The government can expect a “backlash” if it goes ahead with a proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff in England next year, a nursing union has warned.

The health department has made the recommendation in a submission to the independent panel that advises on NHS salaries.

The Royal College of Nursing called the suggested rise “pitiful” and said nurses should be getting 12.5% more.

NHS staff have been excluded from a pay freeze for most public sector workers.

The NHS Pay Review Body is due to recommend salary levels for health service staff before early May, before ministers then make a final decision.

In its submission, the health department said awarding NHS staff a “headline” pay increase of more than 1% “would require re-prioritisation”.

According to the Department of Health, the first apprentice nurses could be working on wards from September, and once established, up to 1,000 apprentice nurses could join the NHS each year.

Aspiring nurses will join the apprenticeship at different stages, depending on their qualifications and experience, and stay in work whilst learning. By offering staff who want to progress more flexibility, regardless of whether they are health care support workers or already working towards higher level qualifications, employers will be able to open up a career in nursing to people from all backgrounds.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt describes how “nurses are the lifeblood of our NHS, but the routes to a nursing degree currently shut out some of the most caring, compassionate staff in our country. I want those who already work with patients to be able to move into the jobs they really want and I know for many, this means becoming a nurse. Not everyone wants to take time off to study full time at university so by creating hundreds of new apprentice nurses, we can help healthcare assistants and others reach their potential as a fully trained nurse.”

In a speech at the NHS Providers conference on 30 November, the Health Secretary announced the new role as one in a series of measures to help improve the working lives of staff, including:

•improving working conditions by setting expectations about the use of e-rostering in Trusts, supported by up to £200,000, so Trusts can manage staff rotas and staffing levels on wards and staff can check rotas online and make requests; and

•confirming that statutory professional regulation is a necessary requirement for the new nursing associate role and asking the Nursing and Midwifery Council to begin this process, in the same way that it already does for nurses, and the GMC does for doctors.