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NHS staff set for pay rise as trade unions agree on deal for wage cap to be lifted

NHS staff are set for a 6.5 per cent pay increase over three years as a cap on wages will be lifted on Wednesday for the first time in eight years.

Trade unions are expected to recommend the deal, believed to be worth £4.2bn, to their members at a meeting of the NHS Staff Council.

The agreement that was reached with NHS Employers, the body that negotiates on behalf of the government, applies to medical staff including nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and paramedics, but not doctors, dentists and some senior managers.

It would see a 3 per cent boost in the first year, followed by a 2 per cent increase and then 1 per cent.  

A draft proposal had reportedly included a condition that the staff give up a day's annual leave, but Jeremy Hunt, the Health and Social Care Secretary, had it removed. 

"It is £4.2bn deal - it had previously been written up that staff would lose a day's annual leave but Jeremy has taken that option off the table," a source close to Mr Hunt told the Telegraph. "It includes a 30% increase for some of the lowest paid."

Why is the NHS under so much pressure?
Why is the NHS under so much pressure?

Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, announced an end to the pay freezes or 1pc caps that had been in force when he unveiled his budget in November.

MPs have warned that in some areas the seven-year public sector pay freeze was a significant factor in the party’s general election defeat.

An increase was announced for police and prison officers in September and the Royal College of Nursing had threatened to hold strike ballot discussions if the issue was not addressed.

Mr Hunt told MPs in October that the pay freeze “wasn’t sustainable” and would come to an end this year.