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Updated national nursing profiles have been published following a lengthy review, which came after calls from the RCN for changes that respect and recognise the value of modern nursing.

are summaries of evaluated roles and the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme allows NHS jobs to be matched against nationally evaluated profiles which, in turn, determine pay.

The updated profiles apply to all nursing staff within the NHS on Agenda for Change contracts across the UK. However, there will be some differences in how each country approaches this work.

• In England, it’s expected that employers will follow the . This guidance aims to inform and support the local activity needed to build the necessary organisational capacity to undertake job evaluation robustly, and to ensure job documentation for nursing staff is accurate and up to date. Staff Council expects employers to prioritise the job documentation for band 5 posts first, and then those deemed at a higher risk of being out of date.
• In Wales, expert groups will be set up to agree job descriptions that will be adopted by all health boards across the country.
• In Scotland, health boards are being advised not to act on the new profiles immediately. A co-ordinated Scotland-wide approach to implementing and using the new national profiles is being developed. It will include how these profiles are to be used in the current band 5 nursing roles review, which is now in progress.
• In Northern Ireland, we’re waiting for more detail on the implementation plans.

However this work is approached, it is our expectation that employers will work in partnership with us and affected members to review their nursing job descriptions to ensure they accurately describe jobs. Updated job descriptions must then go through the job evaluation process to ensure they are properly banded.

We’re calling on governments to provide the funding required to support the job evaluation process and uplift staff to the correct band.

The NHS Staff Council’s Job Evaluation Group (JEG) reviewed and updated nursing profiles for bands 2 and 3 in 2021, and the most recent review considered the national nursing profiles for band 4 and above.

We believe the updated profiles more accurately reflect modern nursing and create a clearer step change between bands to support career progression. Alongside an accessible, transparent and timely job evaluation process, the profiles will support the work of nursing staff to be properly rewarded, further supported by our demands for fair pay awards each year.

We submitted consultation responses in respect of the full suite of profiles, ensuring that our members’ voices were heard, and their roles and responsibilities are reflected. We were clear that the old profiles did not match the knowledge, skill or responsibility of nursing staff. Read more about our response to the band 4-6 consultation, and band 7-9 consultation.

All RCN responses were considered by JEG and many, including those directly relevant to step changes, were implemented.

Read more about our work in this area.

Some of the changes to the profiles include:

• the band 5 profile more accurately reflects the role and responsibilities expected of a newly qualified registrant
• the band 6 profile creates a clearer step change from the band 5 profile, with a view to supporting career progression
• changing the wording in the band 4a profile to ensure the role reflects that of a nursing associate
• the knowledge, training and education (KTE) has been amended to ensure it’s appropriate for a band 7.

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “A fair and accurate job description is not just paperwork – it’s recognition of the skills and expertise nursing staff bring to the profession every day.

“These profiles more accurately reflect modern nursing and are a key part of our journey to ensuring nursing staff are fairly rewarded. We’re determined to secure our members a fair pay award and equally committed to ensuring nursing staff are being paid for the job they do, at the level they do it.

“Employers must now commit to reviewing and updating job descriptions and governments must fully fund the implementation of the updated band profiles. Nursing staff need access to fair and timely job evaluations, and we will play our part supporting members and holding employers and ministers to account.”