Almost 1.1 million NHS employees will receive a pay increase of 1% for 2015-2016.
The pay deal, which has been approved by the NHS Staff Council, will reward more than a million NHS staff earning up to £56,500 a year from April 2015
Meanwhile. the lowest paid employees, including health care assistants, porters and cleaners, will receive a 5.6% pay increase, which equates to an addiitonal £800 in their annual pre-tax salary.
The deal was agreed between unions and government.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health said: “We are pleased unions have accepted this deal which will give more than a million NHS staff a pay rise without risking frontline jobs, and without costing the taxpayer more money.
“We wanted to secure a better deal for the lowest paid and this agreement will do exactly that.”
Christina McAnea, head of health at trade union Unison, added: “Our members have voted to accept this offer. Although it does not go far enough, it is an improvement and it will make a difference particularly to over 250,000 of the lowest-paid in the NHS.
“By ignoring the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body for England, the government forced health workers to take strike action over pay for the first time in 34 years.
“I’m proud of the fact our members were prepared to take strike action without compromising patient care. Their industrial action has forced the government to negotiate with us and sent a warning that NHS workers will not sit back and do nothing when their standard of living is attacked.
“We are calling on any government elected in May to develop a pay strategy that rewards health workers fairly for the demanding jobs they do, and ensures the NHS can continue to recruit and retain a high-quality workforce.
“The current state of pay in the NHS means many workers rely on unsocial hours payments to make ends meet. We know this government wants to cut these.
“The industrial action over the last six months should be a warning to ministers that our members will not accept further cuts.”
Jeremy Hunt, health secretary, said: ”I welcome the unions calling off strike action. We have consistently said that we wouldn’t agree a pay deal that risked frontline jobs and therefore patient safety. This offer achieves that and the NHS paybill will not increase next year, while we reward hardworking staff.’
