Employers are allowed to offer up to 30% of basic pay as incentives for hard-to-recruit roles.
NHS trusts in England are reportedly turning to so-called “golden hellos” to recruit and retain registered nurses.
The Guardian newspaper reported this week that several NHS trusts across England have turned to financial incentive packages to bolster their staffing numbers.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust offers newly-qualified nurses a one-off £3,000 golden hello.
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) is offering a £4,500 payment to nurses joining its mental health and learning disability teams and up to £8,000 to those who would need to relocate to join the trust.
Several other trusts including those in Leeds, London, Cambridge, Essex and Hertfordshire are also offering financial incentives.
Agenda for Change rules mean employers are allowed to offer up to 30% of basic pay as incentives for any hard-to-recruit roles.
Not a long-term solution.
The financial incentives are usually spread over a number of months to years in an attempt to improve retention rates alongside aiding recruiting.
Royal College of Nursing Director for England Patricia Marquis warned golden hellos are not a long-term solution.
She explained: “While it may help to attract nurses to those trusts deciding to do this, it is simply moving the problem from one trust to the next and creating a false sense of security that does not address the real problem.
“We can’t rely on golden hellos and relocation bonuses to solve the crisis in the nursing workforce. Nurses must receive the pay rise they deserve after it has fallen behind in the last ten years.”
The news comes as the number of unfilled nursing vacancies across England continue to rise. Research published earlier this month found health and social care workers are among the unhappiest of all professions.
Nursing staff in England are set to vote on proposed strike action over the coming weeks.
