NHS Pay 2024/25

August 2024 update

On 29 July 2024 the Westminster Government announced it would accept the recommendations made by the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB). The written statement from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care confirming this can be found here and the PRB report can be read here. Once a Government has accepted the recommendations from the PRB it results in a pay award not an offer which means that it is applied automatically.

The award will be effective from the due date of 1 April 2024 we are waiting on written confirmation of the implementation date but it is likely to be October. Updated pay scales have now been published, you can access them here and further information about the award is here.

The RCM is consulting members in England to gauge their views on the pay award. The consultation will close on Friday 16 August and the RCM is encouraging members to have their say. Members working in the NHS in England have already been sent a link by email to vote direct. If you have not received the link, you can vote here.

For more details or if you are a member in England with any questions, please email paycampaign@rcm.org.uk.

• The headline pay award is above inflation and starts to address the pay cuts members have faced – it is a step in the right direction. It is also a consolidated across the board increase which the RCM called for. We do also need to see a commitment to a plan for restoring the pay that NHS staff have lost over fourteen years and this is a message that we will be taking to Government, this award marks a starting point but there is still much to do.
• While there is no commitment to the Real Living Wage a 5.5% increase to the bottom of Band 2 gives an hourly rate of £12.08 the current UK real living wage is £12 per hour. We will continue to push for a commitment to the Real Living Wage.
• The commitment to a mandate to the NHS Staff Council to negotiate to address the structural issues (in addition to the intermediate pay point at Band 8a and above) is something the RCM has called for, for some time and offers a real opportunity for progress.
• The commitment from the Chancellor ‘to consider options to reform the timetable for responding to pay review bodies in the future’ is welcome and something the RCM has called for. Current delays have a huge impact on morale and motivation.

FAQs

Why isn’t there a recommendation to accept or reject?

The Board decided that they wanted to understand your views of the award and of the other issues we will be pursuing on your behalf hence our all-member consultation.

When will I receive my pay?

We are still waiting on confirmation but the RCM’s understanding is that the intention is that October salaries will reflect the pay award backdated to April 2024. 

What are the new pay scales?

You can find all the new pay scales by visiting the NHS Employers website here.

Will the award apply to High Cost Area Supplements (HCAS)?

Yes the new rates have been published and you can access them here: Pay scales for 2024/25 | NHS Employers

What is happening with wider public sector pay?

Some other public sector workers are covered by separate pay review bodies, this includes, teachers, some civil servants, police and armed forces. The Government has also said it will accept the recommendations of those review bodies. The awards range from 4.75%-6%.

NHS doctors and dentists are not employed under Agenda for Change and are subject to a different pay review body. Following 20 months of dispute and strike action Junior Doctors entered into negotiations with the new Government, this has resulted in a negotiated offer of an average 22.3% over two years. This covers 2023/24 and 2024/24 and is a combination of an already implemented pay rise last year, additional negotiated monies and the recommendation by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB)). These outcomes are not an easy comparison as the pay scales and contracts of these staff is different to that of those employed under Agenda for Change.

The RCM’s focus is on Agenda for Change pay, terms and conditions.

What are current inflation figures?

The below figures are the most recent published figures and are for June 2024:

• CPI: 2%
• CPIH: 2.8%
• RPI: 2.9%

Inflation is the term used to describe rising prices, how quickly these prices go up is called the rate of inflation. All of the measures of inflation above do this but in slightly different ways. The rate of inflation cited by the Government is CPI but traditionally trade unions have argued that RPI inflation is the most appropriate as it includes housing and related costs.

Why did Band 8a need a new spine point?

A recommendation was made from the Pay Review Body to add a new intermediate pay point at each of the bands 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and 9 to which staff should progress after two years at the respective band. Currently staff in those bands have to wait a minimum of 5 years to progress to the top of their band. Adding an intermediate spine point brings that eligibility back and in line with the rest of the Agenda for Change pay bands. This change won’t happen straight away as the Secretary of State has asked that the recommendation is ratified by the NHS Staff Council before it is implemented.

Will the new salary affect my pension?

Whilst you may pay more in pension contributions with your new salary. The pension tiers are being adjusted to accommodate the increase to earnings. We don’t have the full details at the moment, but we will update these FAQs as soon as we do.

The PRB’s recommendations are:

• A consolidated 5.5% increase with effect from 1 April 2024 for all Agenda for Change (AfC) staff.
• Intermediate pay points to be added at Bands 8a and above. Bands 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and 9 to which staff should progress after two years at the respective band*[1].
• For the UK Government to issue the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to begin to resolve outstanding concerns within the AfC pay structure and for the Northern Ireland Executive and the Welsh Government to support the issuance of this mandate and to work with the Staff Council, their social partners and with the UK Government on this matter.

