Our 2024 health and care salary guide is designed to help both employers and jobseekers understand their prospects across a host of professions in direct care, management and professional practice areas.
You’ll find roles including care worker, outreach worker, team leader, deputy manager, care home manager, doctor registered general nurse and occupational therapist featured alongside many other key roles.
Who is this salary guide designed for?
Use this comprehensive salary guide to understand the salary and benefits that professionals should expect to receive and discover emerging recruitment trends that could make a real difference to the success of your organisation in 2024.
Reed’s 2024 health and care salary guide will help you benchmark average salaries for your UK healthcare teams, or find out what you should, or could, be earning.
Whether you’re looking for insight on nursing pay or doctor salaries, this guide shows the earning potential of a host of professional roles in the health and care sectors.
Health and care sector outlook for 2024
Healthcare is rarely out of the news, with a faster rate of exciting developments and research leading to breakthroughs and revelations. It’s a great time for the sector as technology fuels expectations for what might be achieved in future to improve quality of care.
AI and machine learning applications will play a pivotal role in diagnostics, drug discovery, and patient care. These technologies have the potential to streamline administrative tasks, optimise resource allocation, and enhance the overall quality of healthcare services.
The emphasis on preventive healthcare is likely to intensify, with a growing focus on wellness programmes, lifestyle interventions, and early disease detection. These developments will require tech-savvy professionals who embrace ongoing changes and take advantage of the benefits they bring.
Collaboration across healthcare stakeholders is expected to increase, fostering a more integrated and patient-centric approach. Interconnected health records, improved data sharing, and collaborative care models will enhance co-ordination among healthcare providers, resulting in more comprehensive and efficient patient care.
In terms of workforce development, there will be greater emphasis on upskilling healthcare professionals to use technology and adapt to evolving healthcare practices. The sector may also witness increased public and private investment, supporting research, infrastructure development, and innovation. These investments can collectively contribute to a more resilient and responsive healthcare system.
Professionals specialising in psychiatry, counselling and therapy will find a host of opportunities, fuelled by investment in mental health support programmes. Holistic approaches will create roles for those adept at interdisciplinary collaboration.
Transformation is the watchword for the health and care sector, which is entering a new phase shaped by technological advancements, policy shifts, and the evolving needs of an ageing population.
Divisional Managing Director, Reed
Challenges and opportunities in health and care
However, challenges continue in attracting and retaining the workforce, whose needs have been spotlit since the pandemic.
At the end of 2023, Reed conducted its annual snap survey of 5,000 professionals. The research asked UK workers about their current and preferred salary and benefits, their organisation’s performance and priorities, how they rated their job satisfaction and career prospects, as well as the key recruitment and skills trends they’re witnessing.
With ongoing cost-of-living challenges, it’s no surprise that salaries continue to be the main focus in the employment market, going so far as to lead UK junior doctors to take strike action in early 2024. However, some organisations may find it especially difficult to raise salaries, so where possible, improved benefits can be helpful in attracting and retaining professionals.
Our survey revealed that over half of professionals (55%) are currently looking or considering looking for a new job. Two of the top-five reasons for people looking elsewhere pertain to the salary not being enough or being better elsewhere, with another top reason being that the benefits package isn’t sufficient.
These workforce issues need to be urgently resolved if the sector is to be successful and retain the UK’s reputation as a leader in healthcare. Pressures involving underinvestment, changing policies, staff shortages point to an overloaded system.
Analysis by the Health Foundation shows the NHS is on course for a waiting list of over eight million people for routine hospital treatment in England. The worrying data points to a need for preventive healthcare and holistic wellness strategies. Nutritionists, fitness experts, and public health professionals will be needed to educate communities and individuals about healthy living, thereby reducing the burden on the healthcare system.
What jobs does Reed’s health and care salary guide cover?
Our 2024 health and care salary guide will provide you with direction on salaries and benefits for some of the most prominent roles in the sectors, including:
Doctor
General practitioner
Registered mental health nurse
Dental nurse
Physiotherapist
The health and care sector offer rewarding careers for professionals, and creates opportunities for leaders looking to improve their services and attract top talent to deliver them.
Find out how much key roles in the health and care sectors can command, or see what you could be earning. Download the 2024 health and care salary guide using the button above now.
