London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Anger as minister fails to announce expected pay rise for NHS staff

Anger as minister fails to announce expected pay rise for NHS staff

Unions say workers treated ‘with contempt’ after notification of 3% increase pulled without explanation
Health unions have accused ministers of treating NHS staff “with contempt” after the government pulled an announcement about this year’s pay rise at the last minute without explanation.

The health minister Helen Whately was due to announce that staff in England would receive a 3% increase, three times higher than the 1% first planned, in a statement on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

But she did not mention health service pay at all in her “NHS update”, prompting frustration, anger and strongly worded criticism from Labour and NHS staff groups.

Whately did not explain the omission and, when challenged by the shadow health minister, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, said the size and detail of the award had not been finalised. Allin-Khan said the failure to announce the pay deal was “an insult of the highest order”.

Pat Cullen, the acting chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “This treatment of our NHS workers is shameful. Ministers are holding them in contempt and we have no choice but to condemn this behaviour.

“With tens of thousands of nursing vacancies and thousands more considering their future in the profession, the government is sending the worst possible signal with this political game playing.”

Staff organisations and NHS bodies, which had been told this morning by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) that Whately would put forward the deal in her speech, were surprised by her failure to give any detail.

Allin-Khan said in the Commons: “Once again we find this government has had to row back on a shoddy, ill-thought-through position with their 1% pay rise – a real-terms pay cut, rejected by the independent pay body.

“So what did the government do? Nothing. Less than an hour ago there were competing briefings on what the deal was going to be but it turned out to be nothing. Our NHS staff deserve better than this.

“They’ve worked incredibly hard throughout this pandemic, the personal sacrifice is astounding, their hard work never stops and that is not without consequences.”

The delay in announcing the award means 1.2 million NHS personnel will have to wait even longer to discover the size of their pay rise for the year that began on 1 April.

With the Commons rising on Thursday for the summer recess, it means the government has one last opportunity to announce the deal to MPs before September.

Rachel Harrison, a national officer with the GMB union, said: “This is completely outrageous – virtually the last day of parliament and the government has insulted hardworking NHS workers once again by staying silent.

“NHS workers who tuned in to watch the minister today will be rightly disgusted by this lack of respect. NHS staff have put themselves in harm’s way throughout the pandemic and as a health union we cannot accept MPs swanning off on holiday leaving health workers in limbo.”

There is speculation the government’s plan to make only 1.5% of the proposed 3% award a permanent increase to baseline salaries, with the other 1.5% being a one-off bonus – which the Guardian disclosed on Tuesday – was a key factor in the announcement being pulled.

Following that, some health unions told the DHSC privately that they would publicly reject such a deal, given that staff pensions would be affected and members would regard the 3% headline figure as spin.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×