.60/hour (the Living Wage) |
| Effective | £12.50/hour | £13.10/hour | |
| Senior Associate | Entry | £13.00/hour | £13.60/hour |
| Effective | £14.00/hour | £14.60/hour |
Next steps
Unite members will go to ballot on this offer between 4 – 14 February. The final pay budget won’t be confirmed until the results of the ballot are known. Unite is a democratic organisation and it is members in AXA who have the final say; if you are a member you are encouraged to vote.
Individual pay outcomes will be formally communicated to AXA employees in March and any pay increases will take effect from 1 April 2025.
There’s more information on the pay review process on the My Pay page on ONE. Please speak to your line manager or Unite representative if you have any further questions.
| Tara Foley Chief Executive Officer AXA UK & Ireland | Dominic Hook National Officer Unite the Union |
Unite in AXA have issued a newsletter on the 2025 pay survey and the pay claim we submitted to the company today. Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.
Over the last three years we have been negotiating with the business for changes to the Development Frameworks in Retail and Commercial. Whilst in principle they were a good idea, like the similar systems that went before (remember Skills Ladders?) they have become stuck in a bureaucratic AXA quagmire and everyone pretty much agreed they were no longer fit to purpose.
Backdated to the 1st October, the development and remuneration awards for Associates and Senior Associates who were on the Development Frameworks has now been replaced with a much simpler and straight forward system (the number one rule Unite in AXA insisted on with the company – keep it simple!)
This has seen a large number of staff received (backdated) pay awards and has helped in part relieve the issue around pay compression at the bottom of Associate and Senior Associate pay scales caused by increases in the Real Living Wage out stripping pay awards.
This is however not the end of the story. We need to ensure that future increases to the Real Living Wage don’t catch-up or outsrip the new process and also have to deal with the issue of Professionals who are still on their own Development Frameworks, so we continue to be engaged with the business on these topics.
With the 2025 pay talks now on the horizon, we need to hear from you, our members, about what you think. Please complete the pay survey which can be accessed here, and encourage your colleagues to as well.
Unite in AXA have issued a newsletter on staff responses to the changes to Smart Working issued by Group HR in Paris. Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.
AXA have today announced a number of job losses in Retail with redundancies impacting staff in Birmingham, Cardiff, Ipswich, London, Middlesbrough and Redhill.
These redundancies are a result of the company’s plan to return Retail to profitability. Unite in AXA have been fully consulted about the changes to the business and would direct any member impacted to speak to their local union rep about any concerns they may have.
Unite in AXA have issued a newsletter on the changes to Smart Working issued by Group HR in Paris. Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.
After discovering the primary reason for time off in Teesside was linked to mental health, Unite in AXA and the AXA Teesside Management team decided to open Middlesbrough’s own ‘Mental Health Library’. They saw it as a simple opportunity to provide preventative support to colleagues.
It’s hoped that providing the books can support their development both personally and professionally as well as opening up healthy conversations about mind health in the site.
The library has been a bestseller since it opened, with every single book receiving a rave review so far. There’s a book for everyone on a variety of mind health topics – everything from how emotions are made, to mental clutter, to practical CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) workbooks. Next on the list, the ‘librarians’ are adding an MP3 player, pre-loaded with Mental Health podcasts and music therapies, for those who prefer to plug in and listen than read.
Sean Spinks, Customer Operations & Complaints Director, told us he’s been reading a book from the library called ‘Emotional First Aid’ by Guy Winch. The book is described as ‘a useful tool for anyone who wants to improve his or her outlook on life and resilience against its storms’. Sean told us;
“I’ve not finished the book yet, but it’s a great read so far. It touches on the way we naturally look after ourselves physically, but don’t apply the same principles to our mental health, and Guy talks about how we can start to manage our mind the same way we would our body. I’m looking forward to finishing it and borrowing another one from the library!”
Kriss Wearden, Customer Service Representative and Unite Representative in Teesside, was the driving force behind the opening of the library. He told us;
“From my own experiences, AXA provides great support to colleagues for mental wellbeing, but it isn’t always signposted until someone might already be struggling. The idea that colleagues can take away a helpful resource back home to help support them seemed like an easy gap we could fill.”
Kriss also told us he is happy to offer advice to anyone looking to open their own library;
“Please get in touch if you want to replicate this in your site. We’ve spent less than £250 on materials to get our library up and running so for any penny-pinchers out there – it doesn’t cost a lot for something so beneficial! We are always up for freebies too, so if you’d like to donate any materials let me know!”
