Unions want the pay rise into the hands of workers as soon as possible.
Health unions have called upon the government to ensure the NHS pay rise is implemented as quickly as possible.
The controversial pay deal was signed off at a meeting between the government and 14 health unions representing around one million NHS workers earlier this week.
Under the deal, NHS workers in England would receive a 2% non-consolidated pay rise and a so-called “Covid-recovery bonus” for the current financial year, plus a rise of 5% for most workers in 2023/24.
Unions have now asked the government to make sure the rise is in the hands of workers as soon as possible.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has previously suggested this could be in June but a formal time-frame has not yet been established.
Despite the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) alongside Unite, the Society of Radiographers and Royal College of Podiatry voting to reject the deal, Mr Barclay has confirmed it would be imposed on staff.
This pay deal must be the start of something new.
UNISON head of health Sara Gorton, who chairs the union group on the NHS staff council, said: “NHS workers will now want the pay rise they’ve voted to accept. The hope is that the one-off payment and salary increase will be in June’s pay packets.
“But health staff shouldn’t have needed to take action in the first place. Unions made clear to ministers last summer that £1,400 wasn’t enough to stop staff leaving the NHS, nor prevent strikes. But the government wouldn’t listen.
“Proper pay talks last autumn could have stopped health workers missing out on money they could ill afford to lose. The NHS and patients would also have been spared months of disruption.
“This pay deal must be the start of something new in the NHS. There cannot be a repeat of the past few months. Everyone who cares about the NHS deserves better. That means improving the process that sets health worker wages.
“The NHS remains desperately short of staff too. Services can only cope with growing demand if there’s a properly resourced and well-supported workforce. Government must now work with unions to achieve just that.”
