The pay rise would benefit over 154,000 staff.
The Scottish Government has announced that it will offer a “substantial” pay rise for NHS Scotland Agenda for Change (AfC) staff, including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals and domestic staff. Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said this pay rise would see the average pay of a front line NHS nurse increase by over £1,200 a year.
If accepted by NHS staff, this offer will be the most generous National Health Service pay uplift anywhere in the UK, as earlier this month Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans for a 1% pay rise for NHS staff in England. Jeane Freeman also described the Scottish government’s offer as “the biggest single pay uplift since devolution” for NHS staff.
The pay rises will benefit over 154,000 NHS Agenda for Change employees – including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, as well as domestic, healthcare support staff, porters and other frontline health workers. However, this pay rise does not apply to doctors.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, said: “This has been an exceptionally challenging year for our health service and I am pleased that the Scottish Government is able to recognise the service and dedication of our healthcare staff.”
The salary increase would ensure that NHS staff in Scotland on the pay bands 1 to 7, which the health secretary described as “the backbone of our services”, would receive at least a 4% pay rise compared to 2020/21. NHS staff who earned less than £25,000 in the tax year of 2020/21 will get a guaranteed minimum increase of over £1,000 in 2021/22. This means that staff on the lowest Agenda for Change pay point would get a 5.4% increase and those on the highest pay point will receive uplifts of £800.
While pay increases are usually effective from 1 April the 2021/22, the pay settlement will be backdated to 1 December 2020 in recognition of an exceptional year of significant pressure for staff. This follows the £500 thank you payment for health and social care workers which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced in November 2020.