April 2019 – NHS Terms and Conditions of Service & Pay Award

In 2018, the NHS Staff Council agreed to reform the NHS pay structure over a three-year period covering 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/21. 1 April 2019 marks the start of year two of this process, with further pay points being deleted as part of the move to increase starting salaries and reduce the length of time it takes to reach the top of most pay bands.

The pay journey tool will show staff how their pay will change year on year including annual pay uplifts and individual progression (if they are not at the top of their pay band). To use the tool, staff will need to know their spine point on 31 March 2018 if they were employed on or before this point. This can be found by looking at this table . Staff employed on or after 1 April 2018 will not need to know any spine point information.

Staff at the top of the pay band

• Staff at the top of their pay band will see their annual basic pay increase through the annual pay uplift effective on 1 April. For bands 2-8c this increase is 1.7 per cent.
• Staff employed on the top of their band on 31 March 2019 will receive a one-off 1.1 per cent non-consolidated lump sum cash payment. This will be paid in April.
• For staff at the top of bands 8d and 9 their basic pay increase and their one-off non-consolidated lump sum will be capped at the level of the increase for the top of band 8c.

Staff not yet at the top of their pay band

• Some staff will have their pay point deleted this year as part of the pay restructure. These staff will receive both an annual pay uplift and transitional pay progression on 1 April, effectively receiving their pay progression early.
• Other staff will receive an annual pay uplift on 1 April and then receive their transitional pay progression on their pay step date (formerly known as their incremental date).
• Individuals can use the pay tool to review their individual pay journey.

All Staff

• Changes to earnings can result in changes to tax, national insurance, pension contributions, student loan repayments and eligibility for tax credits and benefits.

One off non-consolidated cash lump sum

This will be paid with your monthly salary on 24 April 2019

Staff at the top of band 2-9

• Staff employed on the top of bands 2-8c on 31 March 2019 will receive a one-off non-consolidated lump sum cash payment worth 1.1 per cent of the value of annual basic pay. Part-time staff will receive payment on a pro-rata basis.
• The one-off non-consolidated cash lump sum will be paid in April 2019 and will appear on pay slips as “Non Consol Pay NP”. NP stands for non-pensionable.
• Staff at the top of bands 8d and 9 on 31 March 2019 have the value of the one-off non-consolidated lump sum cash payment capped at the value of the payment for staff at the top of band 8c.
• Annex 2 of the NHS terms and conditions handbook confirms the full-time equivalent value of the 1.1 per cent non-consolidated lump sum payments that a full-time staff member in bands 2-9 should receive.
• Staff in post but not at work, including staff on maternity, paternity, or sickness absence, will receive the lump sum.

Staff in band 1

• A non-consolidated cash lump sum worth 1.1 per cent of the value of band 1 annual basic pay from 1 April 2019 will be paid to all band 1 staff in April. This will be paid regardless of whether they remain in band 1, have already transitioned to band 2, or will transition to band 2 on 1 April via the national process .
• New entrants to band 2 that have not transferred as part of the national process will not be eligible for this payment. Staff who move in to a band 2 role via a promotion, such as staff who apply for a band 2 role and have the provisions as set out in section 6, England of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook applied are also not eligible for this payment.
• Staff working less than full-time will receive payment on a pro-rata basis. In all cases the payment will be worth 1.1 per cent of annual basic pay of band 1 from April 2019.

Pay Progression

➢ Existing staff

• Existing staff, for the purposes of pay progression, are those staff who were in post before 1 April 2019. Staff who change roles but still work in the same band will also be considered existing staff as they have not been promoted.
• For these staff, their current organisational pay progression procedures will continue to apply until 31 March 2021. From 1 April 2021 the new arrangements will apply.
• The effect of this is that during transition, staff not yet at the top of their pay band will receive a combination of pay uplifts and pay progression as per current arrangements.
➢ New staff and promotions on or after 1 April
• With effect from 1 April 2019, all staff commencing NHS employment and those staff who are promoted on or after this date will be subject to the new pay progression arrangements.
• Promotion is considered to be moving to a higher banded role.

Further detail on pay progression

• Guidance for Staff
• Guidance for Managers

Communications will be issued during April from individual organisations along with updated posts on your organisations pages on this site.