The Chancellor has also committed to  ‘to consider options to reform the timetable for responding to pay review bodies in the future’

A reminder of what the RCM said to the PRB in our evidence:

Link to the RCM’s written evidence to the PRB is here.

• A real terms pay increase that starts to address the pay cuts our members have faced.
• A commitment to the real living wage
• A consolidated across the board pay increase

On pay setting we said:

• Delays impact on the morale and motivation of midwives and MSWS
• That we want to see a mechanism for the Staff Council to negotiate and address structural pay issues including pay and promotion and interaction with unsocial hours/overtime payments – particularly at 2-3 and 7-8a.

We also said we wanted to see:

• A credible plan to restore the pay lost by NHS staff
• A Government commitment to fund any recommendations that come out of non-pay working groups
• The government to commit to working with unions to put equalities at the heart of the bargaining process

Action on retention to:

• Ensure banding outcomes reflect job content
• Reward additional hours fairly
• Prevent burnout by limiting excess hours
• Support progression and career development

[1] *It has been confirmed that the additional pay points will be effective from 1 April 2024 but because this has to be ratified by the NHS Staff Council the implementation date has not been confirmed

April 2024 update

The RCM have submitted supplementary evidence to the Pay Review Body (PRB). It includes the results from the RCM’s recent all members’ snap poll on unpaid hours. It also highlights some of the results from the NHS staff survey that were both published after our PRB written evidence and oral evidence session earlier this year which you can read more about here.

The RCM has now submitted its evidence to the PRB for the 2024/25 pay round, making the case for midwives and MSWs. You can read our evidence here.

As in previous years, we highlighted the impact that delays to the publication of the remit letter by the Westminster Government have on the morale and motivation of midwives and MSWs and the continued focus from the Secretary of State on the affordability of a pay award.

Pay still hasn’t recovered from years of stagnation and there is no resolution to the growing crisis in maternity services without fair pay.

Whilst we are in a different context than last year when we were in dispute with the Westminster  government over the 2022/23 pay award, issues around pay remain.

Though RCM members in England  accepted the pay offer in 2023, it did not address the real terms pay cuts suffered over more than a decade and cannot resolve the workforce crisis in the NHS. Although non-consolidated payments provided a cash injection during a cost of living crisis they do not address longer-term pay losses or support the recruitment and retention of staff. It is imperative that a pay award for 2024/25 is consolidated across the board.

RCM asks the pay review body to make a recommendation of:

• A real terms pay increase that starts to address the pay cuts our members have faced.
• A commitment to the real living wage
• A consolidated across the board pay increase

We also want to see:

• A credible plan to restore the pay lost by NHS staff
• A Government commitment to fund any recommendations that come out of non-pay working groups
• The government to commit to working with unions to put equalities at the heart of the bargaining process
• Action on retention to:
• Ensure banding outcomes reflect job content
• Reward additional hours fairly
• Prevent burnout by limiting excess hours
• Support progression and career development

Our evidence this year draws on:

• A survey of Heads of Midwifery (HoMs) and Directors of Midwifery (DoMs) from across the UK, conducted in the final quarter of 2023, which received 45 responses; A survey of RCM members in England, carried out in March 2023, which received just under 4000 responses;
• Listening sessions with over 100 activists held in November and December 2023; and
• Official workforce data and results from the most recent NHS Staff Survey in England.

Protect The Right to Strike

Minimum Service Levels in hospitals – The Strikes Act

The RCM responded to the Government consultation on Minimum Service Levels in Hospital settings. We absolutely oppose the introduction of this legislation which comes from the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act. The Strikes Act is unfair, undemocratic it undermines the fundamental right to take strike action.

In our response we said that MSLs are not needed, they would mean that work notices could be issued requiring NHS workers to work during industrial action. Failure to comply with a work notice could to lead to being sacked for taking part in lawful industrial action.

 This can only further damage the morale and motivation of a workforce already burnt out and exhausted that instead of addressing the real issues affecting maternity services, including maternity safety, the Government is instead wasting its time on this draconian, unnecessary policy

If the Government had spent its time focused on increasing the number of midwives working in the NHS in England that would have done far more to improve the safety of care than all the effort so far wasted on MSLs.

We also spoke at the TUC’s Special Congress to oppose this legislation, read all about that here.

The RCM has also joined the TUC’s Protect the Right to Strike Campaign and together with Activist’s and members we have joined various marches and demonstrations, the latest of which happened in January 2024 – read more about that here

Share your story with us

Midwives and MSWs sharing what it is like to work in maternity services at the moment has a huge impact. Tell us about staffing levels in your unit, about the impact of the cost of living on you and your colleagues - anything that you think would be relevant to our arguments for a fair pay offer.

We’ll take your testimony to the Government, policymakers and employers as part of our pay negotiations.

If you are willing to share your story please contact Alice Sorby, Director of Employment Relations on Alice.Sorby@rcm.org.uk.