SoR members in England have voted “overwhelmingly” to accept the pay award offer made by the government in July, which will raise radiographers’ pay by 5.5 per cent.
In an online consultation for SoR members working in England, 84 per cent of respondents voted to accept the pay award.
The pay offer was made earlier this year after the newly-installed Labour government accepted recommendations to increase pay for Agenda for Change (AfC) staff in England, including radiographers, on Monday 26 July. The increase applies to workers under the NHS Agenda for Change system - a system for payment that covers most NHS staff, excluding doctors, dentists and very senior managers.
Included in the new pay award is a 5.5 per cent above inflation pay rise, backdated to April 2024. This should be paid in the October 2024 salary. There are also structural changes in Band 8a-9 with intermediatory points added and a mandate to review the overall structure of AFC.
Leandre Archer, head of industrial relations for the SoR, acknowledged that SoR members had accepted the award - but added that attention must now be paid to the effects of the radiographer workforce crisis.
“Our members have had their say and accepted the 2024-25 award but we all know there is much more work to do to deal with the radiography workforce crisis,” she said. “No longer can our profession accept below-inflation pay awards or be treated as the invisible workforce.”
“Our members deserve to be valued and recognised for the work they do.”
Radiography manifesto
Leandre also highlighted the SoR's manifesto, a document released in March that details the most pressing points of the radiography workforce crisis and offers solutions.
She said that the government must prioritise radiographers as a critical part of reducing NHS waiting times, which was also one of Labour's main manifesto points.
“If the government is serious about fixing the NHS and tackling challenges such as waiting lists, then it needs to understand that radiographers are key to this," she continued. "Our recent manifesto outlines the main priorities and solutions to ensuring the future of the radiography profession and, indeed, the NHS."
The SoR had been in a long-running dispute with the previous government over pay for radiographers, which culminated in a series of strike actions. In October 2023, radiographers working in 37 NHS trusts walked out alongside junior doctors and consultants for a 24-hour strike