Scotland
As your trade union and professional association, we’re here to support you in every aspect of your working life, from pay to professional development. With health policy devolved to the Scottish Government, RCM Scotland works hard to ensure the voice of midwives and MCAs is heard by policy-makers and employers
Representing you
There is an RCM branch in all but one health board in Scotland, with nearly 40 workplace representatives and more than 30 branch officers. Our branches support members in the workplace, from putting on CPD and learning sessions to wellbeing to union representation.
We also support students in Scotland, through the midwifery societies in all three universities offering midwifery degrees.
In addition, we have a wide range of networks reflecting different areas of practice and career stages.
Pay in Scotland
Pay in Scotland is negotiated through collective bargaining. The RCM, in conjunction with the other trade unions, has submitted a joint broad claim as a basis for beginning negotiations on pay for 2024/2025. A meeting is scheduled to begin discussions with the Cabinet Secretary.
The pay offer 2025/26 to 2026/27
Following intense negotiations throughout March and April, with the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC) (of which the RCM were key contributors), and the Scottish Government. A pay offer was received on 7 April 2025 from Scotland’s Minister for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray, wrote to with a 2 year pay offer for the years 2025 -2027.
The offer for all NHS Agenda for Change staff, is an uplift of 4.25% for the year 2025/26 and 3.75% for 2026/27. This is a cumulative uplift of 8.16%. In addition to this the offer includes an inflation guarantee which confirms that the increase in pay of each year of the deal will be at least 1% above the CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation rate.
Background
The current position for NHS Pay in Scotland is that this will be negotiated with Trade Unions through collective bargaining.
STAC is a partnership organisation which exists to collectively negotiate terms and conditions issues for NHS Scotland staff. It is made up of officials appointed from the Scottish Government Health Workforce Directorate, employers and trade unions.
STAC trade unions submitted a joint pay claim for AFC staff to the Cabinet Secretary on the 22 January 2025. The submission can be found here.
In summary the call for negotiations aimed to secure:
- A significant and above inflation cost of living increase on all pay rates and allowances of NHS staff covered by this agreement that is reflective of the true cost of living across Scotland and losses incurred in previous years,
- See the implementation of the ‘pay modernisation’ proposal (unfinished business) from 23/24 pay round, as referenced above, in addition to any agreed cost of living increase,
- Seek the further modernisation of AFC to ensure that any reform of NHS Scotland is underpinned by an agreed reform of the pay and terms/condition package.
You can read the offer letter in full here. Please take time to read it so you can understand what the offer means to you. It includes what the new pay scales will be and provides more information about how the inflation guarantee will work.
The offer does not address the request to deliver on any of the pay modernisation elements as noted in the staff side pay claim. This is something that we would expect to see carried over to the next staff side pay claim.
We are consulting members in Scotland on whether they accept or reject this offer. You can have your say by voting in the consultation by clicking this link.
Scotland Pay Offer FAQs
Why isn’t there a recommendation to accept or reject?
The headline offer is above inflation which in part addresses the historic erosion of pay faced by our members. It is also a consolidated across the board increase to all Agenda for Change (AFC) pay bands.
The offer does not address the request to deliver on any of the pay modernisation elements as noted in the staff side pay claim.
As the offer does not meet the asks in all areas of the pay claim submitted the RCM Board agreed that the consultation should not make any recommendation to members. However, the RCM believe that this is the best offer that can be achieved via negotiations.
What happens if members reject the offer?
If RCM members vote to reject the offer, this would place us in a position of dispute, however we cannot predict whether the government would then choose to impose the offer. We would need to consider whether to further consult with members to assess if industrial action would be a possible next step.
NHS AFC staff are represented by several Trade Unions who will also be consulting their members on the offer. Each Trade Union will share the results of their consultations at a date yet to be agreed around mid may, at which time any consensus will be assessed to inform the response to the government.
When will I receive my pay?
Subject to the award being accepted and in the absence of a set deadline for a joint trade union response, we anticipate this to conclude around mid-May which would enable sufficient time to progress pay of the award in June or July salaries with a view to any backpay being paid the month afterwards.
What are the new pay scales?
We have produced a table showing the new pay scales and a breakdown of the hourly rate seen by the reduction in the working work (RWW)
The offer for 2026/2027 is calculated on the full, in year benefit of the reduced working week (36 standard working week) for all staff covered by the AFC agreement.
