NHS nurses respond to 5.5 per cent pay rise being ‘taken back’ in tax: ‘I didn’t see a penny!’

In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves approved a 5.5 per cent pay rise for nurses and other NHS workers in England.

Band 5 entry-level registered nurses were promised a pay rise of more than £1,500, but this did not take into account tax reductions.

Speaking on social media, an NHS nurse described how the extra money she got paid was all “taken back in tax”.

The nurse explained: “So I got my NHS 5.5 per cent pay rise today and it got backdated and I got paid £1,500 extra but it all got taken back in tax.

“I’ve never paid so much tax in my life. I paid £2,000 in tax. What was the point?”

She added: “I didn’t see a penny.”

Other NHS workers took to social media to voice their anger with one stating: “All song and dance about this NHS ‘pay rise & back pay’ but realistically they’re taking it all away again in tax/NI/pension contributions. Absolute joke.”

Another penned: “Got my wage slip this morning and I’ve been absolutely hammered with tax and NI the difference in my wage is barely even noticeable. Disgusting.”

A final worker explained that student loan took a “big cut” of their wage, joking “don’t go into public sector work if you want a good quality of life.”

In September, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said that the Government’s award of 5.5 per cent pay rise was not enough.

Two-thirds of the 145,000 members of the RCN voted online to say the rise was not fair.

The union is arguing that the pay of experienced nurses fell by 25 per cent in real terms under the Conservative Governments between 2010 and 2024.

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RCN general secretary Prof Nicola Ranger said in a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting that nurses “do not feel valued”.

Se added that they were concerned about “understaffed shifts, poor patient care and nursing careers trapped at the lowest pay grades”.

In September, junior doctors in England agreed with the Government to end strike action after members of the British Medical Association (BMA) accepted an offer of a 22 per cent pay rise over two years.

The offer was made just weeks after Labour won the general election ending one of the longest disputes in NHS history.