NHS Pay Blog
By Jon Skewes on 26 July 2018 Pay and Agenda For Change
Now that pay day has been and gone, I thought it was worth returning to the issue of NHS pay in England.
The pay agreement and reform of Agenda for Change which was agreed by members last month combines both a pay award for those at the top of the band and for those not at the top of their band increases due to a combination of incremental progression and structural reform. This has now been agreed by the NHS Staff Council and incorporated in to the Agenda for Change contract. The information that we have supplied to members during our consultation and since has been consistent with the above.
We know that the changes are complicated and mean different things for different individuals; this is why a joint pay calculator was developed so that members of all the NHS Trade Unions were and are looking at the same information. The calculator demonstrates the changes in both percentages and real terms. That information is correct and the same figures are used as those on the NHS Employers Website though they are presented in slightly different ways.
For current staff not at the top of their pay band as of 1st April 2018 the next three years is a journey which takes the majority of members to the top of the band. It is no longer the case that you move as of now from one increment to another as the incremental structure changes – instead the pay calculator describes the individual’s pay journey. The figures on the pay calculator are correct and use the same figures as those on the NHS Employers website but in slightly different ways.
For those at the top of the pay band the 3% increase this year is as of 1st April this year. We are aware now that members have been paid in July that there may be some issues locally with payroll arrangements. If this is the case please if any detriment happens to your pay contact us direct, alice.sorby@rcm.org.uk . In most cases the pay award has been applied in July but backdated pay including unsocial hours won’t be paid until August.
You can visit the pay calculator here:
FAQs are held on NHS Employers website:
http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/2018-contract-refresh/questions-and-answers
There are also resources on the NHS Employers website here:
There is also a no detriment clause in the agreement to ensure that no one is worse off. Again contact alice.sorby@rcm.org.uk if any detriment happens to your pay as it would almost certainly be a payroll error.
In Scotland and Wales we are currently consulting members on proposals there, in Northern Ireland we continue to campaign for pay parity between healthcare staff in Northern Ireland and those employed elsewhere in the UK.