NHS Pay Rise 2024 in UK

Industrial action broke the ice and bore fruit in a pay deal that included two non-consolidated payments and a 5% NHS pay rise in 2023/24. What is known about NHS pay rise 2024/25? Probably, only that it is going to be delayed. However, another joyful event has been announced: tens of thousands of non-NHS workers are going to be awarded two one-off payments over the coming months.
When can NHS workers expect a pay rise announcement, and what other changes can we expect in the healthcare industry in 2024? We unpack it in our article.

NHS Pay Rise 2024 – Pay Review Body Process Update

The Department of Health and Social Care, under the leadership of The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP, announced that they are willing to acknowledge the vital role that 27,000 non-NHS health workers of so-called frontline roles play. The award will consist of two one-off payments ranging from £1,655 up to £3,000 each. Among those are community nurses, physiotherapists, sexual health workers, speech therapists, and cleaners at social enterprises, charities, and private providers. The funding for the payments is going to be provided in the coming months.

How are things with the pay rise for NHS workers in 2024, and what is the actual pay review body process? Typically, NHS members receive information about their pay rise for the next working year on 1 April. However, this time, the delay seems to be inevitable. The Pay Review Body received instructions from the government only at the end of December 2023, which means the report will be ready in May 2024. What uplift can NHS workers expect? Currently, it’s known that most NHS trust leaders (42% ) are advocating a 5% uplift for Agenda for Change (AFC) staff.

How It Was in the Previous Year

In May 2023, after months of striking, the majority of trade unions and the government reached an agreement. It included a pay deal of two non-consolidated payments (a 2% bonus payment and an ‘NHS backlog bonus’ ranging between £1,250 and £1,600) and a pay rise of 5% in 2023/24 for most NHS employees and 10.4% for band 1 and 2 roles. Additionally, the government promised to review the PRB process and adopt measures against violence and aggression towards NHS staff.

Interestingly, the report submitted by the Department of Health and Social Care 2023/24 to the Pay Review Body stated that funding was available to cover pay awards of 3.5%, not the 5% uplift and additional payments. Treasury’s 2023/24 submission claimed that higher pay awards could result in higher inflation. However, the analysis conducted by the London School of Economics hasn’t found any evidence that NHS staff pay uplifts are somehow fueling inflation.

Background Information on the Matter

The healthcare system in the UK has been in crisis for a considerable while now. Even though overall NHS waiting lists have been steadily decreasing for the past 4 months in a row (by a total of 192,000), the situation is still far from returning to normal.

The recent NHS staff survey revealed that 44.8% of healthcare workers have experienced health issues due to work-related stress in the last 12 months. According to staff sickness absence data, anxiety, depression, and stress remain the top reasons for staff to be absent from work. Trust leaders also share concerns about the problem of staff retention and staff shortage. Three in five trust leaders are worried about having the correct number and mix of staff required to bring down waiting lists and provide high-quality health services. As of September 2023, there were 121,000 job openings in the NHS in England.

Another controversial issue is the entry point of band 2 staff. Due to the National Living Wage (NLW) uplift, which took place in previous years, the hourly rate of band 2 staff fell below the legal minimum. This year, the new structure of the pay award agreed in 2023 improved the situation. However, there is one but. The NLW increase to £11.44 per hour, which takes effect on 1 April 2024, will make the hourly rate for entry point staff only 1p higher than the NLW itself.

Even though it technically complies with minimum wage regulations, the issue is fraud with two profound implications. Firstly, it severely undermines the progress of recruitment and retention improvement. Secondly, it raises serious ethical concerns regarding adequate compensation for those who provide essential healthcare services.

What about NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan

The NHS England’s Long-Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) gives hope here. Much of the attention is given to recruitment, including the ambition to increase training places for nurses and doctors. Another highly welcome point is investing in community-based roles, the acute and ambulance sectors, and mental health services. The attrition of trainees and retention of staff issues are surprisingly quite light on detail despite the biggest immediate impact they could potentially have. The LTWP also fails to cover the social care workforce and services delivered by voluntary, community, and social organisations. Staff shortages in non-clinical roles such as administration, IT, and call handling are not addressed either.

What is the Solution for the NHS Pay Review Body?

First and foremost, to secure fair payment for all NHS workers. They should finally feel that their role in society is appreciated not only in words but also in action. Second, the NHS should be turned into an attractive and highly competitive employer. NHS employees should be offered flexible working hours. Adequate work-life balance is the second main tool in fixing staff low morale and disengagement. NHS employees should be provided with continuous professional development and career progression opportunities. This will motivate them to work to their full potential instead of resigning and looking for better job options, thus solving the problem of staff retention and leading to improved quality of services they provide.

Sources

Jooble Career Guide·Salary·NHS Pay Rise 2024 in UK