How will pay be decided?
The government has now decided that pay will be determined by the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB). The PRB advises on the pay of NHS staff. It is responsible for making recommendations on the pay of all staff paid under Agenda for Change and employed in the NHS, conducting research on pay and related matters, visiting trusts and health boards to meet staff and managers to gather information and views on pay and related issues.
The RCM is calling for
“An inflation-busting pay rise that absorbs the impact of increases to pension contributions and rising and rapidly fluctuating costs. The pay rise should also include a commitment to start to restore the pay NHS staff have lost over the past decade”
And we are telling the Government that it does not need to wait for the PRB, we also want to see an urgent retention package put in place, including:
"Ensuring pay banding outcomes reflect job content additional hours are rewarded fairly excess hours are limited to prevent burnout and the new flexible working provisions become a reality for midwives and MSWs career progression and development are supported RRPs are used to target posts and areas with the greatest shortages”
Evidence to the PRB 2022
We submitted the RCM's written evidence to the PRB in January 2022, you can read the full submission here and the key messages here. Alongside the PRB process we need to keep up the pressure on the Government because politicians like the prime Minister who can act on the early retention package. The PRB has a remit for Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland pay will be decided by collective bargaining and the joint trade unions have submitted a pay claim to Scottish Government.
You can also see a breakdown of the 2022 NHS Staff Survey (England) results for midwives here.
key messages the RCM is sending to decisions makers on pay:
- The longstanding shortage of midwives is set to worsen if midwives are not retained in the NHS. The fall of 353 FTE midwives in England paints a worrying picture
- Midwives and MSWs are considering leaving the NHS. 57% of respondents to our member survey told us that they are thinking about leaving the NHS and the same percentage said they would do so in the next year
- This is not just the position of midwives close to retirement, of those respondents who had worked in the NHS five years or less 50% were considering leaving and 46% said they would do so in the next year
- HOMs are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit to vacancies. 77% described the process of recruiting Band 6 midwives as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’
- After a number of years of reduced use almost all HOMs (98%) told us they had to call in bank and/or agency staff ‘very often’ or ‘fairly often’
- Excess working hours and lack of breaks is a common feature for midwives and MSWs, 85% of HOMs told us that it was difficult to ensure that all staff take their breaks and leave on time
- 97% of HOMs survey respondents said they rely on either a significant or a moderate amount of goodwill, significantly worse than in previous years
- Midwives and MSWs do not feel valued by the Government and RCM members told us that the 2021/22 pay award was not good enough
- The cost of goods, services and energy are all rising and high rates of inflation are forecast to persist throughout 2022. This together with pay growing at its slowest rate since the Napoleonic wars[1] is leading to a cost of living crisis across the UK
[1] Reality Check: Is pay growing at its worst rate since the Napoleonic Wars? - BBC News
