Agenda for Change review

The Scottish government has agreed to implementation of the Agenda for Change review’s recommendations on reform of the NHS pay scheme.

The scope of the review was set out between the RCN, other health trade unions, professional bodies, NHS Employers and the Scottish Government.

The recommendations from the review relate to:

• Protected time for statutory, mandatory and profession-specific learning - work will be needed on monitoring training completion rates during working hours and a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to mandatory training with a training passport
• A review of band 5 nursing roles - band 5 nursing staff will be contacted in due course by their employer and invited to apply for a review of their role. If successful in their application, they will receive backdated pay from back when it is agreed that they have been working beyond their job description, but no further back than 1 April 2023
• A 30-minute reduction in the working week - this is the first step in reducing the standard working week for staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions across the NHS to 36 hours over three years. Trade unions are working with Scottish government and employers to ensure that this happens by 2026. Staff who cannot yet have their working week reduced by 30 minutes, for example, due to service pressures or safe staffing or wellbeing, will be paid overtime. This will be backdated to 1 April 2024 where payroll departments need time to adjust their processes. 

Find out more about what implementation of the review's recommendations will mean for you in our FAQs.