Policy & Resources urges officials to fast-track pay parity recommendations for an Assembly debate later this year.
States and union officials have been asked to accelerate a joint project on pay parity – equal pay for work of equal value – which was deferred indefinitely by the previous States Assembly.. The Policy & Resources Committee wants to be presented with recommendations next month, ahead of a landmark States debate on tax and spending which it plans to lead later in the summer.. The senior committee’s fresh impetus was outlined in a letter
sent on its behalf by a States official to unions representing staff in the health service on ‘Agenda for Change’ contracts, many of whom it is believed would benefit from pay parity.. ‘The committee is mindful that your members are yet to receive a pay offer for 2026, and have been waiting patiently for this work to be completed and it recognises that there must not be any further delay,’ it said.. ‘As such, the
committee has directed me to conclude this work and submit the pay parity group project’s final findings to them by the end of June 2026.’ P&R’s commitment to accelerate the pay parity project was made alongside an offer to increase remuneration in the health service by 3.7% this year, which was subsequently accepted by unions and put into effect in April.. Among other changes, pay parity would bring nurses’ salaries into line with other public
sector and civil service jobs involving similar levels of skill, responsibility and effort.. Unions representing Agenda for Change staff have led a years-long campaign for a major re-evaluation of job roles and alterations to salaries to achieve the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, which was scheduled to become law in 2027 before the deferral by the previous Assembly.. The Royal College of Nursing said P&R had provided ‘a commitment to complete
the pay parity project work by the end of June 2026 at the latest’ and that the exercise was now under way.. That followed States HR officials drawing up a revised timetable of meetings with unions which they said were necessary ‘to reflect P&R’s direction’ and accelerate recommendations to be presented to the senior committee.. A draft schedule circulated to unions proposed that a final paper should be submitted to P&R members on 3 June
for discussion at their committee meeting scheduled for 9 June.. A report carried out by HR consultants several years ago reportedly advised that it would cost tens of millions of pounds annually to introduce pay parity across the public sector.. At the time, the States refused freedom of information requests to release the report, but former deputy Lyndon Trott revealed in the Assembly that the price tag had been estimated at up to £50m.. a
year, and said the figure had been worked out by ‘experts’.. The report is believed to have advised that it would be almost impossible to level down public sector salaries and that levelling up would be the only way of achieving pay parity.
pay parity project, Policy & Resources Committee, Agenda for Change, equal pay for work of equal value, nurses salaries, health service remuneration, States tax and spending debate