FAQS
Pay the Placement is a student-led campaign launched by Essex Students’ Union calling for fair pay and better support for nursing and healthcare students on placement.
Right now, students are completing essential work in healthcare settings while facing significant financial pressure. This campaign is about changing that.
Healthcare students are:
- Supporting real patients
- Working long shifts
- Contributing to frontline services
But they are doing this unpaid, while covering their own costs.
This creates financial pressure, impacts wellbeing, and risks students being unable to complete their courses.
The campaign focuses on three key areas:
- Paid placements - If students are doing essential work, they should be paid.
- National change - We support calls for a full review of healthcare student funding to reflect the reality of placement-based courses.
- Local action - While national change takes time, universities and partners can take steps now to better support students.
Many courses include placements, including teaching, social work and physiotherapy.
However, healthcare students are required to complete some of the highest number of placement hours, often over 2,300 hours.
We are starting here because the scale and impact of the issue is particularly significant. The aim is also to open up wider conversations about placements across higher education.
Yes.
Students on placement are:
- Supporting patients
- Assisting clinical teams
- Working alongside qualified staff
In many cases, they are treated as part of the workforce while still being in training.
Healthcare students complete over 2,300 hours of placement across their course.
These are often structured like full-time work, including early starts, late finishes and weekend shifts, alongside academic study.
Placements come with real, ongoing costs, including:
- Travel to and from placement
- Parking
- Food during long shifts
- Uniforms and equipment
- Childcare for some students
These costs quickly add up, especially when students are not being paid.
For many students, this is extremely difficult.
Placement hours are often full-time and inflexible, making it hard to maintain a part-time job. This can leave students with limited options to support themselves financially.
Some students may receive limited support, such as bursaries or loans.
However, this often does not reflect the reality of placement costs or time commitment, leaving many students under financial pressure.
This is a national policy issue.
Our role is to highlight the problem and ensure student voices are heard. Decisions about funding would need to be made by government in collaboration with the NHS and higher education sector.
No.
This campaign is about improving the system, not placing blame. We recognise the important role universities and healthcare providers play.
The aim is to work together to ensure students are properly supported.
The petition calls on government to:
- Recognise the financial pressures facing healthcare students
- Review current funding arrangements
- Introduce fairer support, including payment for placements
Reaching 100,000 signatures means the issue can be considered for debate in Parliament.
At 100,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
This creates an opportunity to raise the issue nationally and push for change.
Pay the Placement Campaign Week (11–17 May 2026) is a coordinated national push to:
- Drive petition signatures
- Raise awareness
- Amplify student voices
Students’ Unions and universities across the UK will be taking part.
No.
The campaign started at Essex but is now growing nationally, with multiple Students’ Unions and universities already involved.
The aim is to create sector-wide change.
Alongside the national campaign, Essex SU is working on local initiatives to support healthcare students, including:
- Highlighting the real cost of placements
- Exploring ways to reduce financial pressure
- Providing practical support where possible
We’re working with Students’ Unions, universities and organisations across the UK.
Partners can:
- Promote the campaign
- Encourage students to sign and share the petition
- Take part in Campaign Week
- Amplify the message through their networks
This is about fairness across the student experience.
No student should be expected to:
- Work long hours
- Take on real responsibility
- Support essential services
…without pay.
It’s also about the future of healthcare. Supporting students now helps ensure a strong and sustainable workforce for everyone.