NHS Staff Get 3.6% Pay Boost – But Is It Enough?
A pay rise is coming for around a million NHS workers in England, but it’s not sparking joy on the hospital floor or in the union halls. From April 2025, nurses, midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists, and everyone else covered by Agenda for Change (AfC) will see their salaries rise by 3.6%. This covers A&E staff, healthcare assistants, admin teams, and even about 4,300 NHS social workers, based on the latest figures from Skills for Care.
On paper, matching the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of 3.5% seems reassuring – at least it isn’t a pay cut after inflation. Here’s the rub: the increase only puts a little more in people’s pockets if inflation keeps dropping as predicted by government economists. Back in 2024, staff got a 5.5% boost. This time the government first suggested just 2.8%, but after the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation, went for 3.6%. The full raise will be backdated to April 1st – but staff will have waited four extra months by the time the extra cash actually hits their bank accounts.
For context, the newly published pay scales see entry-level Band 5 staff (think first-year nurses or junior paramedics) starting at £31,049. Top of band 5 goes up to £37,796. Senior managers in bands 8d and 9 can now earn as much as £127,835. But Band 1 – the absolute bottom rung of the NHS pay ladder – is officially closed to new starters, continuing a government push for slightly faster entry-level wage growth. Still, low-paid NHS workers remain frustrated: their new rates don’t align with the 'real living wage,' a point fiercly highlighted by union reps.
Union Discontent and the Pressure to Fix NHS Pay Structures
Unions are hardly celebrating. NHS pay rise supporters, like Health Secretary Wes Streeting, insist the decision is a meaningful gesture towards bolstering a battered health system. But for groups like UNISON, the pay rise feels like a bandage on a major wound. Their main gripes? Waiting months for the money, while bills and rent don’t pause. And the numbers don’t do much to lift those stuck at the bottom, especially roles hovering near the minimum wage or just above the visa threshold for international nurses and carers.
NHS leaders know that real-world solutions need more than headline pay boosts. The government's long-awaited ten-year NHS plan is expected to go public soon, with a laser focus on not just salaries, but the bigger gridlock: retention, recruitment, and a salary structure that far too often pushes talented staff toward agency work or jobs outside the NHS altogether.
So, while there’s relief that no pay freeze landed on public sector workers this year, there’s not much in the way of celebration among those who keep the health service running. The big question? Whether this latest pay deal will help or hinder the government’s promise to fix chronic staff shortages and bring back some pride to working in the NHS.