On 29 July 2024, the UK government announced the award for NHS pay in England for 2024/25. The offer is set out below and by NHS Employers:
- A consolidated 5.5% increase with effect from 1 April 2024 for all Agenda for Change staff in the NHS.
- Intermediate pay points to be added for Bands 8 and above.
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.
You can expect to see the 5.5% pay increase awarded across all bands reflected in October pay.
NHS Employers expects the intermediate pay point increase to bands above band 8 to come to be reflected in salaries and retrospective pay (backdated to 1 April 2024) to be paid in November salaries.
But it’s not for the government to tell you what you’re worth – that's up to you. That’s why we need you to vote now.
A 5.5% consolidated pay award for all directly employed NHS staff employed on Agenda for Change terms and conditions was announced by the Westminster government on 29 July 2024, it will be backdated to 1 April 2024. You can expect to see the 5.5% pay increase reflected in your October pay. While the increase to salaries and intermediate pay point for bands 8 and is expected to be implemented with retrospective pay in November salaries.
If you’d like to seek instalment payments of backdated pay, you can find NHS Employers guidance here.
If you are employed directly by an NHS organisation in England as set out in Annex 1 of the national NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook, on Agenda for Change terms and conditions, you will receive the award regardless of the result of our consultation.
If you work for an employer funded and commissioned to provide NHS services and are employed on Agenda for Change-aligned or dynamic terms and conditions, you should also receive this award. The RCN has appealed to the government to make sure funding is made available, to provide you with this award. That is why we are also asking for your views in this consultation.
The NHS Pay Review Body recommended:
- A consolidated 5.5% increase with effect from 1 April 2024 for all Agenda for Change staff in the NHS.
- Intermediate pay points to be added for Bands 8 and above.
- 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.
See the full report published by the UK government on 29 July 2024.
Governments can use different routes to determine pay awards. Often UK governments ask independent pay review bodies to look at the evidence and make recommendations on public sector pay before ministers consider their findings and decide whether to accept those recommendations.
The NHS Pay Review Body makes recommendations on the pay of staff employed by the NHS on NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions. It does not make recommendations for very senior managers or doctors and dentists who have their own Review body who make separate and specific recommendations for that group. Read more about the NHS Pay Review Body.
The RCN contributes analysis on nursing pay to these processes, it’s one of the ways we have to talk to the UK government about your pay. Using your vote on consultations like this puts you in the conversation. Every vote shows you’re willing to speak up for your profession and protect your patients.
No, the UK government accepted the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation and announced a 5.5% pay award for NHS staff in England on NHS (Agenda for Change) terms and conditions.
If you are employed by a provider organisation delivering NHS services and your terms and conditions are aligned to Agenda for Change or are dynamic Agenda for Change terms and conditions following a transfer of your employment, you should also receive this award.
NHS and non-NHS provider organisations will be funded for the impact of the NHS Pay Review Body pay awards through their contract arrangements with NHS commissioners, where applicable for contracts operating under the NHS Payment Scheme.
NHS England will be publishing guidance in due course advising how contracts between NHS commissioners (NHS England and Integrated Care Boards) and provider organisations should be updated to fund providers for the cost impact of the PRB pay awards for their staff. The allocations issued to NHS commissioners will also be adjusted to ensure systems are funded accordingly for the cost impact of the pay awards.
This award applies to staff employed on NHS (Agenda for Change) terms and conditions by NHS organisations in England as identified in Annex 1 of the national NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook.
Please check your contract for these details and whether it includes reference to the annual NHS pay award.
The details of how this award will be implemented have not been released. Full details of this award will be published soon by NHS Employers. Get more information.
Yes, all NHS staff in England who are employed on NHS (Agenda for Change) terms and conditions will receive the pay award. This means that if you are on full pay or half pay during your maternity leave, the amount you receive will increase proportionally in line with the pay award. However, this has no effect on the Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). If you are in a period of maternity leave in which you are only eligible to receive SMP, these payments will not increase.
Your pay is determined by your employer and not by the UK government. The recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body relate to staff employed by NHS organisations as identified in Annex 1 of the NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook. However, as the NHS is the largest health care employer in the UK, many independent health and social care employers use NHS pay as a benchmark in setting pay. Increases in NHS pay often lead to increases in pay in other parts of the health and care sector.
The UK government must invest in nursing, not just within the NHS, but all services and settings where nursing care is delivered. The RCN has always called for pay parity between the NHS and every other health and social care setting. We continue to support members employed in independent health and social care settings to seek appropriate recognition in their pay and working conditions in respect of the complex, expert care they deliver.
To ensure you receive information and updates that matter to you, it’s important we know where you work. Visit My RCN to make sure your details are correct.
The Scottish government’s pay offer relates to all staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions employed by the NHS in Scotland. The pay offer follows weeks of negotiations between the RCN, other health trade unions, the Scottish government and NHS employers. The offer is for a consolidated 5.5% increase with effect from 1 April 2024 for all NHS Scotland staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions.
