Backdated health workers' pay award to go ahead, says minister

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt made the announcement on Thursday

A pay offer aimed at avoiding industrial action by healthcare workers - including doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff - has been made by the Department of Health.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the NI Executive had given him approval to award pay parity with colleagues in other parts of the UK.

In May, Nesbitt signed off £200m to go towards this year's pay deal but said the money would need to be found outside his department due to financial pressure he is already facing.

Last month, the minister said only half of the money needed to resolve the shortfall for the pay award had been found.

BBC News NI understands that the executive has agreed that the Department of health can overspend its budget by £100m this year to meet the pay-related pressures.

Deputy First Minster Emma Little-Pengelly said the Northern Ireland Executive had "taken extraordinary steps" because nurses "deserve fair pay".

However, she warned the arrangement "will have implications, including for next year".

The Department of Finance said the health minister "has agreed that should there be a funding shortfall in his department at the end of 2025/26 this would be deducted from the health opening budget for 2026-27".

A spokesperson added that Finance Minister John O'Dowd "reiterated to his ministerial colleagues the severity of the financial situation and the need to work in partnership to manage the extremely challenging financial position".

'Committed to ensuring future pay awards'

Unison, the largest healthcare workers' union, said the announcement on funding was a step forward but they would be seeking a further meeting with Department of Health officials to clarify details.

In a statement on Thursday, Nesbitt said the funding will "deliver pay parity for health service staff, which was our original intention and what unions and professional bodies have been asking for and is their right".

"This would restore pay parity with the percentage uplifts as recommended by pay review bodies being back dated in full to 1 April 2025," he said.

"I would expect our HSC workforce to receive their uplift and back pay in their February 2026 pay packets.

"In addition, and to ensure that issue of late payment of pay awards will never happen again, I can confirm that as health minister I am committed to ensuring future pay awards are prioritised in my budget allocation at the start of the financial year and adjusted as necessary to ensure parity."

Doctors' goodwill 'at breaking point'

The doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), welcomed the announcement and said it was "long overdue".

Its NI council chair, Dr Alan Stout, said: "It is hugely disappointing that it has taken so long to resolve this and we sincerely hope lessons have indeed been learnt and pay will be prioritised in next year's budgeting process.

"The goodwill of doctors has been stretched to breaking point."

RCN director Rita Devlin welcomed the news of pay parity

The executive director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland, Professor Rita Devlin, welcomed the news, saying it has been a "long and protracted process to get to this stage".

"The Royal College of Nursing has consistently maintained that the loss of pay parity with colleagues across the UK was wholly unacceptable," she said.

"We will now examine the proposal in further detail and take it to the RCN Northern Ireland Board for discussion."

First Minister Michelle O'Neill commended "dedicated health and social care workers, and their unions, for standing up for fair pay that reflects the invaluable work they do every day".

She said the executive had "created the route" for the health minister to deliver a pay deal and insisted Nesbitt "must now act swiftly to conclude that agreement".

The deputy first minister said it was "disappointing" that the Department of Health could not fund the pay offer from this year's budget.

"But our nurses deserve fair pay and pay parity - that's why we have taken extraordinary steps today, working with the health minister and department to ensure this could happen," Little Pengelly added.

"These steps will have implications including for next year, particularly for the health department."

Health workers have gone on strike to campaign for pay parity in recent years

Health pay is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.

Trade unions have been involved in negotiations with departmental officials for many months as a stalemate over demands for pay parity continued.

Union members had rejected several proposals put forward by the department and had already proceeded with plans to ballot members for industrial action.

They had voiced frustration at not being awarded a full 3.6% pay uplift which had already been given to colleagues in other parts of the UK.

In May 2025, the Pay Review Body (PRB) which proposes pay increases for health workers in Northern Ireland, England and Wales recommended a 3.6% rise for Agenda for Change contract staff for 2025-26.

This includes nurses, health visitors, midwives, ambulance staff, porters and cleaners.

Doctors and dentists were offered 4% awards, with senior NHS managers being offered 3.25%.