
The Department of Health and Social Care has submitted a proposed pay rise recommendation to the NHS pay review body of just 1%. What does this mean?
*Please note, this article was written before the 3% pay rise was confirmed in July 2021.
Along with a number of significant announcements in Rishi Sunak’s budget, the news NHS Nurses have been waiting for has also been revealed.
The Department of Health and Social Care has submitted a proposed pay rise recommendation to the NHS pay review body of just 1%.

It’s important to note that this is only a recommendation at this point – the pay rise for the 2021-2022 year will be formally decided in May.
Until then, Nursing salaries in the NHS remain unchanged.
But nonetheless, the announcement has been met with an enormous backlash from politicians and unions, many of whom have described the rise to be ‘an insult’.
It will certainly come as a surprise to those Nurses who have been heralded for working at the very frontline of the Covid pandemic, like ICU Nurse, Emma Keane, in this article.
How Much More Would A Nurse Be Paid With A 1% Increase?

To give a sense of what a 1% rise looks like here's how much Nurses in a few different bandings would see their pay increase by each week:
• A Band 5 Nurse with a few years’ experience would take home around £4.20 a week more
• A Band 6 Nurse with between 3 and 7 years’ experience would take home around £5.10 a week more
• A Band 7 Nurse with a similar amount of experience would take home around £6.15 a week more
To explain that in terms of responsibilities:
• Band 5 and 6 = this will include the kind of Nurses seen in PPE working on Covid wards. (You can read stories by such Nurses in this section of Nurses.co.uk)
• Band 7 = typically requiring a Master’s level degree or equivalent. Nursing job titles include Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
‘An Enormous Slap In The Face’
Unite’s assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail has summed up the mood by calling this pay rise ‘an enormous slap in the face’.
It’s also been revealed that a £35 million fund has been established to support strike action over the proposed increase. You can also read about What Do Social Workers In The UK Get Paid In 2022?
About this contributor
Nurses.co.uk Founder
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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Log In Subscribe to commentJulie Lambert
Julie Lambert
3 years agoI am an Intensive Care Nurse and have been for 12 years, We are on our knees feeling broken and ... read more
I am an Intensive Care Nurse and have been for 12 years, We are on our knees feeling broken and exhausted every shift.... A 1% pay rise is disgusting!! I’m fuming!!! I wonder how much of a pay rise they get?
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Sorry to hear this Julie. It's unlikely they will stick to this given the backlash. As for an MP's pay rise... They rejected their last pay rise in December. MPs’ salary is £81,932 and the body that l... read more
Sorry to hear this Julie. It's unlikely they will stick to this given the backlash. As for an MP's pay rise... They rejected their last pay rise in December. MPs’ salary is £81,932 and the body that looks at their salaries had proposed an increase in line with public sector pay of the previous year. That would have been a rise of £3,360 - and an annual total salary of £85,292. But many MPs called for a pay freeze - which is what happened.
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Thomas Boyle
Thomas Boyle
3 years agoI do not know why this has come as a suprise, the present goverment have form for doing this sort ... read more
I do not know why this has come as a suprise, the present goverment have form for doing this sort of thing over the last decade. Wages have still not returned to the level they were at due to the pay freeze at the start of the teens. We can all try and feed our families on the applause from last year and the pay rise that works out at about the cost of one take away sandwich extra a month
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Penny Corkerton
Penny Corkerton
3 years agoWow so the clapping didn’t mean anything..... front line , double shifts, separate from loved one’s, deaths and 1% really ... read more
Wow so the clapping didn’t mean anything..... front line , double shifts, separate from loved one’s, deaths and 1% really ???
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Andy Bennett
Andy Bennett
3 years agoI'd rather they had not offered 1%, I'd rather have nothing and give the money to a food bank. 1% ... read more
I'd rather they had not offered 1%, I'd rather have nothing and give the money to a food bank. 1% is an insult for the trauma we have experienced over the past year. I'm sure MP's will receive a increase this year that will dwarf all public sector pay awards. Keep their money until we get the recognition we deserve.
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Patricia Head
Patricia Head
3 years agoThanks Matt and it’s all social care... home/domiciliary care, children the elderly and all . Not just the residential homes ... read more
Thanks Matt and it’s all social care... home/domiciliary care, children the elderly and all . Not just the residential homes .. it’s been a struggle for everyone but the care sector has not been recognised has it ?
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Not as much as secondary care, no. It is recognised, but isn't given the same level of coverage or celebrated with quite the same fanfare, no.
Patricia Head
Patricia Head
3 years agoOK, I’m in favour of nurses getting more than 1% they deserve more but and it’s a big but.. the ... read more
OK, I’m in favour of nurses getting more than 1% they deserve more but and it’s a big but.. the care staff I work with are not getting this. They gave been working full time since the beginning have worked 72 hours or more per week. Have had Covid in the homes and have had to deal with it. Untrained except for their care diploma and experience. We have been very lucky to have had all the way through plenty of full PPE and have had very thorough training on its use and full infection control but many are on minimum wage are never recognised for the work they do . These people work very hard and have to deal with so much. Abuse from residents etc surely they deserve a decent pay rise. This happens occasionally and depending on the employer as most work in the private sector. Please just remember that the social care staff have also had to deal with this virus, but without the facilities. I am a trained nurse and have benefitted over the years but care staff always lose out.
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Couldn't agree more. I think the whole of the last year has shown how imbalanced it is(in favour of the NHS and healthcare generally). But it's been a good thing - it has amplified the call for a Nati... read more
Couldn't agree more. I think the whole of the last year has shown how imbalanced it is(in favour of the NHS and healthcare generally). But it's been a good thing - it has amplified the call for a National Care Service and that's gaining traction. There are debates about this on national radio and TV. It needs to be ALL care. Not just care home. I think home care is going to be an increasingly important sector in the coming years. Covid will leave a lasting legacy of fear around care homes for some people for some time. The cost of putting a relative into residential care is unaffordable for some. And we have an ageing population. All of these factors will increase the number of people opting for home care(care at home / domiciliary care)and therefore we will need to increase skills and interest in jobs for this area.
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