NHS execs see wages rise four times faster than nurses

Senior NHS managers’ salaries increased by an average of 6.1% over the last two years while nurses’ wages grew by just 1.6%.

14:02 16 June 2014

According to a study conducted by The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the salaries of NHS managers have been increasing much faster compared to frontline NHS staff during the service’s unprecedented financial squeeze. 

 

While the managers’ salaries grew by an average of 6.1% over the last two years, nurses’ salaries grew just 1.6%, prompting angry claims by nurses’ leaders of double standards by those in higher positions. 

 

Freedom of information requests uncovered that some hospital trust chief executives and other senior figures have received bonuses of at least £40,000. These bonuses alone are more than the annual salary of a ward sister. Some executives also saw pay rises of up to £30,000 and benefits such as leased cars. 

 

The RCN said: "People already on the highest salaries in the health service are seeing their rewards accelerating ahead of the earnings of the staff they lead."

 

Its general secretary, Dr Peter Carter, described the findings as "yet another kick in the teeth for hardworking and loyal nursing staff".

 

He added: "It's extremely worrying that the government believes that trusts are acting responsibly when it's clear many are failing to show the leadership they should on senior management pay.”

 

"The government has maintained an iron grip on the pay and benefits of frontline staff whilst the senior managers' pay bill has gone seemingly unchecked. This is the worst kind of double standard and makes a mockery of their insistence that fairness has been at the heart of their decision-making on public-sector pay.