The NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) has recommended a pay rise of around 3% for nurses and other Agenda for Change staff for this year, according to reports.
The Times reported earlier today that the independent review body had put forward a pay offer “closer to 3%” for 2025-26, which was more than the government had budgeted for this year.
“The government needs to provide some certainty for staff and patients as a matter of urgency”
Jo Galbraith-Marten
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that an award of this level would “do little to turn things around” and that its members will not accept the deal being funded by taking resources away from the frontline.
It follows an announcement earlier this month that the NHS PRB had sent its report to governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Unions have been urging ministers to put forward a pay deal quickly, as it now almost a month past the 1 April deadline.
In its submission to the NHS PRB for this year, the Department of Health and Social Care said it could only afford a 2.8% pay rise for Agenda for Change staff.
This position was echoed by NHS England, who also told the body that 2.8% was what it could afford for this year.
At the time, the RCN described the proposed offer as “deeply offensive” and said the figure amount to “as little as £2 extra a day”.
Responding to the announcement today, RCN director of legal, employment and member relations, Jo Galbraith-Marten, said: “This level of award will do little to turn things around.
“Nursing is crucial to delivering the government’s reforms, but the profession is in crisis, with fewer people joining and the numbers quitting skyrocketing.
“We need direct negotiations with the government, not a pay review body process from a bygone era.”
Health unions have, for some time, been calling on the government to abandon the NHS PRB process and instead favour direct negotiations.
It comes as the Scottish Government, which has opted out of the PRB process and instead negotiated directly with unions and employers, recently tabled an 8% pay rise for nurses and other NHS workers over two years.
Ms Galbraith-Marten also called for any 2025-26 NHS pay award to be “fully funded”, warning that taking away resources from frontline services was “unfair on staff and bad for patients”.
It comes as the prime minister’s official spokesperson said today that there would be “no additional funding” for pay deals if recommended awards exceed what departments can afford, according to the BBC.
Ms Galbraith-Marten highlighted that the RCN had a live survey open for members to tell the union what they think about the government’s 2.8% proposal and what action, including strike action, they might be prepared to take.
She said: “When our members meet in two weeks’ time at our annual congress, they need answers, not endless speculation.
“This year’s pay award is already late, and the government needs to provide some certainty for staff and patients as a matter of urgency.”
Meanwhile, Unison head of health, Helga Pile, argued that ministers “need to show they value the workforce” in the NHS.
She said: “There’s no route to fixing the NHS that doesn’t involve sorting health workers’ pay.
“That means a decent pay rise that will encourage experienced staff to stay and persuade new recruits to join.
“Fixing the problems with the NHS pay structure is also long overdue.”
Speaking with Sky News earlier today, care minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We are all about putting more money into the pockets of working people, but we do also have to ensure that we are balancing the books, and we have got to work in terms of public sector pay within fiscal constraints.
“We will give these recommendations careful consideration.
“But I would, of course, also urge our colleagues in the trade union movement to engage constructively with us and recognise the reality of the financial position.”
A government spokesperson said: “The department has received the NHS Pay Review Body recommendations for 2025-26 – regarding pay for Agenda for Change staff like nurses, paramedics and healthcare support workers.
“We will carefully consider the recommendations before responding.”
