Nurses, midwives and other healthcare staff across Scotland have voted to accept an 8% pay increase, over two years, that will ensure they continue to be the best paid in the UK.
The deal, which benefits almost 170,000 NHS Agenda for Change staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – guarantees the pay increase will be one percentage point above inflation over same period.
It will see pay rises of 4.25% in 2025-26 and 3.75% in 2026-27 and involves an investment of more than £700 million over a two-year period.
The pay rise will be backdated to 1 April 2025.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “I welcome the fact that union members have accepted this pay offer. Delivering a renewed and stronger NHS is a key commitment for us and at the heart of that are our hard-working healthcare staff.
“We want to ensure they feel value and rewarded and I’m very pleased that they have agreed to accept a strong two-year pay deal. Staff will see the benefit of this pay uplift in their pay packets from next month.
“The deal, which is both fair and affordable, is guaranteed to remain above CPI inflation and will ensure Scotland’s nurses, midwives and NHS staff have the best reward package in the UK.”
5.5% pay increase for nurses and NHS workers in 2024-25
Nurses and healthcare staff across Scotland have been offered a pay increase of 5.5% that will ensure they have the best pay package in the UK.
The offer, if accepted by trade unions, will see an investment of more than £448 million in 2024-25 and will ensure almost 170,000 NHS Agenda for Change staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – benefit from the pay rise which will be backdated to 1 April 2024.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Following weeks of constructive engagement with trade union representatives, I am pleased to have agreed an offer, in recognition of the Pay Review Body recommendations, that will ensure Scotland’s nurses and NHS staff have the best pay package in the UK.
“The unions will now consult their members and I hope it will be accepted.
“I want to express my thanks again to Scotland’s hardworking healthcare staff for their commitment and patience – they are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost of living crisis.
“I am grateful for the continued efforts around the table and that the trade unions will now put this to their members.”
A total of £448 million has been committed for Agenda for Change pay in 2024-25. This equates to an uplift of 5.5% for all staff.
Examples of increases for 2024-25:
experienced porters (band 2) will receive £1,395
experienced healthcare support workers (band 4) will receive £1,651
experienced staff nurses (band 5) will receive £2,072
experienced paramedics (band 6) will receive £2,535.
Healthcare staff will begin to benefit from largest overall investment in Agenda for Change pay in a single year from next month, following unions’ unanimous agreement.
160,000 NHS staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – will receive an average 6.5% increase in pay in 2023-24.
This £568 million deal includes a commitment to deliver the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in decades and support for workforce recruitment, sustainability and retention.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “I am very pleased that the Agenda for Change trade unions have unanimously agreed to accept this pay offer, meaning staff will start seeing the benefits of this deal in their April pay packets.
“This £568 million deal that will ensure NHS Agenda for Change staff remain, by far and away, the best paid anywhere in the UK. We are also committed to delivering the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in decades.
“Our healthcare staff have shown how dedicated and hardworking they are time and again and I cannot thank them enough for their commitment, particularly over the last few challenging years. Our staff are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost of living crisis.
“I am grateful for the continued efforts to keep discussions going to reach this deal and that this has been able to be processed in time to get the money to staff so quickly.
A total of £568 million has been committed for Agenda for Change pay in 2023-24. This equates to an average uplift of at least 6.5% for all staff at Band 8a and below.
All staff will also receive a one-off pro rata payment of between £387 and £939 depending on banding.
The offer also reaffirms previous commitments to work to reduce the working week, protect learning time and review band 5 job nursing profiles.
Examples of increases over the two years (2022-23 and 2023-24):
experienced porters (band 2) receive more than £3,750 extra (19.1%)
experienced healthcare support workers (band 4) receive more than £4,000 extra.
experienced AHPs (band 5) receive more than £4,700 extra (14.4%)
experienced paramedics (band 6) receive more than £5,360 extra (13.2%)
experienced advance nurse practitioners (band 7) receive more than £5,900 extra (12.4%)
£568 million for Agenda for Change (AfC) pay deal in 2023/24
Healthcare staff across Scotland have been offered the largest pay package in the history of the NHS, with a £568 million increase in investment.
160,000 NHS Agenda for Change staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – will be offered an average 6.5% increase in pay in 2023/24.
This pay offer includes the commitment to deliver the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in decades.
The offer also includes the commitment to modernising Agenda for Change, which was introduced nearly 20 years ago, to support workforce recruitment, sustainability and retention.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We have engaged extensively with trade union representatives over recent weeks, leaving no stone unturned to reach an offer which responds to the key concerns of staff. Our healthcare staff have shown how dedicated and hardworking they are time and again and I cannot thank them enough for their commitment, particularly over the last few challenging years.
“Over the two years of this £1 billion of increased investment in NHS Agenda for Change, a newly qualified nurse would see their pay increase by 15.8%, and experienced nurses at the top of band 5 would see their pay improve by over £4,700.
“This ensures that Scotland’s NHS Agenda for Change staff are, by far and away, the best paid anywhere in the UK. In fact, for NHS England to catch-up with Scotland the UK Government would need to offer increases in 2023/24 of over 14% at the top of band 5, over 13% at the top of band 6, and over 12% at the top of band 7.
