NHS salaries have fallen by up to 32 per cent

New analysis released ahead of NHS pay debate in Westminster Hall claims that NHS salaries have fallen by up to 32 per cent.

Analysis of the Agenda for Change (AfC) framework by London Economics found that, when adjusted for inflation, salaries in all NHS pay grades have fallen in real terms. In one pay grade, this meant a pay cut of 32 per cent. The analysis stresses that, while nursing staff have seen their salary increase in cash terms, in reality this buys them far less than it did 10 years ago.

The findings have been shared ahead of a Westminster Hall debate, where MPs will discuss the government’s suggestion of a one per cent pay increase for NHS staff.

Dr Gavan Conlon, one of the report’s authors, said: “Our analysis makes clear the impact that years of economic austerity have had on NHS pay. Any suggestion that nursing staff’s salaries have increased in recent years is inaccurate – they haven’t. Salaries in none of the Agenda for Change pay spine-points increased over the last 10 years once inflation is factored in. On paper, people’s salaries may have gone up in cash terms, but the reality is that their pay buys them less than it did a decade ago.”

He went on to say: “Many NHS staff – around 40 per cent – were ‘stuck’ at the top of their pay band irrespective of their performance or competence”. He said, “a really important issue in the AfC pay system is that it’s very hard to move between pay bands – unless a vacancy opens up. This means that many NHS staff see years of pay stagnation.

“For those staff stuck at the top of their Band, there’s every chance they will have had a substantial real-terms pay cut over the last decade. For example, experienced nursing staff at the top of Band 5 may have seen their pay fall by 17 per cent in real-terms during that time.”

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “This new analysis shows the devastating real-term cuts to NHS salaries over the past decade. Years of austerity have left nursing staff badly underpaid. The nation has seen the very best of nursing in the past year – the skill, dedication and professionalism involved. The government cannot possibly stand by this insulting one per cent offer.”

The RCN has provided a briefing for MPs attending, in which we reiterate our calls for a 12.5 per cent pay rise for nursing staff in recognition of the complexity of skill, responsibility and experience they demonstrate.