Local government services

The pay and terms of conditions of employment for over 1.4 million local government services' workers is determined by the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services.


The NJC for Local Government Services has 70 members: 12 on the employers' side and 58 on the trade union side.

In 1997, the NJC for Local Government Services agreed a national framework with potential for local modification to suit local service requirements. Known as The Single Status Agreement, these pay and conditions of service agreements are published in the Green Book.

We help councils develop a framework for their roles and responsibilities as employers. This covers the relationships between council employers and their employees, including individual rights and collective arrangements.

17 August 2023

The National Employers have reaffirmed the pay offer as full and final in the below exchange of letters:

8 March 2023

Important update on local government pay 2023

23 February 2023

Pay offer to ‘Green Book’ employees 

31 January 2023

NJC trade unions’ 2023 ’Green Book’ pay claim

3 December 2022 

NJC guidance on HM The King’s Coronation and updated Part 4.12 guidance

30 November 2022

Employer update on LGS pay 2022 and 2023

1 November 2022

Local government services pay agreement 2022-23

6 September 2022

NJC advice on Christmas working arrangements 

25 July 2022

National Employers’ letter to DLUHC 

19 May 2022

An employer circular updating on forthcoming 2022 pay negotiations

25 April 2022

National Agreement ‘Green Book’

The ‘Green Book' has been updated and we have issued two versions below:

National agreement ‘Green book’: updated edition April 2022 - no tracked changes

National agreement ‘Green book’: updated edition April 2022 - with tracked changes

2 February 2022

The National Employers have issued an important update on local government pay

9 December 2021

The NJC has issued guidance about the return to working at home.

16 July 2021

The NJC has issued guidance about working arrangements from 19 July onwards

14 April 2021

The NJC has issued a further general update on various COVID related issues

21 December 2020

The NJC has issued guidance for CEV people shielding in Tier 4 areas.

12 November 2020

The NJC has issued guidance regarding the national restrictions in England. 


12 August 2020

The National Employers have issued guidance related to COVID-19:


12 June 2020

The NJC has issued further guidance on COVID-related workforce issues. 


5 June 2020

The NJC has issued guidance on the COVID-19 quarantine regulations 


15 May 2020

The NJC has issued a second general update on issues related to COVID-19 


3 April 2020

The NJC has issued further guidance on COVID-19


27 March 2020

The NJC has issued a further update on COVID-19 


23 March 2020


17 March 2020

The NJC has issued a further circular, this time containing advice relating to COVID-19 and working at home:


6 March 2020

The NJC has issued a circular with updated guidance on Coronavirus COVID-19:


25 February 2020

The NJC has issued a circular that provides an update on the ongoing review of term time working.

12 February 2020

The NJC has issued a circular that provides important advice about Coronavirus COVID-19:


Chief executive and chief officer pay survey research report  - Winter 2018

The survey was the first of its kind for a number of years and was conducted during winter 2018 and was sent to all heads of human resources (or equivalent position) in English and Welsh councils with the aim of helping council employers to benchmark the characteristics and pay of their senior teams as well as establish a base-line for national policy discussions and future research.