This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-pay-rise-increase-nurses-paramedics-government-unite-unison-trade-unions-a8266776.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
NHS staff could see pay increase up to 29% in three years, as unions agree pay deal NHS staff could see pay increase up to 29% in three years, as unions agree pay deal
(about 1 hour later)
Some NHS staff could see their pay increase by almost a third in the next three years after the Government announced a deal with trade unions which would mark the end of eight years of pay restraint.Some NHS staff could see their pay increase by almost a third in the next three years after the Government announced a deal with trade unions which would mark the end of eight years of pay restraint.
New starters and those moving into new roles in the NHS will see their pay increase the most significantly under the deal – which affects nurses, midwives, paramedics and porters – with a maximum increase of 29.02 per cent by 2021. New starters and those moving into new roles in the NHS will see their pay increase the most significantly under the deal – which affects more than a million nurses, paramedics, porters and other staff.
Leaked details of the agreement reported staff would get at least a 6.5 per cent uplift, but this will apply to staff who have been in their job the longest and have reached the top of the incremental pay increases for that role. The maximum increase any role could see by 2021 would be 29 per cent, meaning a nurse ward manager today, for example, with all the skills to pass each annual pay review could be earning £9,000 by 2021.
This applies to about fifty per cent of the staff on an NHS Agenda for Change contract for which a new deal was agreed between the 14 health unions and the Government today. The agreement will seek to make savings by making pay increases less automatic, and will also seek to bring sickness absences in line with the wider public sector, the Government said.
Leaked details of the agreement earlier today reported staff would get at least a 6.5 per cent uplift over three years, but this will apply to staff who have been in their job the longest and have reached the top of the incremental pay increases for that role.
These experienced staff account for fifty per cent of the workforce on an NHS Agenda for Change contract for which the new deal was agreed between the 14 health unions and the Government today.
Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, chaired negotiations for the NHS trade unions and said pay was the root cause of the “staffing crisis of daunting magnitude” facing the NHS.Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, chaired negotiations for the NHS trade unions and said pay was the root cause of the “staffing crisis of daunting magnitude” facing the NHS.
“Our pay system has sat stuck for the last seven years and the set of proposals today aims to put it back on track over the next three years.“Our pay system has sat stuck for the last seven years and the set of proposals today aims to put it back on track over the next three years.
“The NHS is one team, its porters, cleaners, physios, nurses, midwives, ambulance staff, occupational therapists: The people you see, and the people you never see.“The NHS is one team, its porters, cleaners, physios, nurses, midwives, ambulance staff, occupational therapists: The people you see, and the people you never see.
“These proposals share the resources available across the whole structure, rather than targetting particular points or job groups.”“These proposals share the resources available across the whole structure, rather than targetting particular points or job groups.”
Under the deal, a newly qualified nurse or midwife who starts at the bottom of Band Five of the pay scale today would earn £22,128. A newly qualified nurse or midwife who starts at the bottom of Band Five of the pay scale today would earn £22,128 and with three years experience that could increase £26,970 if they met all their performance targets – a 22 per cent increase.
In three years time that same role will earn £26,970 – a 21.88 per cent increase. The 100,000 lowest paid NHS staff, including healthcare assistants, drivers and nursery assistants, will see their pay increase immediately in 2018/19 - from £15,404 to £17,460 - and the lowest salary in the NHS in 2021 will be £18,005.
The biggest jump will be at Band Seven, which includes nurse ward managers and specialist therapists, where starting salaries will increase by 29 per cent (£9,198) to £40,894 in 2021.. Announcing the deal in the Commons today, Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:  "Today’s agreement on a new pay deal reflects public appreciation for just how much staff have done and continue to do.
As well as increasing wages at each level of the pay scale, the changes will reduce the number of incremental pay increases between the highest and lowest paid staff in the same role. "We know that NHS sickness rates are around a third higher than the public sector average, and reducing sickness absence by just one per cent will save around £280m".
So instead of nine incremental steps, a Band Five nurse will reach the top of Band Five – £30,615 in 2020/21 – with three pay rises. It will replace "often automatic" pay progression with "larger less frequent pay rises based on the achievement of agreed professional milestones", he added
The Treasury had said that any new funding for NHS staff would be contingent on “productivity increases”, and incremental increases will now be linked more closely to staff performance and expertise. The changes will also reduce the number of incremental pay increases between the highest and lowest paid staff in the same role.
However a leaked suggestion earlier this month, that staff would be asked to forfeit a day of annual leave for the rise, is not included and staff will now have flexibility to buy and sell holiday. The Treasury has made £4.2bn of additional funding available to fund the rise and had said pay uplift would be contingent on “productivity increases”.
Instead the Government is aiming to absorb some of the cost by tackling staff sickness rates which are up to a third higher than other public sector services in some areas. However a leaked suggestion earlier this month, that staff would be asked to forfeit a day of annual leave for the rise, is not included.
The next step is for the unions to put it to their members to vote, expected in June, with backdated pay theoretically reaching staff in July.The next step is for the unions to put it to their members to vote, expected in June, with backdated pay theoretically reaching staff in July.
However one union, GMB, is already urging its staff to reject the “jam tomorrow” offer which it says amounts to a real-terms pay cut for staff who have been in their roles the longest.However one union, GMB, is already urging its staff to reject the “jam tomorrow” offer which it says amounts to a real-terms pay cut for staff who have been in their roles the longest.
The Office of Budget Responsibility forecasts that inflation is set to hit 9.6 per cent in the three year period of the deal and pay has not kept up with inflation for eight years.The Office of Budget Responsibility forecasts that inflation is set to hit 9.6 per cent in the three year period of the deal and pay has not kept up with inflation for eight years.
Kevin Brandstatter, GMB national officer, said: “After all that suffering is a below inflation pay rise the best they can offer?Kevin Brandstatter, GMB national officer, said: “After all that suffering is a below inflation pay rise the best they can offer?
“If it is, GMB will have to recommend that our members in NHS and Ambulance Trusts reject it.”“If it is, GMB will have to recommend that our members in NHS and Ambulance Trusts reject it.”
More to followMore to follow