Earlier this year, the Health Secretary announced a pay uplift for NHS staff as part of the ‘Agenda for Change’ over the course of 2023-34. However, the government is currently not planning to fund the pay uplift for indepdendent companies, including NHS spin-outs, community interest companies, social enterprises and public service mutuals.

Many employee owned organisations in the health and care space are affected, and we have consulted with members to gauge the impact this could have on the sector.

The EOA found that there was a consensus among impacted members: if the government fails to fully fund the NHS pay award for companies delivering NHS services, the result could be disastrous. EOA members impacted have said that the lack of funding could prove to be an “existential threat” to their organisations, with members citing estimated their own budgetary losses of anywhere from £300k to £4.2million.

It is clear that, if the government does not support companies delivering NHS services with funding to meet the pay uplift terms announced, many companies delivering health and care services could fold, leading to a significant detrimental impact on care across the country. In addition, companies with alternative business models, such as employee owned businesses and social enterprises, tend to deliver better outcomes for both service users and employees.

The EOA supports Social Enterprise UK’s campaign to include other forms of NHS provider in pay award funding. You can see the related government petition here.

Related content

Why we’re sharing our policy priorities for the EO sector | CEO Blog

Guidance on responding to the government’s EOT & EBT consultation