The Government must bypass the independent panel that reviews NHS pay if the health service is to be fit for the future, according to three of the UK's largest health unions today.
UNISON, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unite have written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging him to hold direct pay talks with unions, and not wait until the lengthy NHS pay review body process (PRB) has run its course before awarding next year's wage increase.
Their letter to the Health and Social Care Secretary says yet again one million NHS staff in England, including nurses, paramedics, healthcare assistants, porters, health visitors and estates workers won't receive their pay rise on time in April if the Government waits for the pay review body to report.
Failure to finalise new pay rates by April 1 next year also means those workers on the lowest NHS pay bands will slip below the national living wage, which will increase to £12.21 an hour for workers aged 21 and over in April 2025. The lowest-paid staff in the NHS currently earn 13p an hour below that (£12.08).
The unions say that if the Secretary of State wants to achieve his aim of improving NHS efficiency, there’s no better way for him to do this than by ditching the current time-consuming pay process for good. They insist it would be quicker and more effective to finalise next year's pay increase during wider planned talks on wage scales and job structures, rather than having a ‘twin-track’ approach.
Pay review process
Today (November 26) is the deadline for evidence to the NHS pay review body, but the three unions aren't submitting anything this year,** and describe the pay review body system as “inefficient, outdated and not fit for purpose.”
In the letter to Wes Streeting, the unions write: “The pay review body process is outdated and belongs to a bygone age. It takes forever, is bureaucratic and is inefficient too. Scrapping this would save tens of thousands of pounds and spare the NHS, the Government and other health organisations the many hours it currently takes to compile, submit and present evidence.”
When this year's NHS pay rise was announced in the summer, the Health Secretary also agreed to provide funding and a mandate to fix the Agenda for Change pay structure.
The 20-year old pay system needs reform because many health jobs have changed dramatically since it was put in place, say unions. The pay bands need to be adjusted to ensure they reward skills and responsibilities in the right way.
Unions and employers making up the NHS staff council negotiating body are still awaiting the green light from government to get these promised talks underway. With time running short, an NHS pay rise could be discussed at the same time, the unions say.
Doing so through a streamlined wage rise process could use up “fewer resources, and more importantly, deliver next year’s pay rise on the day it’s due,” the letter adds.
“This would be the most compelling way to help get the NHS back on track, hold on to the experienced staff it needs to do this and attract the recruits key to filling the huge gaps in the workforce.”
*This is the third year running that UNISON and Unite haven't submitted evidence as part of the NHS pay review body process. The RCN previously declined to submit evidence during the 2022/23 pay dispute.
