NHS Pay – Government finally makes its views known and it is a slap in the face for NHS workers

The Chancellor was silent on NHS pay when delivering his Budget, and now we know why. Despite a year of dealing with an unprecedented pandemic and promises from the Government of the NHS being a special case, the Government's recommendation to the PRB is that NHS staff should only receive 1% at the most.

 

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) inflation forecast predicts that inflation will be above 1%, meaning this recommendation from the Government represents a pay cut for NHS staff.

 

Whilst the PRB does not have to accept the evidence from the Government, it is clearly an attempt to limit pay rises.

 

The College of Podiatry (CoP) will take the time to fully absorb the evidence, which can be found here, before issuing a fuller response to members.

 

Chief Executive of the CoP, Steve Jamieson, said ‘This will come as a massive disappointment to our members in the NHS, especially after the hardships of the last 12 months and the serious burnout they are reporting. This is not the way to thank our hard-working and dedicated NHS members’.

 

More to follow.