London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

NHS staff have lost thousands in real pay since 2011, studies find

NHS staff have lost thousands in real pay since 2011, studies find

Analyses by thinktank and GMB union show scale of cuts when pay adjusted for inflation

NHS staff in England have suffered real-terms falls in their pay of up to £2,949 over the last decade, new research by a leading health thinktank shows.

After adjusting for inflation, nurses’ and health visitors’ pay has dropped by £1,583, doctors’ by £779 and midwives’ by £1,813. However, scientific, therapeutic and technical staff have had the biggest cut – of £2,949.

The findings are contained in a Health Foundation analysis of official NHS staff earnings data covering the 10 years from March 2011 to March this year. They come amid a growing row about the government’s decision to award most NHS staff in England a 3% pay rise for this year, and the possibility that health unions may take industrial action after assessing their members’ views.

Some NHS staff have had a real-term rise in income since 2011. The Health Foundation found that ambulance staff now earn £2,767 more, while NHS infrastructure staff are on average £645 better off and those supporting clinical staff have had a tiny £63 rise.

However, overall the 1.2 million staff in hospital and community services are £462 a year worse off than they were in 2011. That reflects a decade in which most NHS personnel received either a very small annual salary rise of about 1%, or had their pay frozen.


For example, the pay of nurses and midwives has risen in nominal, or headline, terms by £4,044 over the last decade, but after adjusting for inflation it fell in real terms by £1,583. The Royal College of Nursing responded to the 3% offer by warning that “the profession will not take this lying down”, and is likely to ballot its members about possible industrial action.

Similarly, while the income of doctors overall – both the 61,000 trainees and 51,000 consultants – has gone up by £10,136, after adjusting for inflation it fell by £779. For consultants alone, while their pay rose by £10,712 (11%), it is £5,537 (6%) less in real terms than in 2011.

Prof Anita Charlesworth, the thinktank’s director of research and of its Real Centre, which undertook the analysis, said: “This week’s pay offer to NHS staff is higher than originally proposed, but this comes off the back of a decade of government holding down pay to balance NHS budgets.

“After accounting for inflation, pay declines are particularly evident for nurses and health visitors, midwives, and scientific, therapeutic and technical staff. Some groups have experienced real-term increases in basic pay, notably ambulance staff (around £2,800) and infrastructure support staff (£600).”

Nihar Shembavnekar, who undertook the analysis, used the consumer prices index method of measuring inflation in his calculations. He is a former Treasury labour market economist.

Meanwhile, a separate analysis published today by the GMB union found that the pay of NHS workers in England has fallen by up to £9,000 over the last decade.

“Long-serving cleaners have had more than £1,000 pinched from their pay packet every year, 999 call handlers £3,500, nurses more than £6,000 [and] midwives more than £7,500”, the union said. It based its calculations on the retail prices index, the other way of assessing the rate of inflation.

Rehana Azam, the GMB’s national secretary, said that the union would be advising its members to reject the government’s “paltry” 3% offer.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
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
×