NHS-employed social workers in England are to receive a 5.5% pay rise in 2024-25, after the government accepted recommendations from the sector’s independent pay review body.
The decision means that practitioners in the service are currently on course to receive a better uplift than council-employed social workers in England and Wales.
The latter have been offered increases of £1,290, £1,491 or £1,575 (based on location), or 2.5%, depending on which is greater, which is worth 3-4% for social workers. The offer has prompted UNISON to ballot members on taking industrial action and Unite to reject the proposal, though the GMB has accepted it.
The 5.5% for staff on NHS Agenda for Change contracts in England is significantly above the current rate of inflation, which was 2% in the year to June 2024, according to the government’s preferred consumer prices index (CPI) measure.
‘Investment in NHS staff is imperative’
In its report to ministers, the NHS Pay Review Body said that “investment in NHS staff is imperative to meet the needs of patients, reduce elective waiting lists and grow the NHS workforce”.
It said that, though inflation had fallen from a high of 10% in March 2023, pay settlements in the wider economy had been around 5-6% this year.
In her statement yesterday on Labour’s fiscal inheritance from the Conservatives, chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed that she had accepted the review body’s recommendation of a 5.5% rise.
In a report accompanying Reeves’s statement, the government said it had accepted these and recommendations from its other public sector pay review bodies in the light of “the benefits from improved recruitment, retention and motivation of public sector workers, on the back of public sector pay having fallen relative to the private sector in recent years”.
It also pointed to the costs of industrial action arising from a more modest settlement.
Pay rise ‘was the right thing to do’
In response to the deal, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “An above inflation rise was the right thing to do after many years of NHS wages lagging behind increasing prices.”
“This year’s pay rise cannot be a one-off. It’ll take much more than this boost to get the NHS into a better place.”
The Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive are yet to confirm whether they will accept the NHS review body’s recommendations for their staff, including social workers.
Growing numbers of NHS social workers
Most NHS-employed social workers work for mental health trusts, with the number of these practitioners having grown by 20% from 2019-22.
As of 31 March 2022, the 58 mental health trusts had 3,576 whole-time equivalent (WTE) social workers in post, according to a census of the workforce carried out by NHS England.
Last year, NHS staff received a 5% pay rise, a similar settlement to their counterparts in local government, though in addition, they were given two one-off payments by the government, which were designed to help resolve a protracted series of strikes by unions.
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Surely this has to be matched for council social workers too?
The Council social workers work very had and the pay rise should match NHS social workers.
Once again local authority social workers completely forgotton about and pushed to the side. It’s wrong. We deserve better pay and treatment.
As a Local Authority social worker, working in an NHS hospital this decision stings. Not only do I have to pay £50 a month to park at work as I am not employed by the NHS but our salary is not getting a well needed bump.
The LA I work for are in a financial emergency and have refused to consider anything more than a 1% pay rise this year. For the amount of stress and grief we get as SWs and now this feels like a kick in the teeth by the new government, such a shame as I thought they understood that the current crisis in the NHS does not stand with the NHS alone. We need a national Care service. A single voice that can support all of us.
Totally agree, I am in the same boat. Do they realise the majority of Hospital Sws are local authority posts?
Its ridiculous aint it , we have to pay for parking , they stipped taking it in april until we get the payrise, but when we do get the backpay in our wages they are taking it back as a lump …shocking how they treat the staff.
Totally agree
Disappointed no social care reform either. When are we going to get a government with the backbone to address the longstanding problems – and support social care workers and the people we support
We have now got one but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I couldn’t agree more. The NHS needs a route and branch overhaul, but it’s future cannot be seen in isolation. So many workers within the NHS are not actually paid directly by the NHS but through private companies who are syphoning off taxpayer-funded investment. Our social care has been privatised, and if you own your own home and need care later in life, all social services will do is ask you if you have more than £23,500 in savings and wash their hands if you. Simply awarding medical staff an inflation-busting pay rise is going to do little to solve the problems in social care, which ultimately needs to be seen in conjunction with the NHS, not in isolation.
Absolutely agree!
Yes the pay award to the junior doctors (medical staff) as well as the 5.5 award to nursing staff (who are not medical staff) and other workers working for the NHS is most welcome. As a NHS social worker working for the NHS, I am looking forward to the increases hitting my bank account.
I do support the call for social workers to also receive the same level of pay as those of us who work for the NHS.
If Labour hold power for long enough, I fully expect that they will work closely with groups like the Lib Dem to reform ASC and bring social care closer to the NHS for the benefit of all sections of the 3 countries of the UK and the NI province.
