NHS staff will question different pay rise rates, says UNISON

Commenting on the government’s acceptance of the review body on doctors’ and dentists’ remuneration recommendation of a 3.5% pay award, UNISON head of health Helga Pile said today (Wednesday):

“Many health staff will question why colleagues working alongside them have, once again, got a higher pay rise for no apparent reason.

“The NHS acts as one team and how employees are treated should reflect this.

“All health workers have seen their pay eroded by rising bills and face daily struggles to cope with chronic staffing shortages.

“Ministers can’t keep deferring to archaic pay review body processes that keep valuing some parts of the NHS workforce more highly than others, year after year.

“Staff on Agenda for Change contracts will see their latest award swamped by inflation almost as soon as it kicks in next week.

“It’s vital the government provides proper funding for the long-delayed talks with unions first promised over 18 months ago. Reforms to the broken pay structure in the NHS can’t come soon enough.”

Notes to editors:
– Staff on the Agenda for Change salary scale are being given a 3.3% pay award for 2026/27 from Wednesday 1 April.

– UNISON and 13 other health unions have written to the health secretary Wes Streeting to call for significant extra funding to be put into pay restructure talks. More details can be found here.

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Dan Ashley M: 07508 080349 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk