Health workers had been in line for a 2.1% pay rise before the pandemic, the head of NHS England has confirmed.
The government has suggested staff may get 1% this year - sparking an angry backlash from doctors and nurses.
Sir Simon Stevens told MPs he wanted workers to get "proper reward" for their efforts and he could "see the attraction" of a one-off bonus.
But he backed the government's overall approach to the dispute, saying it should be up to a pay review panel.
Labour says the 1% rise recommended for this year amounts to a pay cut, once inflation has been taken into account.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "The head of the NHS has confirmed what we already knew: the Conservatives have broken their promise to the NHS and are cutting nurses' pay."
He told an audience at the IPPR think tank that the 1% pay award was "morally obnoxious" and was "only going to exacerbate the under-staffing issues we have in the NHS".
Ministers will make their final decision in May after the independent panel makes its own pay recommendations for 2021/22.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the 1% rise, saying it was as much as the government could afford "at the present time".
Nurses have described it as "insulting", with unions threatening strike action and warning that the "pitiful" rise may lead staff to quit their jobs - worsening staffing issues in the health service.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak paid tribute to "all those working on the frontline of our NHS and other public services" at Treasury questions in the Commons.
He said the government had "exempted" the NHS from the public sector pay freeze and "NHS workers will receive a pay rise next year".
'Attractions' of bonus
Sir Simon told the Health and Social Care Committee he had budgeted for the 2.1% rise NHS workers had expected but "things have changed" since 2019.
He added: "You would expect the head of the health service to want to see properly rewarded NHS staff, particularly given everything that the service has been through over the course of the last year.
"And so I think the right way to resolve this is the path the government has actually set out, which is to ask the independent pay review bodies to look at all of the evidence... and be able to independently make a fair recommendation so that NHS staff get the pay and reward that they deserve."
Some Conservative MPs are calling for a one-off bonus, of the kind offered to NHS staff in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as a "thank you" for their efforts during the pandemic.
Asked about this idea, Sir Simon said: "That's a discussion to be had in the round, whether that or whether underlying other action is the right approach, obviously we can see the attractions of that but that might not be the only answer."
What do NHS workers in England earn?
- The lowest minimum full-time salary - for newly-employed drivers, housekeeping assistants, nursery assistants and domestic support workers - is £18,005 per year
- The starting salary for most newly-qualified nurses is £24,907
- Staff in "high-cost areas", such as London, get extra payments
The NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is run by the devolved administrations.
The Scottish government has announced that 2021-22 pay negotiations will be delayed until the summer - staff have been given an "interim" pay rise of 1%, which will form part of the new settlement.
NHS workers in Northern Ireland were promised a one-off £500 "special recognition" payment in January; and the Welsh government has said it will not set a "ceiling" of 1% on NHS pay rises for 2021-22.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiL2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLXBvbGl0aWNzLTU2MjYwMDM40gEzaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL3VrLXBvbGl0aWNzLTU2MjYwMDM4?oc=5
2021-03-09 12:47:15Z
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