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Nursing is the largest safety-critical profession in health care, playing a vital role in patient care.

Despite this, nursing remains understaffed and undervalued. After years of underinvestment, the government must act urgently to protect patient care by protecting the profession.

When politicians neglect nursing, they neglect patients. We need members and supporters to come together to achieve a safely staffed workforce. You can demand change today.

In September 2024 our members voted to accept the Scottish government’s 5.5% pay offer for NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts for 2024/25. They told us that while it doesn’t make up for years of being undervalued, it is another step on the journey to fair pay.

Pay negotiations for 2025-26 are now open after a delay, which means members will receive their pay award late. This is unfair on hard working staff who are already under enormous strain due to system pressures, high vacancy rates and increased demand for care in all sectors.

Remember to make sure we have your correct contact information and employment details so we can continue to keep you informed about your pay. Please encourage fellow RCN members to do the same. Please take a minute to log in to MyRCN to make sure all your information is current, including your workplace and employer. 

The Scottish government has agreed to implementation of the Agenda for Change reviewÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™s recommendations on reform of the NHS pay scheme. Read more.

The recommendations from the review relate to:

• Protected time for statutory, mandatory and profession-specific learning
• A review of band 5 nursing roles, which is now open for submissions
• A reduction in the working week. 

We will be supporting members through the implementation process ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥“ look out for emails from us and information on our website in the coming weeks. 

Please also remember to make sure your details on MyRCN are up to date so you can continue to receive updates from us.

2023-24

RCN members voted to accept this pay offer in March 2023. It includes:

• An average consolidated pay increase of at least 6.5% for all staff up to and including of band 8a
• An additional one-off pro rata payment of between £387 and £939 (depending on pay point)
• A review of the Agenda for Change pay scheme that builds on commitments made as part of the 2022-23 pay deal.

of the deal in full.

2022-23

RCN members voted to reject the pay offer in December 2022. The offer included:

• A percentage increase depending on pay point and band
• A commitment to a review of band 5 nursing job roles to establish if these are still fit for purpose
• A commitment to establish a working group to consider protected learning time for professional groups of Agenda for Change staff
• The permanent retention of paid overtime for bands 8 and 9
• Maintenance of temporary enhanced mileages rates for NHS Scotland staff until the UK Staff Council review is concluded
• A commitment to establish a working group to explore the feasibility of a reduced working week, with the aim of getting to a 36-hour working week without the loss of earnings
• A commitment to a mechanism to negotiate NHS pay for future years which will avoid such protracted discussion and delay.

The Scottish government chose to impose a deal after the majority of other health trade unions voted to accept. of the deal in full.

The strength of the RCN’s industrial action mandate and members’ overwhelming rejection of this pay offer resulted in further negotiations and the subsequent pay offer for 2023/24.