Registered nurses should automatically progress from band 5 to band 6 after a period of preceptorship, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said in a consultation response.
The RCN has also reiterated concerns around band 4 nursing staff being used as substitutes for band 5 registered nurses – without the pay to match.
The comments come in response to a consultation on new NHS national nursing profiles, run by the NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group.
The staff council is currently undertaking a review of the national job matching profiles for nursing and midwifery roles at band 4 and above.
Its purpose is to ensure the profiles ‘accurately reflect’ current practice, training and role development.
Related Article: Nurses ‘obliged’ to accept lower paid jobs for improved conditions, warns QICN
Nursing profiles are used to decide which Agenda for Change (AfC) band NHS nursing staff are at, but the RCN has warned that AfC is now two decades old and ‘no longer reflects modern nursing’.
The changes proposed include splitting the band 4 role into two parts, as well as additional wording among all band descriptions to reflect changing and modern practices.
In its response to the consultation, shared this week, the RCN said the profiles ‘still fail to recognise the skills, experience and expertise’ of nursing staff and that nursing ‘needs to be recognised as a band 6 role’.
The college said it wanted to see every nursing professional in the right band to ensure they are paid fairly and can afford to stay in the NHS.
As part of this, the RCN stressed nurses should automatically progress from band 5 to band 6 after their preceptorship period – in the same way midwives and paramedics already do.
‘Nursing staff are still denied a pathway to band 6 that’s available to other health professionals,’ it said.
The RCN added: ‘We called for the review of nursing and midwifery profiles, which began in 2021, but say more needs to be done to ensure nursing staff are paid fairly.’
‘The latest profiles are based on out-of-date job descriptions, and nursing staff are still not guaranteed the progression they deserve.’
Related Article: NHS nurses in Scotland asked to vote on pay offer
It also flagged that ‘many’ band 4 nursing staff are being used in place of band 5 nurses – as widely reported within general practice – and without being paid at that level.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: ‘Nursing deserves a pay structure that can support clear career progression with greater levels of reward to recognise skills, competence and expertise gained; and greater responsibilities assumed.
‘Nursing staff need to be properly recognised and valued through fair pay. I know your value, and I will fight for it to be fairly rewarded.’
This week the RCN highlighted the need for a ‘significant’ pay rise for NHS nurses – ahead of a highly anticipated NHS pay update in the coming days.
General practice nurses (GPNs) will be largely unaffected by the NHS pay update, as many are not on AfC contracts.
Related Article: Former nurse appointed as top DHSC civil servant
However, the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration is also likely to propose a pay rise for GPs in the coming days, which has previously included recommendations on uplifts for general practice staff.
Earlier this year, the government launched a consultation on the ‘risks and benefits’ of a separate pay spine for NHS nurses.
Such a pay scale would not apply to those working in general practice – an issue that has previously sparked questions and calls for fair pay for GPNs.