This also applies to occupational therapy staff who have fallen way behind in terms of pay and t/c.it is difficult to recruit already …this is yet another expression that social care is second best
This does nothing in pushing for integrated and partnership working. Health and Social Care workers should be united in looking for the best outcomes for service users and this will only fray what were once good working relationships. For too long LA SW’s have had a raw deal as has social care in general.
Absolutely agree Lynn. I don’t think they are aware of the Intigrated Care System (ICS)we are supposed to be working towards..
In my experience integrated and partnership working are an utter joke. It has meant the health service running roughshod over the local authority, ignoring accountability, good practice and service users’ and families’ human rights, and bringing their bullying management style into discussions and meetings. then, when it doesn’t suit them they just walk away! It’s too widespread for it just to be a few individuals, it’s the culture of an organisation that lacks any mechanism of accountability, other than to the Secretary of State.
Totally agree Lynne. We are made to work weekends to be par of the integrated care vision but yet are not treated the same when it come to pay. How would they get anyone out if hospitals and care homes without social care . They need to make this fair across the board or it will continue to cost them 3 x more in agency fees as staff just leave !
I completely agree , but it is because NHS staff have been prepared to strike !! We need to support our unions to get a fair deal for us by supporting their action. Please vote if you are able with your union.
I do agree. It is vital to have a strong union and a membership that are prepared to stand with union recommendations and strike for their rights. The namby pamby notion that service users are negatively affected when social workers strike is in my view a misnomer. Service users are more negatively affected when Social Workers are unable to offer the type of service we all want to deliver because of staff shortages, poor worker moral etc. It is up to the unions to fight for the best pay and conditions for their members and the members to stand and support their union, their profession and themselves.
If you don’t want to leave your job and part of your union contribution includes an amount to support the Labour Party, I’d suggest getting that element removed and don’t vote for Labour again.
It’s up to us to put pressure on the union leadership to put pressure on Labour. it’s not like the Tories are ever going to be our friends. Frankly we have to be prepared to fight and strike
Absolutely agree Susie.
Actually, what have the previous Conservative administration done for you and what were the negative aspects of Tory policy that affected you, your service and your service users.
What benefit do you think that voting other than Labour would have? I would suggest that you actually get real.
From a nhs background mental health social work practitioner I became worn out by nhs managers demands and demands from service I left to get back to my social work roots and took a pay cut of over £5000 a year to work in social care and geez it is hard work for so much less money. I now wish I’d stayed in the nhs lol
Yes Lisa. You live and learn.
In my authority we are losing social workers, including AMHPs in CMHTs, to Band 6+ health service posts where they no longer have to (nor are permitted to, even if they wanted) practice as AMHPs. In other areas of work they are not required to daily demonstrate a high degree of legal literacy with regard to Care Act, MCA and MHA work. Those who have jumped ship freely admit that it’s because the work’s easier , with less responsibility, minimal local accountability, more perks, and higher pay. I am utterly infuriated that social care, local authority SWs – and adults workers in particular, again – are so shabbily treated and so little valued by the government. We need to strike. It’s very clear that strike action is what gets a response.
As an NHS social worker in mental health, the only negatives for me are that my trust won’t allow me to do AMHP training – I would have to move up a pay band if I qualified – and I miss the extra days leave that all you employed by local authorities get. Then again performing the AMHP role is serious hassle and even then, I still get better remuneration than my LA peers.
Not in my area, the NHS social work roles are underpaid compared to the Local Authority. Its a shame as I would be willing to jump ship if the pay was better in the NHS.
Local Authority (Children & Adults) and Care Workers, always get overlooked and never mentioned, yet we do the hardest, thankless, most under-valued, but important work. Glad I am about to leave the ‘Profession’ as you are ‘damned’ if you do, and damned if you don’t – from those within and external to the organisation.
Are you retiring or moving to a different type of work?
Whatever, good luck in whatever you do.
As an NHS social worker in area where our LA is virtually bankrupt, for once I am massively relieved!
I appreciate that NHS social worker’s are valued for their contributions. I just wish that the government recognises the contributions from LA’ social workers equally. After all we have the same qualifications and legislations to abide by. So, we should be paid and valued equally no matter where we work and it is tough times for us too with costs of living.
As a LA swer in a CMHT it already feels like we are auxiliary to NHS staff – falling a further 5.5% behind isn’t going to help this.
Recruiting experienced Swers into CMHTs is a difficult task and retention of the best Swers is a bigger challenge because of the difficult and demanding role. I know that nobody is irreplaceable – but getting good Swers and just a swer often is.
It looks like recruitment and retention is about to get even more difficult.