NHS Pay Review Body

The NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) is an independent body composed of members from a variety of professional, academic and business backgrounds. It makes recommendations on the remuneration of all staff paid under Agenda for Change (AfC) and employed in the NHS (for details of the NHSPRB Terms of Reference, click here). NHSPRB’s recommendations apply to all staff in the NHS, with the exception of doctors, dentists and very senior managers. The remit group includes all staff in NHS England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and accounts for just under 1.5 million NHS staff (headcount). NHSPRB’s annual reports are submitted jointly to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Health, and Ministers of the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Review Body receives evidence on pay and related issues from the Governments, NHS Employers and staff organisations. It also conducts its own research on pay and related matters. NHSPRB members visit trusts and health units to meet staff and managers to gather information and views on pay and related issues and to gain a better understanding of the roles of staff within the remit groups.

For details of the Review Body Members, click here.

Background

The NHS Pay Review Body was originally known as the Review Body for Nurses and Allied Health Professions (NAPRB) and was set up in 1983 to advise the Government on the pay of NHS nursing staff, midwives, health visitors, and the professions allied to medicine (PAMs).

Following the introduction of Agenda for Change in late 2004, the Review Body's remit was extended to cover all allied health and health care science professions, pharmacists, optometrists, applied psychologists and psychotherapists, as well as clinical support workers and technicians supporting these groups. To recognise this broader staff remit, the NAPRB became the Review Body for Nursing and Other Health Professions (NOHPRB).

In July 2007 the Review Body's remit was again extended, first to cover the remaining NHS staff not within its remit but who were nevertheless paid under the Agenda for Change pay system; and second to include staff working in Northern Ireland. The Review Body was renamed the NHS Pay Review Body to reflect these changes. New staff groups covered included ancillary and maintenance and estates staff (e.g. cleaners, porters, catering, domestics, electricians, plumbers, builders); administrative and clerical (e.g. medical secretaries, ward clerks, library services staff); administrative managers; and other groups such as IM&T (e.g. analysts, technicians); HR (e.g. assistants, advisors); finance (e.g. accountants, invoice clerks, salaries and wages staff) and chaplains.

The NHSPRB is registered with the Information Commissioner as a data controller. Its registration number is Z612735X.