The 3.75% award in 2026/27 is in addition to any uplift to the hourly rate seen by the reduction in the working week to 36 hours. The overall salary does not raise with the RWW implementation, but as you are calculating the hourly rate based on a lower working week (36 compared to 37), the hourly rate raises.
Allowances and Recruitment and Retention Premia will increase in line with pay uplifts will be uprated as appropriate.
What is happening with wider public sector pay?
Some other public sector workers are covered by separate arrangements or pay review bodies, this includes, teachers, some civil servants, police and armed forces. The awards range from 3%-6% in 2024.
The RCM’s focus is on Agenda for Change pay, terms and conditions.
What are current inflation figures?
The below figures are the most recent published figures and are for February 2025:
- CPI: 2.8%
- CPIH: 3.7%
- RPI: 3.4%
Inflation is the term used to describe rising prices, how quickly these prices go up is called the rate of inflation. All the measures of inflation above do this but in slightly different ways. The rate of inflation cited by the Government is CPI but traditionally trade unions have argued that RPI inflation is the most appropriate as it includes housing and related costs.
What does the ‘Inflation Guarantee Payment’ mean for me?
The percentage uplifts of the offer are the minimum uplift that all AFC staff will receive.
CPI fluctuates each month therefore once the figures for January – December 2025 are published by Office of National Statistics (ONS) the 12 monthly figures will be added together then divided by 12 to give the ‘average’ CPI, one percent will then be added to that figure and should that then be higher than 4.25% the higher figure will be applied and paid on backdated basis.
The same will be applied to the 2026-27 pay period where average inflation will be calculated from January 2026 to December 2026 with 1% then added and if that is higher than 3.75% the higher figure will be applied on a backdated basis.
Will the new salary affect my pension?
Until the pay award is agreed the tier bandings will remain based on the 2024-25 pay award.
The pay claim 2025/26.
The Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC), which the RCM is a member of, is a partnership organisation which exists to collectively negotiate terms and conditions issues for NHS Scotland staff. It is made up of officials appointed from the Scottish Government Health Workforce Directorate, employers and trade unions.
On 22 January 2025, the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC) wrote to Neil Gray MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, submitting its pay claim for 2025/26.
Scotland’s pay setting process is different than the rest of the UK. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, this is done by the NHS Pay Review Body that takes evidence from, trade unions, employers and government and makes a recommendation. In Scotland it is decided through collective bargaining with the Scottish Government.
STAC has called for a significant and above inflation cost of living increase on all pay rates and allowances of NHS staff. They have also called for continued implementation of the priority areas agreed in the 2023/24 pay round. This includes a review of protected learning time and a reduction in hours of the working week. Additionally, there is a call to recommence negotiations on previously unresolved areas such as pay modernisation elements. This includes a review of Agenda for Change (AfC) incremental stages, relative incremental values and pay on promotion. All these areas must be addressed without direct or indirect impact on the 2025/26 pay deal.
We now await a response from Scottish Government on our call to commence negotiations without delay
You can read the STAC pay claim in full here. We will keep you informed of all the progress and developments on pay.
Our position
This is a good offer that gives our members most of what they had been asking for, including an above inflation pay award and a commitment to reform of NHS pay bands. While pay is crucial, this was also about midwives feeling seen and valued. Improving retention through better working conditions, professional midwifery issues and the wellbeing of staff are also key components of this. Most importantly, it was also about our members standing tall and being prepared to take action to ensure better care for birthing people, babies and their families.
Now this deal is in place, we can start work in earnest on addressing the other issues covered by it through the non-pay elements and the Scottish Government Ministerial Task Force for midwives and nurses. This means the RCM and other health unions working with the Scottish Government to put into action their firm promises to address the rising pressures on services, the growing staffing shortages, and invest in maternity services and the wider NHS.
This offer also includes elements of an earlier one rejected by RCM members in a consultation in December (2023/22?). This includes the continuation of overtime payments for senior midwives, making a significant difference to their pay, and retaining the enhanced mileage allowances for staff using their cars for work. It also includes plans to reduce the working week to 36 hours with no loss of earnings.
This proves that when midwives, MSWs and their NHS colleagues take a stand, governments must listen and act. It also proves that when all parties sit around a table and negotiate in good faith, the result is happier staff, which means better care, which at bottom is what we are all striving for.
