Increase pay for NHS healthcare workers and recognise their work
This petition gathered 178,820 signatures between 5 March 2020 and 5 September 2020, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 4 May 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 25 June 2020.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Increase pay for NHS healthcare workers and recognise their work
I would like the government to review and increase the pay for healthcare workers to recognise the work that they do.
After a list I posted of what healthcare workers have to actually do every day and expressing my anger at healthcare workers being called unskilled went viral on Facebook with thousands of the UK public also sharing my anger, I decided to start a campaign for the government to recognise their work and give them better pay.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 4 May 2020; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
Our hard-working healthcare workers do an incredible job. Many NHS staff are already benefitting from the most significant pay reforms in a decade, with similar reforms planned for other staff groups.
The opening 377 words of the 836-word response:
NHS staff are our greatest asset. In these most difficult of times and with ever increasing pressures on the NHS, they work incredibly hard, always putting patients first and keeping them safe whilst providing the high-quality care we all expect.
The overriding principle during this time of national emergency is to ensure NHS staff do not feel forced to work if they are unwell by ensuring they receive full pay if they contract the virus or must self-isolate, and for staff not to have to use their annual leave for any COVID-19 related absence. It is right that those who work well beyond the call of duty should be paid for every hour they work and receive premium pay rates for working unsocial hours. It is vital we care for those that we all rely on to care for us. The NHS has introduced a free-to-use staff support line and text service which all NHS staff can use for support, signposting and confidential listening from trained respondents. NHS staff have also been given free access to a series of apps to support their mental health and wellbeing.
In the longer term we are committed to ensuring that the NHS employment offer continues to attract and retain the compassionate and dedicated staff the NHS needs.
The independent Pay Review Bodies make annual recommendations on pay rises for NHS staff. The Pay Review Bodies are made up of experts and their recommendations are based on comprehensive assessment of evidence from key stakeholders, including NHS system partners and trade unions.
As part of our ambition to make the NHS the best employer in the world, the Department of Health and Social Care has reached multi-year pay and contract reform agreements with trade unions across the NHS workforce.
For Agenda for Change staff (including nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and others) the agreement, supported by the majority of trades unions and their members, delivers pay awards and contract reforms over three years from 2018/2019 to 2020/2021. The multi-year deal is already benefiting around one million NHS staff. Over the three years:
staff below the top of their pay band will receive pay increases of at least 9%; pay for most staff at the top of their pay band will rise by 6.5%;
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 828, came from Camberwell and Peckham.
177,996 of the signatures were from the UK and 824 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Camberwell and Peckham | 828 |
| West Ham | 745 |
| Lewisham, Deptford | 734 |
| Bermondsey and Old Southwark | 726 |
| Croydon North | 721 |
| Tottenham | 681 |
| Brighton, Pavilion | 665 |
| Oxford East | 664 |
| Bethnal Green and Bow | 640 |
| Vauxhall | 640 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 35,387 |
| South East | 28,376 |
| East of England | 18,976 |
| North West | 17,393 |
| West Midlands | 13,067 |
| South West | 13,056 |
| East Midlands | 10,907 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 10,458 |
| Scotland | 9,500 |
| Wales | 8,842 |
| North East | 5,457 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,688 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 25 June 2020. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/300073.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
ba78644ee56ea4e6… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.