The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has criticised newly proposed NHS national nursing profiles for bands 4, 5 and 6 saying they fail to recognise the skills, experience and expertise of nursing staff.

The NHS Staff Council’s Job Evaluation Group is running a consultation on the the new nursing profiles. In response, the RCN has said that nursing needs to be recognised as a band 6 role and that nursing staff should automatically progress from band 5 to 6 after a period of preceptorship, just like midwives and paramedics already do.

Nursing profiles are used to decide which Agenda for Change (AfC) pay band NHS nursing staff are working at, however the RCN says that AfC no longer reflects modern nursing and what’s expected of nursing staff in each pay band and the latest profiles are based on out-of-date job descriptions.

In a statement, the RCN said: "Registered nurses regularly carry out clinical tasks that were once reserved for junior doctors and many nurses working in the NHS begin and end their careers on the same pay band. We know that many band 4 nursing staff are already being used as substitutes for band 5 nurses – without being paid at that level. And nursing staff are still denied a pathway to band 6 that’s available to other health professionals. Nursing staff everywhere are being denied fair pay for the jobs they’re doing."

The government is due to announce the 2024/25 pay award for NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts by the end of July.

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.  

“We’ve got a new government in Westminster, and I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care setting out the issues you face and with the current pay structures in particular. 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.”