“We have taken difficult decisions to find this money within the health budget because we know that our staff are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost of living crisis. I am grateful for the continued efforts around the table and that the trade unions will now put this to their members.”
An NHS pay deal which offers an average increase of 4% will be immediately implemented after the majority of NHS unions voted to accept the biggest pay uplift since devolution.
The increase covers 16 months, having been backdated to 1 December 2020 in recognition of an exceptional year of significant pressure for staff. This comes on top of the £500 thank you payment for health and social care workers.
Benefiting around 154,000 employees covered by the ‘Agenda for Change’ NHS pay and grading system – including nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals, as well as domestic staff, porters and healthcare support staff plus other front line health workers – this is the most generous increase anywhere in the UK. Staff should expect to receive payments, including the backdated uplift, this summer.
Staff on pay bands 1 to 7, almost 95% of Agenda for Change staff, will receive at least a 4% pay rise compared to 2020/21. This means those on the lowest Agenda for Change pay point will get a 5.4% increase and those on the highest pay points will receive uplifts of £800.
The UK Government’s submission to the NHS Pay Review body (PRB) provided for a £250 uplift for staff earning less than £24,000 and 1% for all other NHS Agenda for Change staff. Assuming the Department of Health in England maintains its current position, staff in Scotland will be considerably better off in 2021-22.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am delighted that unions representing a majority of NHS staff have voted to accept our offer of a pay rise of 4% on average.
“We all rely on the hard work and dedication of NHS Scotland, and never more so than during this pandemic. This pay rise, the biggest pay uplift for NHS staff since devolution recognises the unwavering commitment of NHS Scotland staff.
“If the Department of Health sticks with the offer it has proposed, staff in Scotland will be considerably better off in 2021-22 than their counterparts in England.
“This has been an exceptionally challenging year for our health service and I am delighted that the Scottish Government has been able to recognise the service and dedication of our healthcare staff. On behalf of us all, thank you for all you have done and for all you continue to do.”
On 24 March the Scottish Government announced a pay offer for Action for Change employees which unions agreed to take to staff. The pay offer is:
Bands 1 – 4: a flat uplift of £1,009
Bands 5 – 7: a 4% uplift
Bands 8a – 8c: a 2% uplift
Bands 8D – 9: a flat uplift of £800
NHS staff side met on May 12th following the closure of the staff ballot on the Agenda for Change pay deal. Seven of the nine unions representing AfC staff have voted to accept the deal. While support for the deal was not unanimous, a clear majority of staff who voted wish to accept it.
British Dietetic Association
Accept
College of Podiatrists
Accept
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Accept
GMB
Reject
RCM
Accept
RCN
Reject
Society of Radiographers
Accept
UNISON
Accept
Unite
Accept
Assuming the Department of Health in England maintains its current position, staff in Scotland will be considerably better off in 2021-22:
Pay for a porter at the top of Band 2 will be over £2,028 more
Pay for a healthcare assistant at the top of Band 3 will be over £2,211 more
Pay for a healthcare support worker at the top of Band 4 will be over £1,583 more
Pay for a ward nurse at the top of Band 5 will be over £1,994 more
Pay for a paramedic at the top of Band 6 will be nearly £2,467 more
Pay for an advanced nurse practitioner at the top of Band 7 will be over £2,898 more.
Agenda for Change is the NHS pay system for all staff directly employed by NHS Health Boards with the exception of Medical and Dental staff who are within the remit of the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body, and Executive and Senior Management staff. Across the UK, the system applies to over one million NHS staff and in NHS Scotland approximately 154,000 NHS Staff are on these terms and conditions of service.
After positive discussions over recent weeks with NHS Trade Unions and NHS Employers, the Scottish Government has offered a substantial pay rise for NHS Scotland Agenda for Change staff.
If accepted by staff, this deal will be most generous National Health Service pay uplift anywhere in the UK, and would represent the biggest single year increase in pay for NHS staff since devolution. The pay rises will benefit 154,000 NHS Agenda for Change employees – including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, as well as domestic, healthcare support staff, porters and other front line health workers.
The pay rise would ensure that staff on the pay bands 1 to 7 would receive at least a 4% pay rise compared to 2020/21, with the staff who earned less than £25,000 in 2020/21 getting a guaranteed minimum increase of over £1,000 in 2021/22.
This means that staff on the lowest Agenda for Change pay point would get a 5.4% increase. Those on the highest pay points will receive uplifts of £800.
While pay increases are usually effective from 1 April the 2021/22 pay settlement will be backdated to 1 December 2020 in recognition of an exceptional year of significant pressure for staff. This follows the £500 thank you payment for health and social care workers.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Following positive discussions with NHS unions and employees the Scottish Government has put forward an offer of the biggest single pay uplift since devolution for NHS Agenda for Change staff.
“Over 154,000 staff would benefit from this rise, which would see the average pay of an front line NHS Nurse rise by over £1,200 a year. This deal also includes support staff such as domestic staff, porters and health care support workers, the backbone of our services, who would see pay rises of over £1,000 – uplifts of between 4% – 5.4%.
“The uplift will be backdated from 1 December 2020, rather than the usual 1 April 2021, meaning all those covered by the deal will receive an extra benefit.
“This has been an exceptionally challenging year for our health service and I am pleased that the Scottish Government is able to recognise the service and dedication of our healthcare staff.”
