Nurse pay over £8k lower due to decade of pay cuts, RCN suggests

Nursing salaries have been ‘eroded’ in a decade of pay cuts that has resulted in starting salaries over £8,000 lower than if they had kept up with inflation since 2010, according to analysis from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Nurse pay is also weighted towards the bottom of the pay scales, meaning that many nurses can only improve their earnings by moving away from patient care into managerial roles, the RCN said.

‘Sustained low and below inflation awards’ between 2010 and 2025 mean that Band 5 nurses would have experienced a cumulative loss of earnings of £70,000 during that period, found the analysis, based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) which is the most accurate measure of cost of living.

Many Band 5 nurses stay ‘trapped in the same band’ through their career, the organisation said.

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As the profession struggles to recruit new nurses, and with ambitious goals set in the new NHS 10 Year Health Plan, starting salaries for nursing staff in England have decreased in real terms since 2010 by 18% for Band 4, 21% for Band 5, 17% for Band 6 and 15% for Band 7, found the RCN.

The RCN has been surveying members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on the 3.6% pay award given to nurses this year.

Executive director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, labelled the award ‘derisory’ and stressed the government needs ‘to do better’ on nursing pay.

She said: ‘It does nothing to reverse the trend of collapsing wages, especially for nurses at the start of their careers, and even by the government’s own calculations barely covers the cost of a sandwich and a drink.

‘Nursing staff are tired of playing constant financial catch-up, often struggling to pay rent or get on the housing ladder.’

She added: ‘Nursing is an incredible profession, but we are weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scales and received one of the lowest awards this year, a situation which is deepening the workforce crisis and impacting patient care.

‘Attracting and keeping talented people should be the government’s priority, but that requires them to do better on nursing pay.’

With doctors planning strike action, the RCN has called for ministers to negotiate directly with nursing, the largest health care workforce.

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Ms Marquis said: ‘Our members are voting in their tens of thousands and making their voices heard on this pay award.

‘Ministers must realise that the only sensible choice left to them [is] to negotiate directly with the largest health care workforce. It is time to both deliver better pay and pay modernisation for nursing staff.’

Workforce issues will be discussed today when the Health and Social Care Select Committee questions health secretary Wes Streeting on details of the 10 Year Health Plan, alongside NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey.

Earlier this year it was revealed that applications to study nursing in the UK had fallen for a fourth consecutive year and were down by more than 15,000 compared to 2021. At the time, the RCN’s Professor Nicola Ranger called this ‘devastating’ for the profession, and ‘a hammer blow for government’s planned NHS reforms’.

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In May, RCN Congress heard in a resolution of newly qualified nurses who were unable to find a role in nursing after qualifying, with some looking to hospitality jobs instead.

Concerns have also been raised about a high drop out rate from nursing undergraduate courses. A survey from the RCN last year found that seven in 10 nursing students were considering quitting due to financial pressures.