Pay progression at risk in health service

Concerns about a threat to pay progression in the NHS have proved to be justified. The employers’ side has proposed a “national enabling agreement” to allow local employers in England to agree a progression freeze in return for a commitment to protect “as many staff as possible” from compulsory redundancies. That guarantee would only apply to staff in bands 1-6, while for higher-paid staff in bands 7-9 (salary levels starting at £30,460) it would “give priority to the avoidance of any compulsory redundancy”.

Karen Reay, national officer for general union Unite, warned that the aim is to “embed” the concept of a pay progression freeze for the long-term. And Peter Finch, for the CSP physiotherapists’ union, said members would wonder “what else they are expected to give up” as their contribution to government objectives.