The pay deal for nurses in Northern Ireland will be backdated in full, finally securing total pay parity with colleagues in England, it has been announced.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland announced today that it would backdate the 2024-25 Agenda for Change pay deal to 1 April 2024.
“The confirmed 2024-25 pay package will see the maintenance of pay parity with England”
Mike Nesbitt
This means all 12 months of backpay has now been confirmed, and is due to be applied to March salaries.
It comes as nurses and other Health and Social Care (HSC) staff in Northern Ireland were given a 5.5% pay rise for 2024-25, following delays due to budgetary constraints.
A memorandum of understanding was signed at the end of 2024 by the Department of Health and collective trade unions.
Initially, backpay was only given until 1 June 2024 because of financial pressures, meaning nurses were expecting to miss out on two months of extra money.
Last week, the Department of Health confirmed that it would be able to backdate pay to 1 May 2024.
This came after the department was handed an additional £7m during the January monitoring round – where existing budgets can be reallocated to different departments.
Now, health minister Mike Nesbitt has confirmed that the January monitoring round had actually enabled his department to implement the full 12 months of back pay for the 2024-25 deal.
This means that nurses in Northern Ireland have secured total pay parity with their colleagues in England for this financial year, which is soon coming to a close.
Mr Nesbitt said: “When I met with trades unions on 10 December 2024, I gave them my personal guarantee that I was committed to finding the funding to allow me to meet, in full, the financial consequences of the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies for 2024-25.
“I have now approved payment of the Agenda for Change and medical and dental pay deals, backdated to 1 April 2024.”
Mr Nesbitt acknowledged that it had been “a challenging time for HSC staff” as his department faced strict financial constraints.
He added: “I want to thank trades unions for their engagement and collaboration which has helped secure a full pay deal for all HSC staff.
“The confirmed 2024-25 pay package will see the maintenance of pay parity with England for Health and Social Care staff covered by the Agenda for Change framework.”
Responding to the announcement, Professor Rita Devlin, executive director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland said: “Nursing staff in Northern Ireland will be relieved to hear that all of the money they are owed for the past year will now be paid in their March salaries.
“It has taken a long time to get to this point, but the minister has delivered on the commitment he gave to ensuring that the full 12 months of backpay owed to hard-working HSC staff is paid.
“While we welcome this announcement, we should never have been in this position in the first place and will continue to fight for fair pay for nursing staff which reflects the roles they do.”
Unions, including the RCN, previously criticised the delays in securing pay parity with their colleagues in other countries and have urged the government in Northern Ireland to ensure the situation this year does not happen again.
Mr Nesbitt pledged last week to approve the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body for the 2025-26 pay awards as soon as they are published.
More on pay in Northern Ireland
