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All NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) staff will receive a 5.5% pay increase backdated to 1 April 2024, health secretary Wes Streeting has announced.
Streeting told the House of Commons on 29 July 2024 that the government was “accepting the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB), the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration and the Senior Salaries Review Body”.
In the ‘NHS Pay Review Body 37th Report: 2024’, published on 29 July 2024, the NHSPRB — which covers non-medical staff, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians employed on AfC contracts — recommended a “consolidated 5.5% increase with effect from 1 April 2024 for all AfC staff”.
The report said: “To meet the needs of patients, reduce elective waiting lists and grow the NHS workforce as set out in the [‘NHS Long-term workforce plan’] for England, the NHS will have to be — and to be seen as — an attractive place to pursue a career.
“For that, AfC pay will have to be competitive,” it added.
“The NHS will also need to ensure the pay system supports the broadest pool of talent to apply for leadership positions, and that wider structural pay issues do not impact on the morale of the AfC workforce or act as disincentives to promotion.”
The pay award takes the AfC band 6 entry salary point which tends to be the starting salary for hospital pharmacists to £37,339 in England and Northern Ireland, and to £37,898 in Wales.
Scotland has its own AfC band rates.
As well as the 5.5% pay award, Streeting accepted the NHSPRB’s second recommendation to create intermediate pay points for NHS staff working at AfC bands 8a and above.
He said the government was accepting it “in principle but are asking the NHS Staff Council to ratify it before it is implemented”.
Commenting on the pay award, the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists said: “While we recognise the average 5.5% pay award sits above inflation for this year, this does not resemble a robust, restorative pay offer that would reverse year-on-year real terms pay cuts to NHS staff since 2009.
“The addition of additional spine points at band 8A to band 9 is a welcome development in particular. However, the professional responsibilities of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are expanding at pace and health services are relying more and more upon pharmacy staff to ease pressure in other areas of the system.
“The Guild as part of Unite will be putting the offer to members with a neutral stance very shortly. Members must evaluate the offer for what it is and decide accordingly.”
