Proposed NHS pay agreement to benefit more than a million staff across England

Over a million hospital porters, 999 call handlers, healthcare assistants, nurses, midwives and other NHS staff across England are being offered long overdue pay rises of between 6.5 and 29% over the next three years, say health unions today (Wednesday). Under the proposed agreement – reached after months of negotiation between the unions, NHS employers and the government – hospital caterers, cleaners, porters and other staff on the lowest pay grade would get an immediate pay rise of over £2,000 this year (an increase of between 11 and 13%). This would mean that from 1 April every NHS worker in England is to be paid at least £8.93 an hour, which is 18p above the real living wage of £8.75. This would take the lowest full-time rate of pay in the NHS to £17,460. Under the proposals, band one would be scrapped by April 2021 and all staff moved to the next pay scale. The lowest salary in the NHS would then be £18,005. Over the three years more than 100,000 of the lowest paid health workers would be in line for wage increases of between 15% (£2,300) and 17% (£2,600). Other NHS staff would receive between 9% and 29% over the three years. Proposed changes to the existing pay structure would see most staff moving to the top of their pay band more quickly. It would also result in an end to overlaps, which have seen some employees on lower bands earning more than more senior colleagues the next level up. For health workers already at the top of their band, most would get 6.5%...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News Press release NHS nhs pay Sara Gorton Source Type: news