Fair pay for general practice nursing staff

General practices are independent employers. Terms and conditions are negotiated on an individual basis in some smaller practices.

There is no specific employment model for general practice nursing staff. It’s down to individual practices.

Funding for staffing costs is through the global sum payment and the statement of financial entitlements. This is negotiated between NHS England and the British Medical Association General Practice Committee, after reporting by the Doctors and Dentist Renumeration Body.

Some nursing staff are employed by Primary Care Network in advance practice or nursing associate and other roles using funding from the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. They are generally employed on agenda for change terms and conditions.

We're calling on all general practice employers in England to give their nursing staff a pay rise, in line with increased funding for the 2024/25 financial year. Earlier this year, the Westminster government announced a 6% pay uplift for salaried practice staff in England, including all nursing team staff, employed by GP surgeries providing NHS services. 

If you have not heard from your employer about this pay increase, or your employer is not transparent about the pay you should receive, you're not alone. We're advocating on your behalf but there are things you can do too. See below.

We’ve submitted evidence to the Doctors and Dentists Renumeration Body using our members’ survey responses about how the 6% pay uplift has been applied for the 2024/25 pay cycle.

We’re working closely with the British Medical Association to raise nursing issues within general practice communities.

We published joint statements with the British Medical Association calling on the government to uplift general practice staff pay for 2023/24 and 2024/25.

We've written to Local Medical Committees calling for them to ensure practices pass on the pay award for 2023/24 to nursing staff.

In partnership with NHS England and the National Association of Primary Care, we’ve set up a series of monthly webinars for general practice nursing staff to learn more about how we’re advocating for you.

We published new employment standards that set the minimum terms and conditions you should expect from your employer. 

There are 17 not-for-profit general practice federations that have been established to support general practice and facilitate the transformation of health and social care in primary care settings.

Nursing staff employed by federations are all on a consistent contract with terms and conditions that mirror Agenda for Change. The pay banding for nursing staff matches that defined by the Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council career pathway for primary care. This means that nurses employed directly by the federations are paid at Band 6, senior nurses at Band 7 and Associate Nurse Practitioners at Band 8a.

Individual general practices have their own discrete employment contracts with a diverse range of terms and conditions.

Nursing staff working in treatment rooms within practices are employed by a health and social care trust on Agenda for Change terms and conditions.

We have good engagement with general practice nurses in Northern Ireland via the Primary Care Network. There have been no concerns raised by members about the 2023-2024 pay award being passed on.

Each year, the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration Body (DDRB) recommend an annual pay uplift for general practices. This is then distributed to practices to cover staffing costs. Before and during 2021-22, this uplift was not being passed on. We negotiated with the Public Health Agency for assurances from each employer that the pay uplift is passed on to nursing staff.

We’re seeking formal recognition as a negotiating body representing general practice nurses.

We’re represented on the Northern Ireland Regional Primary Care Steering group, among other bodies and pathways. We have a say in all work strands from this group, particularly in relation to nursing staff education and development.

We host a Primary Care Network, which meets every 6 to 8 weeks. This allows us to reach more primary care nursing staff and facilitate information sharing and support.

Most general practice nursing staff are directly employed in Scotland by individual practices, but some are employed by NHS Boards.

Funding for general practices is agreed through General Medical Services Contract Negotiations. These take place yearly between the Scottish government’s Primary Care Division and the British Medical Association. Once an annual pay uplift is agreed, the Scottish government allocates funding to each of the territorial health boards to distribute to individual practices.

We’ve called for pay uplifts that are equal to NHS Agenda for Change uplifts. We achieved this in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

We took part in the Transforming Nursing Roles Programme and continue to engage with the NHS Scotland GPN Leads Group to some success.

Through this work, we hope to ensure you that we can influence the future of the general practice and broader primary care workforce.

The uplift for 2024/25 was announced in October 2024. General practice staff should see an increase of 5.5% which is the same as the NHS Agenda for Change uplift. The global uplift equated to 6.5% to accommodate other non-staff related expenses.

General practices are independent employers. Terms and conditions are negotiated on an individual basis in some smaller practices.

There is no specific employment model for general practice nursing staff. It’s down to individual practices.

Funding for staffing costs is negotiated between the Welsh Government and the British Medical Association, regarding the General Medical Services contracts for general practices.

The Welsh government wants to see a ‘fair and proportionate’ pay rise for all general practice nursing staff and their colleagues, but concerns remain over delayed negotiations between ministers and the British Medical Association in Wales.

It announced it had accepted a 6% pay rise for doctors and dentists, including general practitioners, and a 5.5% pay rise for NHS staff on Agenda for Change, as recommended by the independent pay review bodies. Cabinet secretary for health and social care Mark Drakeford recognised that general practice nursing staff and other general practice staff fell outside of the scope of the recommendations. 

More than 1,000 GPs and GP registrars took part in BMA Cymru Wales’ online referendum. 99% voted to reject. The BMA will now take this mandate to the Welsh Government and ask that they urgently improve the terms on offer.

We’re actively seeking meetings with the British Medical Association to discuss the negotiations.

Nursing staff working in general practice in Wales can support this work by contributing to the general practice nursing staff pay survey today.