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🧠 What is UPM?

UPM is a system that controls progression rate, guarantees fair advancement, and prevents extreme inequality across money, power, knowledge, and responsibility.


🧠 The Bigger Idea

The Unified Progression Model (UPM) is a structured framework that controls how people move through systems to ensure fairness, consistency, and transparency. It focuses on managing progression, not just outcomes.

Key Idea: UPM ensures fairness by controlling progression, not just setting limits.

🔑 Core Principles of UPM
Bounded Progression movement happens in controlled, transparent steps.
Guaranteed Uplift promotion always brings you to at least the next tier minimum.
Defined Tiers roles grouped by responsibility, not title.
Competency-Based Advancement progression earned through proven ability.
Capped Disparity the highest-paid tier can never exceed 200% of the lowest-paid tier.

🧩 The Three Pillars of UPM
Progression Control small, controlled increments prevent sudden inequality jumps.
Advancement Integrity promotion guarantees fair pay and positioning.
System Boundaries total spread is capped to prevent long-term drift.
📊 Example Progression Rules
  • Each tier entry point increases by the same percentage from the tier below.
  • The percentage is calculated from the number of genuine tiers so the highest-paid tier never exceeds 200% of the lowest-paid tier.
  • Promotion guarantees entry at the minimum of the next tier.

The percentage is not chosen arbitrarily. For n active tiers, the equal tier-to-tier rate is calculated as 21/(n-1) − 1, keeping the total pay ratio within 2:1.


📈 Example (Base £30,000)
Tier Position Salary
CTL 1 Worker £30,000
CTL 2 Team Leader £33,674
CTL 3 Section Leader £37,798
CTL 4 Area Manager £42,426
CTL 5 General Manager £47,622
CTL 6 Operations Manager £53,454
CTL 7 C‑Suite (entry) £60,000

Equal tier increase: ~12.25%  ·  Total increase: 100%


🏢 C‑Suite Boundary
  • Entry in this 7-tier example: £60,000
  • Maximum pay ratio: 2:1
  • The highest-paid role may earn no more than 100% above the lowest-paid role.
💷 Profit, Resilience & Community Benefit

UPM still allows an organisation to trade, compete, generate profit, and build financial resilience. Surplus is first used where reasonably required to make sure the organisation does not fail, stays relevant, and continues to improve.

This may include prudent reserves, maintenance, replacement equipment, workforce development, research, innovation, accessibility, compliance, and other justified reinvestment.

Once those legitimate needs have been responsibly met, excess distributable surplus is directed toward local causes, projects, or services that provide a demonstrable benefit to the wider community.

🔗 UPM Beyond Pay

🔐 1. Governance & Access Control

Tiered access, competency‑verified progression, no sudden permission jumps.

🎓 2. Learning & Development

Structured levels, incremental progress, capability unlocks.

🏛️ 3. CIC / Non‑Profit Governance

Transparent structure, defined rules, evidence of fairness.

❓ UPM Frequently Asked Questions

Still unsure how UPM works? These quick answers help clarify the most common questions.

What is the Unified Progression Model (UPM)?

UPM is Sprint Family Tech’s fairness framework. It controls how people progress through the organisation — across pay, responsibility, access, safeguarding, and governance — to ensure everything is fair, consistent, and transparent.


Is UPM a 7‑tier system?

No. UPM is a framework, not a fixed ladder. The 7‑tier example on this page is illustrative only. Organisations using UPM may have 3, 5, 7, or more tiers — as long as tiers reflect real responsibilities and progression rules are applied consistently.


Who decides the percentage increases?

The percentage is derived from the number of genuine tiers in the organisation. UPM requires the same percentage increase between adjacent tier entry points while keeping the highest-paid tier at no more than 200% of the lowest-paid tier.


Why does Sprint Family Tech use £28,184 as Tier 1?

Sprint Family Tech uses a competitive pay clause. Tier 1 is set at £13.55/hr — which is 10p above the Real Living Wage — based on a 40‑hour week for 52 weeks. This ensures ethical, socially responsible pay from day one.


Why does the founder start at Tier 1?

Because UPM forbids creating tiers to inflate salaries. Sprint Family Tech currently has only one worker and no organisational structure, so only Tier 1 exists. The founder must therefore start at Tier 1 and cannot progress until new tiers are justified by real organisational growth.


Can the founder earn more later?

Yes — but only when the organisation grows enough to justify new tiers. UPM requires progression to be based on organisational need, verified capability, and real responsibilities. Any new tier must follow the same equal-percentage progression rule, and the highest-paid tier can never exceed twice the Tier 1 rate.


Does UPM only apply to pay?

No. UPM also governs access permissions, safeguarding responsibilities, compliance duties, learning pathways, and governance appointments. It is a complete fairness system, not just a pay model.


Does UPM prevent companies from making a profit?

No. UPM allows profit and deliberately protects the organisation's ability to survive, invest, adapt, and improve. Necessary surplus can be retained or reinvested for resilience, equipment, training, innovation, accessibility, compliance, and other legitimate organisational needs. Once those needs are met, excess distributable surplus supports local causes, projects, or services that benefit the wider community.


Why does UPM matter?

UPM prevents hidden inequality, negotiation bias, pay compression, and unfair promotions. It ensures everyone is treated consistently and that progression is earned through verified capability.