Some nurses are having to accept lower paid job roles to achieve changes to their hours, working conditions or to further their education, the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) has warned.
Anecdotal evidence also suggests some nurses may have taken a job at a lower grade to ‘avoid a negative workplace or due to being overworked’, the charity said today.
QICN chief executive Dr Crystal Oldman stressed the situation was ‘unacceptable’ and ‘unfair’.
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As an example, Dr Oldman suggested it was ‘common practice’ to see an experienced Band 6 registered nurses accepting a place on the District Nurse Specialist Qualification but soon being placed on lower a lower pay band while undertaking the course.
‘This is unfair to the individual and leads to inequity in the workplace; it also acts contrary to staff development to meet the needs of patients, progression and retention within the whole health and care system,’ she said.
Dr Oldman added: ‘It is unacceptable that nurses are obliged – formally or informally – to accept jobs at lower pay grades, for example to further their professional development.
‘I cannot think of another profession that would be subjected to this demotion when developing clinical professionals to meet the needs of the people we serve.’
The QICN has today launched a survey to clarify how many registered nurses and nursing support workers are impacted by the issue and facing what it described as ‘forced demotions’.
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It will be led by the QICN’s International Community Nursing Observatory (ICNO), headed by Professor Alison Leary.
Professor Leary said: ‘If you have taken a job in a lower band or lower grade or a lower paid role for any reason, in any setting, we would like to hear from you.
‘We want to understand why this happens and how employers respond, for example to requests for flexible working.’
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The results are due to be published this autumn.
This month Nursing in Practice – together with our sister title Management in Practice – launched the General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2025 report.
