4% pay increase for NHS Scotland workers

More than 154,000 NHS Scotland staff are to be offered a pay rise of at least 4% in a deal from the Scottish Government.

The move will benefit employees with contracts under the Agenda for Change system, which would also give staff on the lowest pay point a 5.4% increase.

Staff on pay bands one to seven would receive at least a 4% pay rise compared with 2020-21, with workers earning less than £25,000 in 2020-21 guaranteed a minimum increase of more than £1,000 in 2021-22.

Among those included in Agenda for Change are nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals, as well as domestic, healthcare support staff, porters and other frontline health workers.

The Scottish Government says the deal, if accepted, will be the “most generous National Health Service pay uplift anywhere in the UK”.

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.

“More than 154,000 staff would benefit from this rise, which would see the average pay of a frontline NHS nurse rise by over £1,200 a year.

“This deal also includes support staff such as domestic staff, porters and healthcare support workers, the backbone of our services, who would see pay rises of more than £1,000 – uplifts of between 4%-5.4%.

“The uplift will be backdated from December 1 2020, rather than the usual April 1 2021.”