Pay Rises for Nurses in Scotland And England - Compare

2nd June 2023

England
Over 1 million NHS staff to receive pay rises from today.

Eligible workers on the Agenda for Change contract, which includes nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers, will receive the pay rise, backdated to April.

More than 1 million NHS staff in England, including nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers, will receive a pay rise, backdated to April.
A newly qualified nurse will see their salary go up by more than £2,750 over two years
Staff will also receive a one-off ‘NHS backlog bonus' worth at least £1,250.
From today, more than one million NHS workers will start to receive a pay rise following an agreement between the government and unions.

As part of the deal, eligible workers on the Agenda for Change contract, which includes nurses, paramedics, 999 call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners, will receive the pay rise, backdated to April.

As a result of this package, a newly qualified nurse will see their salary go up by more than £2,750 over 2 years from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024. They will also receive over £1,890 in one-off payments this year.

In addition, they will receive a one-off ‘NHS backlog bonus' which recognises the sustained pressure facing the NHS following the pandemic and the extraordinary effort staff have been making to meet the Prime Minister's promise to cut waiting lists.

The backlog bonus will be worth at least £1,250 per person, but will be determined based on how much experience staff have and based on an individual's pay band. The average nurse in pay band 5, for example, will receive £1,350.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

More than one million of our hard-working NHS staff will begin to receive more money in their pay packet from today, including a backlog bonus for all their efforts during the pandemic.

We’re giving nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other eligible staff a fair pay rise, which will see for example, band six staff getting an extra £5,000 over two years.

We hugely value the work of NHS staff and the vital role they’re playing to cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s five priorities, and recognises the work they put in day in and day out.

Under the deal, eligible Agenda for Change staff will receive a non-consolidated award of 2% of an individual’s salary for 2022 to 2023. This is on top of the pay increase of at least £1,400 (pro-rated for staff working part time) staff received for 2022 to 2023, as recommended by the independent pay review body process. This meant a newly qualified nurse received a 5.5% increase, and those on the lowest salaries received a pay rise of 9.3%.

For 2023 to 2024, the government has given Agenda for Change staff a 5% consolidated increase in pay, worth at least £1,065.

The deal will also provide a higher pay uplift for the lowest paid NHS staff, with all those in bands 1 and 2 having their pay raised to the same level.

The pay increase was reached following constructive talks with unions and organisations including UNISON, GMB, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the British Dietetic Association.

Scotland

NHS pay rise delivered in April

Agenda for Change pay offer accepted by trade unions.

Healthcare staff will begin to benefit from largest overall investment in Agenda for Change pay in a single year from next month, following unions’ unanimous agreement.

160,000 NHS staff - including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others - will receive an average 6.5% increase in pay in 2023-24.

This £568 million deal includes a commitment to deliver the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in decades and support for workforce recruitment, sustainability and retention.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said:

"I am very pleased that the Agenda for Change trade unions have unanimously agreed to accept this pay offer, meaning staff will start seeing the benefits of this deal in their April pay packets.

"This £568 million deal that will ensure NHS Agenda for Change staff remain, by far and away, the best paid anywhere in the UK. We are also committed to delivering the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in decades.

“Our healthcare staff have shown how dedicated and hardworking they are time and again and I cannot thank them enough for their commitment, particularly over the last few challenging years. Our staff are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost of living crisis.

“I am grateful for the continued efforts to keep discussions going to reach this deal and that this has been able to be processed in time to get the money to staff so quickly."

BACKGROUND

A total of £568 million has been committed for Agenda for Change pay in 2023-24. This equates to an average uplift of at least 6.5% for all staff at Band 8a and below.

All staff will also receive a one-off pro rata payment of between £387 and £939 depending on banding.

The offer also reaffirms previous commitments to work to reduce the working week, protect learning time and review band 5 job nursing profiles.

Examples of increases over the two years (2022-23 and 2023-24):

experienced porters (band 2) receive more than £3,750 extra (19.1%)
experienced healthcare support workers (band 4) receive more than £4,000 extra.
experienced AHPs (band 5) receive more than £4,700 extra (14.4%)
experienced paramedics (band 6) receive more than £5,360 extra (13.2%)
experienced advance nurse practitioners (band 7) receive more than £5,900 extra (12.4%)

See more at https://www.gov.scot/news/nhs-pay-rise-delivered-in-april/