Read the new NHS pay offer for Scotland in full here.
The Westminster government has announced the NHS pay award for staff on NHS (Agenda for Change) terms and conditions in England. Ministers accepted the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body and awarded a 5.5% consolidated pay increase across all bands, effective from 1 April 2024.
The Welsh government has yet to make an announcement on the NHS pay award for staff on NHS (Agenda for Change) terms and conditions in Wales. The RCN has called for an urgent response from the Welsh government. Nursing staff in Wales deserve the same prompt action and recognition on pay as colleagues in England.
The RCN expects the 5.5% Agenda for Change pay award announced in England will be implemented in full in Northern Ireland. Eligible RCN members will be consulted on any pay award. We await confirmation from the Northern Ireland Department of Health as clarity is required regarding the funding of the award in Northern Ireland.
RCN Northern Ireland has written to all Northern Ireland MPs urging them to use their influence at Westminster to make the case for the award to be fully funded in Northern Ireland and we will continue to demand an early resolution to this issue.
The Westminster government accepted the recommendation of the NHS PRB, to add an intermediate pay point at each of bands 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and 9 to which staff should progress after two years at the respective band.
This recommendation has also been ratified by the NHS Staff Council, and NHS Employers expects the intermediate pay point increase to salaries and retrospective pay (backdated to 1 April 2024) to be paid in November salaries. You can find further detail on these changes here.
Make sure you take the opportunity to tell us how you feel about this pay award. Is it enough? Vote now.
In the 20 years since the Agenda for Change pay structure was introduced, nursing has transformed. The RCN believes that nursing support workers should be paid starter salaries in the region of £27,500, and registered nurses in the region £35,000, with progress towards £50,000. A path towards more advanced career levels should be clearly and credibly marked out.
To achieve this, we need to evolve the way nursing is valued within society and our health and care systems which could include the introduction of a separate nursing pay spine and career structure. The RCN will continue to progress other aspects relating to NHS pay, terms and conditions, including individual and group job evaluation cases, and the national nursing & midwifery profile review. Fair pay for nursing can only be achieved by progress on all these issues.
Annual NHS pay reviews should address changes to the cost of living to maintain fair pay but after years of pay erosion these annual awards have become an essential opportunity for you to speak directly to government about your pay. That’s why your vote in this consultation – no matter how you vote – is essential. With every nursing voice represented, we can show how strong our profession is.
The UK government will provide the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to resolve outstanding concerns within the Agenda for Change pay structure, in line with the NHS PRB’s recommendation. Further details of what this mandate will include and the potential scope of these structural changes has not yet been confirmed.
Tax credits are means tested on the income you receive during a relevant financial year. Customers awardsThe amount of tax credits are initially based on previous year’s income. They must report their current year income in response to the S17 notice, and their awards are then finalised.
If your pay is less than £2500 more than the previous Tax Year, your award will remain the same. If the lump sum back payment and on-going pay award means your income is more than £2500 than the previous tax year, then your award will be adjusted. Learn further information about reporting pay increases from the UK Government. Working out your income for tax credit claims and renewals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For advice on how the pay award will impact you in future months, you can use one of the online benefits calculators on the following RCN Page or seek advice from the RCN Welfare Service.
If you’d like to seek instalment payments of backdated pay, you can find NHS Employers guidance here.
As a consolidated pay award, this increase will increase your pensionable pay. Your pensionable pay is used to calculate your pension contributions and your eventual pension benefit. This means that this pay award should increase your pension benefit.
The level of pension contribution you pay is aligned to contribution thresholds that increase at the same rate as NHS pay awards. Therefore, you won’t see a direct increase in the pension contributions you make.
When you retire, your pension benefit is calculated on your pensionable pay therefore, increasing your pensionable pay will increase your pension benefit.
Payment of Child Benefit is based on net ‘adjusted income.’ Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any personal allowances but will then be reduced by the amounts you pay into certain pension schemes and any Gift Aid payments.
You can also reduce your net adjusted income by applying for Tax relief. For example, you can get tax relief on your RCN (Royal College of Nursing) membership and NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) (Nursing and Midwifery Council) fees. Further information can be found here. Your total taxable income includes interest from savings and dividends.
If your new net adjusted income is above £60,000 after the annual pay award, you will have to pay a Child Benefit charge, which will reduce the amount of benefit you receive.
As everyone has a different financial situation, the RCN cannot provide individual advice as to whether your adjusted net income is over £60,000, but you can work this out by using the Child Benefit tax calculator.
If it is over £60,000 the calculator will also tell you how much of a High Income charge you will have to pay.
The 5.5% increase is above the current rate of inflation in the UK. The RPI measure of inflation shows inflation was 3.6% in the 12 months to July 2024.
