NHS pay must be reset to reflect nursing’s true worth
Prospect of talks to shake-up the NHS Agenda for Change pay-band structure is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put nurse salaries and career progression on a fairer footing, says the editor of Nursing Standard.
Prospect of pay talks to shake-up Agenda for Change will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put nurses’ salaries and career progression on a fairer footing
If you are on Agenda for Change, will you see new salary scales that match your skills and experience and provide a route to progression?
This is the hope for talks announced to discuss reforms to the NHS pay structure. Sadly, many would today reply ‘no’ to the above question based on their experience of being stuck on band 5 for their entire career.
This is not cynicism, when they’re working in a system that doesn’t acknowledge the value of educated professionals practising in demanding, high-risk environments – and that leaves many to calculate they could earn more per hour working in retail.
High proportion of nurses remain on band 5 in the long term
The RCN’s Left Behind report states between 44-53% of UK nurses (the proportions vary depending on where they are in the UK) are on band 5, the bottom band of AfC for the registered nurse. One third of them have been there for seven years.
‘As with the imminent review of band 5 nurse roles, the government must commit to funding AfC reform, otherwise the exercise will mean nothing’
Sexual discrimination is at play here, when we compare pay levels in nursing – a female-dominated profession in which just under 90% are women – with those of occupational groups and professions where there is a more equal split by sex, such as ambulance or medical staff.
Last week’s announcement (23 April) that NHS Staff Council now has a mandate to begin negotiations to reform AfC after almost 25 years could not be more urgent.
As one union leader said, ‘there is a lot riding on these talks’ and you only have to take a look at social media responses to our story on this news to see not just the strength of the appetite for change but also the breadth of opinion about it. Should clinical and non-clinical staff have separate pay spines, and will AfC reform really mean extra money, nurses question.
If nurses’ pay is to be improved, much-needed reforms of Agenda for Change must be backed by funding
As with the imminent review of band 5 nurse roles, the government must commit to funding AfC reform, otherwise the exercise will mean nothing.
This offers a once-in-a-generation chance to get the value of nursing right – and that would offer massive rewards to the NHS and the profession itself.
