Government ‘can’t move any further’ on nurse pay, RCN told

The government has said it ‘can’t move any further’ on headline pay for nurses following reports that those working in the NHS have voted to reject a 3.6% uplift for 2025/26.

Reports from across national media outlets suggest that NHS members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England have rejected the government’s latest Agenda for Change pay award and that the possibility of strike action later this year now looms.

The RCN has been balloting its NHS nursing members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in a consultative vote since early June and has confirmed that results will be announced ‘later this week’.

According to reports in The Times and by BBC News, members in England are set to reject the 3.6% pay award – which was in line with recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body.

BBC News has today reported that the RCN’s ballot will show ‘an “overwhelming” rejection of the deal’.

Related Article: Government kickstarts nurse pay round for 2026/27

BBC News and The Times newspaper have both also reported that the RCN will demand ministers negotiate over the summer to avoid a formal ballot for strike action in the autumn.

It is understood that the RCN is ‘open to talks on wider pay structures, not just headline pay’, according to the BBC.

In response, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson urged RCN members to accept the pay rise that had been offered by government and said it would work with the union to improve ‘major concerns’, including ‘pay structure reform, concerns on career progression and wider working conditions’.

‘We hugely value the work of nurses, and through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are rebuilding the NHS for the benefit of patients and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice,’ they said.

‘This government is clear we can’t move any further on headline pay but will work with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns on career progression and wider working conditions.’

When asked to confirm the accuracy of reports in the national media, the RCN said it did not have anything to add to the BBC or The Times’ reporting at this stage.

A spokesperson for the RCN said: ‘The results will be announced to our members later this week.

‘As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the government must urgently begin to turn that around.’

Earlier this year, the government accepted the NHS Pay Review Body recommendations of a 3.6% pay rise for NHS nurses on Agenda for Change for 2025/26.

Related Article: New GP contract ‘could address’ practice nurse pay and conditions 

At the time, the RCN warned the pay award did not go far enough and would be ‘entirely swallowed up by inflation’.

RCN general secretary and chief executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said 3.6% would do ‘nothing to change the status quo – where nursing is not valued, too few enter it and too many quit’.

Last week the GMB union, which represents thousands of NHS staff, rejected the government’s pay deal in an initial consultative vote – with a 67% majority voting against the pay award offered for 2025/26.

GMB national secretary, Rachel Harrison, said that the union has written to the secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, asking him to meet to discuss pay.

‘We await his reply with interest,’ Ms Harrison said.

On Friday, thousands of resident doctors in England (previously known as junior doctors) began a five-day strike after the government and the British Medical Association (BMA) were unable to meet an agreement on pay.

Related Article: GPN pay and conditions vital to NHS 10-year plan success, urges leading nurse

The RCN’s ballot excludes general practice nurses (GPNs) who are not on Agenda for Change contracts.

GP practices in England have been told by the government to pass on a 4% uplift to employed practice nurses, but concerns have been raised around the volume of practice nurses who miss out on pay rises because funding is not ringfenced.

Last week, the government told Nursing in Practice a new GP contract due before the end of this parliament ‘could address’ GPN terms and conditions.