The award follows recommendations made by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) for the 2026/27 financial year.

Health minister Karin Smyth said: ‘We will continue to implement commitments to improve the support NHS staff receive and their experience at work. Ensuring the NHS is a great place to work is fundamental to improving patient experience: from reducing the backlog in elective care to ensuring timely access to GP appointments.'

Smyth also accepted the recommendation to deliver training and support knowledge-sharing for remuneration committees and chief people officers within this financial year albeit on a longer timeframe than envisaged by the SSRB to allow for sufficient engagement with relevant stakeholders.

She also accepted the recommendation to withdraw the ‘very out-of-date' executive senior managers (ESM) pay framework after April 2027.

Reaction 

A Managers in Partnership (MiP) spokesperson said: ‘We welcome the fact the SSRB did not accept the Government's argument for a cap of 2.5% on the award, and that the Government has accepted the SSRB's recommendation. However, our long standing policy is that VSMs should get the same pay rise as their colleagues covered by Agenda for Change.'

The MiP opposed withholding the basic pay award from executives in segment 5 trusts, irrespective of their personal performance, however, and was also opposed to any extension of the approach to segments 3 and 4.

The MiP also called for clarity on whether executive and senior managers will receive a consolidated pay rise from April 2026.

The director of policy at The NHS Alliance, Dr Layla McCay, said: ‘We are pleased that the Government has accepted the SSRB's recommendation for very senior managers in the NHS.

‘It is good to see this recognition of the huge responsibilities they bear.

‘They are accountable for running very complex, safety critical organisations, employing thousands of people, with multi-million pound budgets and they face intense financial and operational pressures.

‘They are integral to the future success of the health service and have played a key role in delivering recent progress.'