Non-pay elements
It was agreed that work would be undertaken to review and modernise parts of the Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions of service agreement. Three of the areas identified for review were: protected learning time, reduction in the working week and review of Band 5 nursing role
Following intense work over the summer of 2023, the working groups issued recommendations to the Scottish government. In a significant win for RCM members in Scotland, we can confirm that we have secured agreement and implementation for:
- Protected Learning Time to be implemented with effect from 1 April 2024. The learning covered by these changes is that which must be completed in NHS Employer time. It includes statutory, core mandatory, and role specific training. Health Boards will be asked to outline the mandatory training and core role specific training requirements by job family, and the frequency with which learning is refreshed, by 1 April 2024.
- Reduction in the working week. This will reduce the standard working week (with no loss of pay) for all NHS staff in Scotland from 37.5 hours (wte) to 36 hours – in three years. The first of three staggered 30-minute reductions in the full-time working week for all AFC staff will start from 1st April 2024.
- The review of Band 5 nursing role was also agreed. The scheme will support Band 5 nurses who are working above their grade to submit regrading reviews.
The Scottish Government has also confirmed that work around the monitoring of completion rates during working hours and examining the “Once for Scotland” approach to mandatory training and training passports is underway.
Influencing the debate in Scotland
State of Maternity Services in Scotland
The 2023 Scotland State of Maternity Services report calls for more investment to ensure changes in the physical, mental and social health needs of pregnant women can be supported.
Working with other trade unions
RCM Scotland is a member of the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC), which is a tripartite partnership governance group which exists to negotiate Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions issues collectively for NHS Scotland staff other than those which pertain exclusively to recognised separate collective bargaining arrangements.
Partnership working is embedded in Scottish legislation and effective in bringing around organisational change and maintaining a stable employee relations climate. The NHS has always worked in conjunction with Trade Unions to negotiate terms and conditions for staff, but for more than 25 years, NHS Scotland has taken significant steps to develop the concept of partnership working.
RCM Scotland is involved in the national workforce policy review process through our involvement with the Scottish Workforce and Staff Governance Committee, as part of NHS Scotland’s One for Scotland workforce policies.
Working with the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland
RCM Scotland is Is represented on the taskforce and all four sub groups. RCM Scotland Director Jaki Lambert co-chairs the Education and Development sub group. in the Ministerial Task Force for Nursing and Midwifery, whose remit is to look specifically at current challenges being faced in the midwifery profession in recruitment and retention, professional development across clinical, education, research and leadership pathways; as well as supporting the long-term vision set out in the National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy.
Partnership working is embedded in Scottish legislation and effective in bringing around organisational change and maintaining a stable employee relations climate. The NHS has always worked in conjunction with Trade Unions to negotiate terms and conditions for staff, but for more than 25 year, NHS Scotland has taken significant steps to develop the concept of partnership working.
RCM Scotland is involved in the national workforce policy review process through our involvement with the Scottish Workforce and Staff Governance Committee, as part of NHS Scotland’s One for Scotland workforce policies.
RCM Scotland five year plan
Our ambition for Scotland: all midwives and MCAs feel valued and can give the highest standard of individualised care to women, newborns and families. They are working in safe workplaces with supportive cultures that enable them to thrive and develop at every stage in their career. RCM Scotland’s five-year plan for the midwifery profession, launched in 2022, provides a framework to achieve this, which includes policy-makers and those working on the frontline of services. The RCM has also committed to provide updates on progress, to reflect how the dial is shifting.
Student midwives finance report (Scotland)
The RCM Scotland Student midwives finance report highlights that 70% of midwifery students had to take on additional debt to cover the cost of their studies. It also notes that three out of five midwives worry they will have to drop out of their course for financial reasons. While most students receive a bursary, it’s not nearly enough to cover their costs.
Local Workplace Representatives
Meggan
Reid
Learning Representative
Jennifer
Baillie
Steward
Jennie
Wild
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Wendy
Smith
Health and Safety and Steward
Dawn
O'Connor
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Gail
Dobie
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Rebecca
Ali
Health and Safety
Rebecca
Middleton
Learning Representative
Heather
Rankine
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Health and Safety
Rachael
Dewey
Learning Representative
Clare
Weir
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Lianne
Hood
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Lisa
O'Hare
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Sneddon
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Morrell
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Dewar
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Carmichael
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Ciara
McGuire
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Lynne
Ritchie
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Health and Safety
Learning Representative
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Health and Safety
Learning Representative
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