- Conference
- 2022 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 9 December 2021
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is deeply concerned by the race to the bottom approach that is being taken across the country around pay and conditions for NHS bank work. Although, it is not the solution to the ever-growing staff crisis in the NHS, it is recognised that the flexibility that bank working arrangements provides is beneficial to some staff. What is troubling however is the trend towards NHS Trusts picking away at the terms of those bank working agreements and the sickening rates of pay that are offered to staff to undertake this much needed work. NHS bank working agreements must mirror Agenda for Change terms. In addition to this, rates of pay must at a minimum match Agenda for Change pay scales.
Regardless of the so-called agency cap, Trusts are reaching more and more to staffing agencies, such as Thornberry, to bolster their staffing numbers. Despite the eye-watering rates that are charged by these organisations, a fraction of it is received by the agency worker, with a large portion falling into company profits and shareholder dividends. A preferable solution is to see bank rates of pay being bolstered so as to attract sufficient staff to undertake this work as and when needed, which would in return then see savings delivered to an NHS in deep financial crisis. There have been several successful agreements reached between UNISON led staff sides and Trusts around the country that have seen uplifted rates of pay attributed to Bank work, which has assisted those Trusts in alleviating staffing pressures and benefited our members in being paid properly for the work they undertake.
Conference calls on the service group executive to:
1. Work with the NEC and other unions to campaign for the ceasing of rogue NHS Bank work agreements which move away from mirroring Agenda for Change terms and conditions.
2. Seek an agreement through the NHS Staff Council to establish a proper set of national bank rates to be adopted by all NHS Providers which will seek to at least surpass the real living wage as a minimum for entry banded NHS work.