Our NHS staff work incredibly hard, day in, day out, right across the country, and because of the Government's balanced approach to the economy, Steve Brine can confirm NHS staff including nurses, midwives, cleaners and porters will receive a pay rise of between 6.5% and 29%.
The Government is investing in higher starting salaries for staff in every pay band by reforming the pay system to remove overlapping pay points. The pay of the lowest earning NHS staff, such as porters, cleaners and hospital caterers, will increase substantially as a result of pay band reform. These staff will see their basic pay increase by 15 per cent over the next three years. A newly qualified nurse will receive starting pay 12.6 per cent higher in 2020-2021 than this year and starting pay for a midwife will increase by 18.1 per cent as a result of pay band reform.
The Government will also support staff retention so that our NHS is staffed by the skilled compassionate workforce that it needs. Ministers will guarantee fair basic pay awards for the next three years to the 50 per cent of staff who are at the top of pay bands, while guaranteeing fair basic pay awards and faster progression pay for the next three years to around 50 per cent of staff that is not yet on the top of their pay band.
Steve Brine said: "Public sector pay restraint was necessary to tackle the deficit we inherited. However, in September last year we ended the 1 per cent pay award policy. Using funds allocated at the Budget, our proposals will see big wage rises over the next three years for over 1.1 million NHS workers in what is a landmark deal.
"As a result of pay reform, the lowest earning NHS staff such as porters, cleaners and hospital caterers will see their wages rise by 15 per cent. We are committed to the delivery of world class public services and ensuring that public sector workers are fairly paid for the vitally important work that they do. Thank you to all local NHS staff for everything they do to look after us."
In addition, the Government is working with the NHS to improve the rights of the people who work in our NHS. The deal is not just about better pay for hard working NHS staff – it is also about making the NHS a better employer. Shared parental leave rights will be extended to all staff, the NHS will commit to reducing sickness absence by improving staff health and wellbeing, and all staff will receive better skills and development training.
And on top of that, they are working with NHS employers and trade unions to boost productivity so that we can achieve better outcomes for patients. Proposals include a framework for buying and selling annual leave which will consider the pay value of annual leave that staff may wish to sell back to their employers. This could help increase capacity and reduce spend on agencies.
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