Millions of public sector workers including nurses, doctors and teachers have been offered pay rises of between 3.6% and 4.5%.

It comes after the government accepted recommendations from pay review bodies higher than the 2.8% it previously budgeted for.

Unions had threatened action if pay awards were not increased, arguing 2.8% was too low.

But the Treasury has previously said rises above this will have to be funded through savings from existing budgets.

In a series of announcements, the government confirmed NHS workers in England on Agenda for Change contracts, covering most staff apart from doctors, dentists and senior managers, have been offered rises of 3.6%.

Doctors and dentists have been offered 4% awards, as well as teachers in England and prison staff. Members of the armed forces have been offered 4.5%.

Recommended awards of 3.25% for senior NHS managers and senior civil servants have also been accepted by ministers.

The education department has announced £615m in additional funding to help cover the cost of pay rises this year.

But it has said schools will be asked to fund the first 1% of pay awards through “improved productivity and smarter spending”.

Inflation – the rate prices are increasing – has fallen in recent months, but unexpectedly rose to 3.5% in the year to April, potentially complicating how ministers sell the deals to workers.

The Bank of England has previously said it expects inflation to peak at 3.7% between July and September this year, before slowly falling.

Labour ended long-running public sector strikes last summer by accepting recommended pay rises between 4.75% and 6% for last year.

Ministers argued the move was required to stop damage to the economy – but it led to Conservative accusations they had lost control of public sector pay.