The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has called for a nursing pay deal that is “fair but affordable”.
In its latest submission to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB), the government refrained from proposing a specific figure for this year's pay increase.
Instead, the evidence cited stretched budgets and the need to reduce inflation and national debt.
Health unions have criticised this approach and called for direct negotiations with unions and employers instead of relying on the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB).
The DHSC emphasised the multifaceted nature of workforce sustainability beyond just pay, including workload management, education reforms, and improved working conditions.
Despite previous efforts to boost the NHS workforce, the DHSC warned of financial constraints affecting future pay offers due to inflation and industrial action.
Unions have demanded meaningful pay increases to address staffing crises and express dissatisfaction with delays in the PRB process, advocating for direct negotiations to resolve pay issues promptly.
An RCN spokesperson said "Nursing staff will not accept suggestions by ministers that NHS budgets are too stretched to deliver on pay".
Helga Pile, the acting head of health at UNISON, said: “Getting health unions and employers in for pay talks would be the fastest, smartest way for the government to start to solve the staffing crisis.
“The government must negotiate a proper pay package for health workers to halt the steady drain of experience from the NHS.”
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