The Scottish government said the pay rise would ensure that staff on the pay bands 1 to 7 would receive at least a 4% pay rise compared to 2020/21, with the staff who earned less than £25,000 in 2020/21 getting 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. Percentage uplifts for Bands 8A to 8C would be 2% if accepted. For those earning above £80k – the potential uplift is capped at £800 per year.
While pay increases are usually effective from 1 April the 2021/22 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.
The offer is in stark contrast to the UK Government’s submission to the NHS Pay Review body, which provided for a £250 uplift for staff earning less than £24,000 and 1% for all other NHS Agenda for Change staff.
Scotland’s Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said:‘Following positive discussions with NHS unions and employees the Scottish Government has put forward an offer of the biggest single pay uplift since devolution for NHS Agenda for Change staff.
‘Over 154,000 staff would benefit from this rise, which would see the average pay of an front line NHS Nurse rise by over £1,200 a year. This deal also includes support staff such as domestic staff, porters and health care support workers, the backbone of our services, who would see pay rises of over £1,000 – uplifts of between 4% - 5.4%. The uplift will be backdated from 1 December 2020, rather than the usual 1 April 2021, meaning all those covered by the deal will receive an extra benefit.
‘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.’
Negotiations have now concluded as the Scottish government enters the pre-election period and an offer has been made. Each trade union will now agree their process for presenting this offer to members.
Colin Poolman, Chair of STAC and Royal College of Nursing Scotland Senior Officer said: 'The timescale for negotiations was tight as a result of the forthcoming election but we have now received an offer for a one year pay deal'.
Dean Rogers, SoR Director of Industrial Strategy and Member Relations said: 'I want to congratulate the trade union side leaders in Scotland for forcing the issue when they saw an opportunity to get some concession ahead of the Scottish elections – including SoR National officer Yvonne Stewart who was part of the negotiation team. The offer is a reasonable one and we will now be consulting fully with Scottish members over the detail during the coming weeks.
'This offer amplifies how devolution can allow the NHS to be responsive to different pressures in different places – as we saw with the successful pay parity campaign in Northern Ireland last year which played a big part in getting the Assembly there back up and functioning. This difference is recognised and valuable by the Society. We will now use the offer to put pressure on the other national governments.'
Dean continued: 'We know the Westminster government is evidently wrong when they say they can’t afford more than 1%. Immediately, Employers' leaders called them out by saying they were budgeting for at least double that. Now the Scottish government has exposed this meanness as well.
'If Hancock and Johnson are serious about valuing NHS staff and addressing the recruitment and retention crisis in radiography and across the AHPs they must move. The sooner they realise and say this the better.'
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