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.
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. The details of when this award will be implemented have not been released. Get more information.
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 doctors, dentists and very senior managers. Read more about the NHS Pay Review Body.
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.
Pay negotiations with the Scottish government began on Friday 26 July for NHS Scotland Agenda for Change staff.
The Scottish government as in previous years did not give the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) a remit for 2024-25 pay and, instead the Scottish government indicated they would negotiate with the RCN and other health trade unions in Scotland. We’ll make the case for any additional funding that comes to the Scottish government as a result of a pay award in England to be passed to NHS Scotland Agenda for Change staff. Get more information about NHS pay in Scotland.
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.
