Nurse salaries: NHS vs private?

[NHSnurse1]

I’m a nurse and stuck at the top of my band. I love the NHS but tired of being so skint at the end of every month. With ten years of experience, what might I expect to earn in the private sector? What Other differences might I find, ie shift patterns, leave, etc? I’m in London, is there an HCAS in private sector?

Ta X

You don't always get unsocial hours payment. Have you looked up the private healthcare jobs sites to see what's being advertised. What is HCAS.

Yes, I’ve had a look but they don’t generally show the salary range. HCAS is the London weighting.

My local hospital paid less than NHS, it was a set salary with no unsocial hours.

I know that some nurses here left their NHS jobs to work in a private hospital on almost double the money. They all, without exception, begged for their old jobs back within 4 weeks.

The salary seems to look like more, but you are out of the NHS pension, less holiday, sick and maternity pay.

I dont think it often adds up to a better deal

@Boobiliboobiliboo, why did they want to leave the private jobs?

Because whilst the roles were sold as 9-5, that wasn’t how it worked in practice. Less HCA support. Less supportive management. Less time with patients. They hated it.

@Foodylicious how do holidays and sick pay work?

Thank you @boobiliboobiliboo. Can’t really imagine leaving the NHS but double salary is appealing. DH has had his contract cut and we’re desperate to increase our incomings, working bank shifts only puts me at the bottom of my band and hard to take more time away from the DCs

NHS holidays are more generous than statutory (27-33 days plus bank holidays compared to 28 days per year including bank holidays).

Sick pay in the private sector is often SSP only. NHS gives at least 1 month full pay and 2 months half pay (plus SSP) from day one and it increases to 6 months full, 6 months half.

Employers pension conts are much more generous in the NHS.

Bereavement and special leave much more generous in NHS too.

Pay progression can be worse too! I'm a HCP who left NHS for 10 years and came back on top of band when I'd been 4 increments on above band when I left. Mat pay was also a lot less then NHS!

I’m done having babies so not too fussed about the mat pay. Also really quite rarely am sick so haven’t ever gotten anywhere near my allowance. (I do also reckon permitting six months sick is a bit excessive and have known some staff who quite abused it!)

Would like to hear from anyone else who has experience in both systems.

Have you considered agency work instead?

What type of nurse are you? That can make a difference.

I’m a theatre nurse, have also worked in HDU and ITU.

I’m also a theatre nurse 👋🏻

Do you have anaesthetic or recovery skills? Are you an SFA or SCP? Have you looked at agency work? With your experience I think they’d snatch your hand off! Although I’d do it as a sideline to your NHS job at least to begin with.

Not in nursing, but NHS band 6 (top of scale). I've recently been for an interview for the same job outside the NHS and found that the pay is slightly more (no-one I've ever heard of gets double - is that a nursing thing?) but the holiday is 5 days a year less, and you do lose out on the pension, but these days that's not a huge loss.

The main difference, and what attracted me to the job, is that the hours are reasonable. No ridiculous night/weekend/bank holiday shifts, and if you do work them you, you're not expected to do twice as much as the day staff and you get paid a reasonable rate for them. So it would have been better work/life balance.

I decided not to take the job for other reasons, but it's still playing on my mind, I have to admit.

And yes, they had HCAS

👋 Dinsey. I’m an SDP and have anaerobic as well as recovery skills. Have looked at agency work but difficult to pick up extra shifts with DCs. Also thought about doing full time agency/bank but don’t want to give up reliable income. Will have a look around private as a sideline to explore-thanks for suggesting.

Thank you Whonose88. Yes I’ve just heard rumours the pay is double but I can’t quite imagine it is so! I’ve also imagined the work life balance might be better as I’ve heard the staffing is better overall, less pressure that we see in the NHS, etc. But I also feel a bit guilty at the thought of leaving...

I wonder if the double pay applies to very posh private hospitals in central London as the private sector ones up north definitely don’t. Like others have said, no unsocial hours, very little extra training (Nhs gets access to university modules via HEE).