- Conference
- 2024 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 8 December 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the framework agreement for the 2018, 3-year pay deal, required the NHS Staff Council to explore the scope for a collective framework agreement on bank and agency workers. (Section 5.2)
This was further referenced in last year’s 2023 Annual report (SGE Work plan): “lead and progress staff council work stream around framework for bank terms and conditions”.
No such framework has been forthcoming.
Conference recognises the other work that has taken place culminating in the June 2023 Health Circular ‘How to build a better bank contract’, which provided guidance to branches to address certain themes (building on previous years motions) including:
• Exploitation
• Inconsistency of pay terms and conditions
• Inappropriate utilisation (including being used instead of paying overtime to substantive staff) and health and safety concerns
Surveying staff and building an earnings max strand was also part of the SGE Work plan.
Conference also notes that bank workers were not included in the 2023 pay deal for the non-consolidated pay element and that many employers told us that if they had had the funding from government to pay them that bank workers would also have received those payments.
This good work needs bolstering with the realisation of this framework agreement and to deliver the stated campaigning, organising and bargaining opportunities highlighted by the 2023 pay round.
Conference, therefore, instructs the SGE:
1. To work with the Staff Council to finally deliver on this framework agreement so it is made clear to Trusts that they need to treat their bank staff in a fair, consistent and equitable manner, both in comparison to substantive staff and between different organisations.
2. To attempt to ensure bank workers are, in future, included in any pay agreements involving non-consolidated payments by attempting to negotiate funding from Government for such workers to receive these payments.
South West Region