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  • 27 July 2021
  • 3 min read

How Will The 3% NHS Pay Rise Affect Your Salary?

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    • Mat Martin
    • Richard Gill
    • Aubrey Hollebon
  • 4
  • 17503
Many Nurses remain unhappy with this rise, while various trade unions have suggested that they will continue to pressure the government into further change."Many Nurses remain unhappy with this rise, while various trade unions have suggested that they will continue to pressure the government into further change."

We make sense of the 3% pay rise for Nurses & NHS staff by looking at how each pay band will change, and how much the average salary will increase by.

Although debate will continue about its adequacy, the government has confirmed that NHS staff, including Nurses, will receive a 3% pay rise – backdated to April 2021.

Many Nurses remain unhappy with this rise, while various trade unions have suggested that they will continue to pressure the government into further change.

But in the meantime, Nurses are starting to think about how much difference 3% will actually make to their monthly and yearly salary.

So, as a brief guide, here are some examples of how 3% affects Nurse salaries at different stages of their career.

Newly Qualified Nurse

For a newly qualified Nurse, the 3% pay rise means a salary that would have been £24,907 a year is now £25,654.

That’s an annual increase of just under £750, or a weekly increase of £14.37.

Band 5 Nurse With 6 years’ Experience

A Band 5 Nurse with 6 years’ experience will see their salary rise to £31,533 a year.

That’s an annual increase of just over £900, or a weekly rise of £17.66.

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Band 6 Nurse With 3 Years’ Experience

A Band 6 Nurse with 3 years’ experience will see their salary rise to £34,171 a year.

That’s an annual increase of just under £1000, or a weekly rise of £19.14.

Band 6 Nurse With 7 Years’ Experience

A Band 6 Nurse with 7 years’ experience will see their salary rise to £39,027 a year.

That’s an annual increase of £1137, or a weekly rise of £21.86.

Band 7 Nurse With 5 Years’ Experience

A Band 7 Nurse with 5 years’ experience will see their salary rise to £42,975 a year.

That’s an annual increase of just under £1250, or a weekly rise of £24.07.

How Much Will The Average Nurse Salary Increase By?

The government has said that it believes the average NHS Nurse will see their pay packet rise by around £1000 a year thanks to the 3% pay rise.

This appears to be fairly accurate.

That’s roughly the increase expected for a mid-banding Band 6 Nurse – which, according to the best available data, is a good reflection of how experienced the average UK Nurse is.

Essentially, new starters and less experienced Nurses can expect an increase of around £750 to £850 a year, and the most experienced and specialist Nurses will expect something around £1250 or above. You can also read about Pay Rise For Scottish Nurses Gets The Green Light.

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About this contributor

I believe people working in healthcare should be able to choose to enjoy work. That is, choose an employer who reflects their values and provides them with a sustainable career. This leads to better patient care, higher retention rates and happier working lives in this most important employment sector.

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    • Mat Martin
    • Richard Gill
    • Aubrey Hollebon
  • 4
  • 17503

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    • Stacey Butcher 3 years ago
      Stacey Butcher
    • Stacey Butcher
      3 years ago

      Nearly everyone of my nursing colleagues were looking forward to the back dated pay, however, nearly all of us have ... read more

      • Seriously? Well, I guess the argument is that this is to do with HMRC / tax etc. But, at a personal level it no doubt feels like a kick in the stomach. If you would like to write an article about this... read more

        Seriously? Well, I guess the argument is that this is to do with HMRC / tax etc. But, at a personal level it no doubt feels like a kick in the stomach. If you would like to write an article about this, we'd publish it. Reply here to let me know and I'll contact you directly.
        read less

        Replied by: Matt Farrah
    • Danny Taylor 3 years ago
      Danny Taylor
    • Danny Taylor
      3 years ago

      Anyone know what happens if you leave one nhs trust to goto another after 1st April 2021.. I joined a ... read more

      • Should be fine as it's a blanket thing across the whole NHS not just individual trusts xxx

        Replied by: Stacey Butcher
    • Zarah Khan 3 years ago
      Zarah Khan
    • Zarah Khan
      3 years ago

      Absolutely agree pay is dependent on partners and management. Practice I am at the nurse who have been here 10> ... read more

    • Zarah Khan 3 years ago
      Zarah Khan
    • Zarah Khan
      3 years ago

      I wonder if the pay rise would apply to practice nurses

      • That's a good question Zarah. I'll ask a couple of practice nurses what they've heard. As you know practice nurses are paid independently by the practice and not the NHS. But it is common for the surg... read more

        That's a good question Zarah. I'll ask a couple of practice nurses what they've heard. As you know practice nurses are paid independently by the practice and not the NHS. But it is common for the surgery / business to follow NHS pay as a guideline. I will ask around and possibly try to get our community contributors to chime in!
        read less

        Replied by: Matt Farrah

        Hi Zarah. A contributor has emailed me her thoughts which I will post here anonymously: "Very very good question. As you know practice nurses are directly employed by the practice. It is up to the dis... read more

        Hi Zarah. A contributor has emailed me her thoughts which I will post here anonymously: "Very very good question. As you know practice nurses are directly employed by the practice. It is up to the discretion of the employer. Pay uplifts are independently managed. But given the financial struggles within healthcare very little enhancements are granted. I fear many will not have the percentage contributions as the NHS workforce. There continue to be discrepancies across the board. Many are not on the Agenda for Change pay scale so the pay is so varied another hot topic of discussion."
        read less

        Replied by: Matt Farrah

        Good question! In GP we get funded differently. The partners / management have the decision to make. We are on a separate pay scale here so it won’t affect us unless they decide to give us this 3% ris... read more

        Good question! In GP we get funded differently. The partners / management have the decision to make. We are on a separate pay scale here so it won’t affect us unless they decide to give us this 3% rise. I hope that helps :)
        read less

        Replied by: Claire Carmichael

        I'm sure I read it's just NHS staff xxx

        Replied by: Stacey Butcher
      • Show all replies

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