Last month I took the chance to celebrate the power of your collective voice and the impact you can have. And I’m delighted that this month we have seen once again just what the power of your voice can do.  

Following the strong member sentiment in last year’s consultation on your NHS pay award, you voice has been heard and just last week the Westminster government announced that every band 5 nurse in the NHS in England will have their role reviewed by their employer. Most importantly they have also confirmed additional funding will be provided for this review and any additional costs as a result of uplifting staff.  

In most professions in the NHS, your pay band and job description reflect the work you actually do. In nursing, they don’t. Nurses often undertake further training, gain advanced qualifications, and and required to carry increasing clinical risk. We routinely step into roles that go far beyond the point they are banded at. This isn’t just a pay issue - it’s a professional recognition issue. 

The Band 5 review is a vital first step in correcting this imbalance. It must not be a tick‑box exercise. A meaningful review will not only address pay, but also strengthen nurses’ standing, reinforce our professional identity, and empower our role within multidisciplinary teams. My hope is that this will lead to further progress across the profession. We need a structure that reflects the profession we are today - not the one we were decades ago.  

In addition, NHS Staff Council has been asked by the government to prioritise graduate pay, as part of forthcoming structural reform negotiations and the Chief Nursing Officer for England, Duncan Burton, will also establish a single national nursing preceptorship to ensure quality and consistency of experience. Together, these new commitments will make nursing a more attractive profession to join, and give us all a stronger foundation throughout our careers. 

There’s a lot of detail in these commitments, and it will impact different people in different ways. All NHS staff can request a job evaluation no matter your level and I would encourage every member to become familiar with the nursing role profiles published last June – which apply across the UK. I’ve listed a series of resources at the close of my blog today that I encourage you to read or listen to, including details on what the changes mean for different roles and actions you can take. What I want to make clear is how your voices have led to these changes.  

When I began my journey toward becoming RCN President, it was the issue of pay that first drew me into the work of the RCN. But what truly inspired me to step forward was a simple conversation with my colleagues on the picket line during strike action. 

They pointed out something many outside our profession don’t realise: nursing is the only graduate profession under Agenda for Change where the largest proportion of staff remain stuck on Band 5 for most of their careers — with many even retiring at the same pay grade they started on. 

One colleague said something that has stayed with me ever since: if the lowest pay band is set too low, that injustice follows us throughout our entire career. Even when we progress, the financial disadvantage created at the start never truly disappears. This isn’t just a Band 5 issue. It affects every level of nursing - and I could see it happening around me. I was experiencing it myself. I watched my colleagues facing the same barriers year after year. 

That conversation changed the way I saw the pay issue. It became clear to me that the real work wasn’t only fighting for annual percentage uplifts every year - although I strongly believe that above‑inflation awards should be the norm, and it is unacceptable that they are not. The deeper task is securing a meaningful uplift at the very foundation of our pay structure, and then building upward to raise the profession as a whole. 

I feel strongly that nurses must be paid fairly for the complexity, responsibility, and compassion that our work demands. And I wanted to ensure that the voices of my colleagues all across the country - those living this reality every day - were included in every important discussion about nursing pay. That belief is what set me on the path to where I am now. 

Since you voted in record numbers in the consultation on the NHS pay award in England last year, we have been making the case directly to government of the need for change. Nursing needs structural reform to nursing pay, going beyond annual pay awards and opportunities to grow in our career. The commitments announced last week are a really important step for recruitment, for retention and for the value of our profession.  

So, thank you again for speaking up – it is your voice that has made this change possible. It may not be the silver bullet for nursing - but it is a significant step forward to the career progression nursing needs now and for our future. So we can hold government and employers to account on these commitments, it’s more important than ever that your details are up to date on MyRCN, including your current pay band.  

Whilst what we’ve secured for nursing career progression is a step forward, we are very disappointed with the most recent pay award from the Westminster government – of 3.3% - also announced last week.  

We expected a different approach to this year’s pay round but instead ministers reverted to the NHS Pay Review Body process – which has been widely criticised across the sector and rejected by almost all unions this year. These 3.3% awards will be applied from 1 April 2026 in England and Wales, and for the first time in years, it will be paid on time. In Northern Ireland, the situation is less clear and we are seeking clarity to confirm when the recommended award will be paid. Members there are still waiting for the 2025/26 award to be paid too.  

If you are a rep I hope you are joining me next month at our Joint Representatives’ Spring Conference, in Glasgow, to discuss what this all means for the profession and share our experience of the vital work we all do. And all members are encouraged to join us in Liverpool for RCN Congress in June - it’s time to book your place. I look forward to hearing your views, so that we can demand change on the issues that matter most to our profession to governments across the UK.  

It’s also a good time to reflect on the importance of valuing what we do. Yesterday we published our position statement on Advanced nursing practice following a recent survey by the British Medical Association about preventing doctor substitution. The RCN position is clear. Advanced level nursing describes a level of practice which can only be delivered by registered nurses with additional knowledge and expertise. Nurses working at an advanced level are not substitutes for any other profession - they are autonomous professionals. You can read the full statement here.  

Tomorrow is also Mental Health Nurses’ Day - a useful moment to pause, take stock, and remind ourselves of an important field of nursing with deep roots. Please read Professional Lead for Mental Health Amber O’Brien’s blog for more on how we should speak with pride and confidence about this highly skilled, evidence‑informed nursing specialism. 

Both of these examples are a reminder that as the most trusted profession and the 24/7 presence across every area of healthcare – we are always there for our patients. And the RCN is here to fight for your rights and for your future. You may have seen our manifesto launched ahead of elections in Scotland in May carrying on this fight for nursing. And together, as the progress on career progression shows, we can make change happen.

Resources

• Hear from Nicola about the impact the review of band 5 roles in England could have. 
• FAQs – understand the details of these commitments. 
• Member news about the government’s commitments.
• Our new webpage details the government’s commitments to nursing in England.
• Member news about annual pay awards in the NHS.
• Member news about HSC pay in Northern Ireland.
• Pay matters for all nursing staff, our campaign page to see nursing valued in every setting sets out what change you need to see. 
• Our campaign page to see nursing valued in the NHS.