Call for evidence on separate pay spine for nurses
Posted 12 January 2024 - 16:00
A new pay spine could reward career progression and address gender disadvantages, says the RCN, although other unions warn it could be divisive
The government is seeking views on a new separate pay spine for nurses, it has announced.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it wants to hear evidence from across the health sector on the ‘merits and challenges’ of nurses working in the NHS having their own pay scale, separate from Agenda for Change (AfC).
Call for evidence will explore risks and benefits of a nurses’ pay spine
The DHSC has opened a 12-week ‘call for evidence’ for stakeholders to submit their views on whether a separate pay scale is workable. It says it will then collate feedback from across the health sector considering the ‘risks and benefits’ of this new approach and publish its findings in due course.
Health minister Andrew Stephenson said: ‘We hugely value the work of nurses, who play a vital role in the NHS.
‘We have listened to union concerns and are launching this call for evidence to explore the risks and benefits of a separate pay structure for nurses.
‘I want stakeholders to share their expertise and help us collate feedback from across the healthcare sector, ultimately helping to make the NHS a better place to work.’
New pay spine could address gender disadvantages and reward clinical experience, says RCN
The RCN, which has long been pushing for a separate pay scale for nursing staff, said the current pay structure had not kept pace with nursing progress and did not reflect nurses’ skills and expertise.
General secretary Pat Cullen said: ‘Despite many years of experience, the vast majority of nurses are on the lowest pay bands possible. The current system only rewards people the further away they get from patient care.
‘This approach is poor for patients and works against career progression for a nurse. Automatic pay band progression is afforded to some staff groups and never to nurses – it is unfair and unsustainable.
‘Our workforce is 90% female and a new structure can remove the gender disadvantages at present and dispel completely the idea that nursing is less skilled, women’s work and worthy of low pay and poor treatment.’
The RCN sought a commitment to a new pay spine in pay negotiations with the government last year, though the deal was later rejected by members.
Protect and improve current pay scale to avoid undermining cooperation between staff, says GMB
But the GMB union said it would ‘undermine’ the hard work of securing AfC and pit NHS staff against each other.
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said: ‘The NHS is built on cooperation from its hard-working staff. These proposals would completely undermine this cooperation.
‘AfC was hard fought for by GMB and other health unions. There must be no going back to the days of discriminatory pay awards that were inefficient at best and unlawful at worst.
‘The national agreement must be protected and improved – not fragmented. Fourteen long years of underfunding and failed outsourcing have undermined the NHS and its workforce.
‘Reversing this damage must be ministers’ focus, not pitting the workforce against each other and using our NHS as a political football.’
Fears new scale would be divisive and damage team morale
Unison labelled the move ‘divisive’ and warned that pitting different staff groups against each other ‘for a larger slice of what’s available’ was the wrong approach.
Acting head of health Helga Pile said: ‘It would divert time and resources from the real problems, damage team morale and tie employers up in years of equal pay claims.
‘Instead of creating divisive distractions, ministers should be looking to grade nurses properly so they’re paid fairly for their skills and training, improve career progression and offer decent overtime rates for all.’
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