Posted 08 April 2024 - 17:00
Posted 08 April 2024 - 17:00
News
Nurses should get £35k starting salary, government told
RCN head Pat Cullen wants pay bandings to be overhauled to 'give nursing a fresh start' in college’s response to proposal for separate pay scale for nurses
RCN head Pat Cullen wants pay bandings to be overhauled to 'give nursing a fresh start' in college’s response to proposal for separate pay scale for nurses
A new pay spine for nurses should deliver a starting salary of around £35,000 and overhaul the current pay banding system, the government has been told by the RCN.
In the college’s formal response to proposals for a separate pay scale for nurses, it said that 87% of nurses told the RCN their pay band does not reflect their skills, education, knowledge and levels of responsibility.
Modernise pay structure to address staffing crisis, says RCN
Nurses, unions, employers, academics and other NHS staff were invited by the Department of Health and Social Care to submit their views on whether a separate pay scale would be workable for nurses.
The RCN collected the views of more than 7,000 members for its evidence and told the government that the opportunity to modernise the nursing pay structure ‘should not be overlooked’ if it was serious about addressing the recruitment crisis.
College lays out its ideas on nurse pay
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: ‘Nursing is not a calling. Or a vocation. Or “women’s work”. We are a profession; we are experts; we are leaders. There is an art and a science to what we do.
‘This work [on a new pay scale] is about every nursing role – registrants and support workers; newly qualified and the more senior; and every current grade through to the chief nurse where you work.’
In its response, the RCN said it envisages starting salaries for registered nurses ‘in the region of £35,000 during preceptorship’, with progress towards £50,000 and beyond for enhanced, advanced and consultant levels of nursing.
Nurses who gain specific qualifications or undertake specialist practice should also be rewarded with specific financial sums, the college’s submission argues.
Existing pay bandings ‘are simply no longer reliable’
According to the RCN, three quarters of its members working in the NHS are employed either on Agenda for Change (AfC) band 5 or band 6 – the two lowest-pay bands available for registered nurses.
The college’s response states that the current AfC bandings established in 2004 ‘are simply no longer reliable and it is creating a ripple effect through the grades as they currently stand’.
A new pay structure, underpinned by a new nursing career framework, would ensure nursing staff are better rewarded and able to access clearly defined career pathways to advanced career levels, the RCN added.
Career pathway for nursing should be 'smashed wide open'
Ms Cullen said: ‘AfC has lost sight of our value. I want the career pathway for nursing to be smashed wide open. Whether you take on management roles or not, your knowledge and excellence as a nursing professional has to be recognised.
‘Let’s give nursing a fresh start and a new place in healthcare.’
The RCN sought a commitment to a new pay spine in pay negotiations with former health and social care secretary Steve Barclay last year, although the final deal was later rejected by its members.
Recommendations from the NHS Pay Review Body for the 2024-25 pay round are delayed and are expected in May at the earliest.
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