Implementing a new contract for NHS nursing staff would give the profession a ‘fresh start and a new place in health care’, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says.
The College makes the comments in its formal response to a UK government consultation into the introduction of a separate pay structure for NHS nursing staff in England. That response is published today [Monday 8 April].
Following campaigning by the RCN, the UK government agreed to carry out a consultation on a new pay structure, nursing careers and the mechanism for determining levels of pay.
In responding to the government’s call for evidence, the RCN collected the views of 7,000 members. Almost nine in ten (87%) said they do not feel their current pay band recognises their knowledge, skills, education and current levels of responsibility.
In its submission, the RCN says a new pay structure would recognise how the profession has transformed in the last 20 years, with nursing staff today working at a higher level of autonomy, specialisation and responsibility. A new pay structure, underpinned by a new nursing career framework, would ensure nursing staff are better rewarded and able to access clearly defined career pathways to advanced career levels. Currently, three quarters of all registered nurses in England’s NHS are in bands 5 and 6, the bottom two pay bands for registrants.
With these vital reforms, the RCN envisages starting salaries for nursing support workers of at least £27,500. For registered nurses, salaries would start in the region of £35,000 during preceptorship with progress towards £50,000 and beyond for enhanced, advanced and consultant levels of nursing.
Fixed financial sums should be attributed to the acquisition of specific qualifications or specialist practice, the submission argues.
For the first time, the reforms would draw a distinction between newly qualified registrants and more experienced staff still actively involved in clinical care, placing emphasis on progression through experience and competencies tied to clinical expertise – rather than having to take on management responsibilities and stepping back from care to achieve a higher grade.
Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) will also benefit, the RCN says, with their previous experience recognised under a new pay structure – as happens in the medical workforce in the UK. Under the current arrangements, IENs begin their employment at the bottom of band 5, no matter their previous role or experience.
The NHS in England is in the grips of a nursing workforce crisis. Tens of thousands of posts are unfilled whilst growing numbers of domestic and international nurses are choosing to practice overseas. In its submission, the RCN says the opportunity to modernise the pay structure in nursing should not be overlooked, warning the recruitment and retention crisis could become "potentially irreversible” if action isn’t taken.
Professor Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said:
“Nursing is not a calling. Or a vocation. Or ‘women’s work’. We are a profession; we are experts; we are leaders. There is an art and a science to what we do.
“This work is about every nursing role – registrants and support workers; newly qualified and the more senior; and every current grade through to the chief nurse where you work.
“Agenda for Change has lost sight of our value. After 20 years, three quarters of our members are on the two lowest pay bands possible for registered nurse professionals. We are weighted to the bottom of the pay and grading structure, without a clear route through.
“I want the career pathway for nursing to be smashed wide open. Whether you take on management roles or not, your knowledge and excellence as a nursing professional has to be recognised. Patients want the experienced nurse as well as the new joiner involved in their care and treatment.
“We are opening the biggest public and political conversation about the value of nursing. And we will tell the sceptics why nursing is unique, why patients need us and why we deserve better.
“Let’s give nursing its fresh start and a new place in health care.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
A fresh start for nursing - The RCN’s response to the 2024 UK government consultation on nursing pay and careers
