The largest education union in England is voting on whether to accept or reject the government’s pay offer of 2.8%.
If it is turned down, the union will debate at its conference in April whether to vote for industrial action, which could include strikes.
The National Education Union (NEU) called the government’s pay recommendation “extremely disappointing”.
The ballot will open on 1 March and run until mid-April.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said the current proposal of 2.8% “is not sufficient to even start to address the crisis in recruitment and retention”.
He added: “The suggestion that an unfunded pay award can be paid for by making ‘efficiencies’ is an insult to a profession who have already endured 14 years of austerity.
“No teacher or leader will be able to identify efficiencies without cutting staff or resources or both.”
The BBC understands that head teacher unions are likely to wait for a formal pay offer from the independent pay review body before making any decisions.
Teachers in England received a 5.5% pay rise in September, funded by an additional £1.2bn from the government.
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