Wages

Practices have faced a complex web of challenges in recruitment and retention especially in the last couple of years. The rise in the cost of living has meant that practices are competing for new staff whilst absorbing above average increases in wages, just to keep pace. All the while, consistent below-inflation contract uplifts have meant any extra income is immediately taken up by running costs. Those practices who support dental foundation training have similarly only recently seen their first funding increase in over a decade, and by only 1.68%.

Practice owners have three simultaneous changes to consider when hiring staff, along with the aforementioned market pressures. Firstly, the rate for the minimum wage, or National Living Wage as it is now known, has risen by 6.7% this year. The minimum wage has risen steadily since first implementation 25 years ago and had gone up from £10.42 in 2023 to £11.44 (1). From April 2025 it has gone up to a new rate for those 21 and over to £12.21. (2)

In the October 2024 budget the Government changed the payment thresholds for employers’ class 1 National Insurance contributions. Later this year, the Government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill will come into force, changing many of the obligations on small businesses to support their staff.

In this section we will explore the current trends in retention and recruitment, the impact of the changes to the minimum wage, NICs and the Employment Rights Bill are explained in detail in our final section.

The dental team

We know from our research that competition for dental nurses and other non-dentist staff has been impacted by the rise in the cost of living. Anecdotally, dental care professionals (DCPs) such as dental hygienists are commanding higher fees.

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