Conference notes that the Planning Guidance for the NHS in England was published on 30 January 2025. Conference recognises the damage done by 14 years of Tory underfunding and the constrained financial position of the NHS across the UK as a result, even with the funding increases announced in the November 2024 Budget. And Conference […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that on 10 December 2024 the Department of Health and Social Care published its evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB). That evidence set out headline policy positions for the Westminster government including: a 2.8% funding allocation for recommendations from the NHS PRB in 2025/26 a request to the PRB to make […]
Health Conference notes with concern that: • Without consulting with staff, service users or the general public, the government suddenly announced on 13th March that NHS England (NHSE) will be abolished. The Prime Minister stated that this would “bring management of the NHS back into democratic control”. Yet we have no control over the changes […]
Conference notes that the National Health Service in England (NHSE) has adopted the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES), which have been vital tools in addressing systemic inequalities faced by Black and disabled workers. There are no equivalents in the devolved Nations. Currently, there is no specific workforce equality standard […]
The NHS Job Evaluation scheme is now 20 years old and remains an effective way of ensuring equal pay for work of equal value. Our branches have worked hard to maintain local partnership working and UNISON has continued to argue that local and national investment in the scheme is imperative. However, local implementation and awareness […]
Conferences recognises and applauds the low pay commission on their recommendations for the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage in 2024/25. Conference notes the definition of low pay within UNISON stands at any pay below £12.70 an hour. Conference acknowledges that low paid workers across the NHS in England and the devolved nations […]
Conference notes that the Unsocial Hours Payments covered in Section 2 of the Terms and Conditions Handbook have been subject to separate negotiations across the four nations since devolution. In England, the agreement that led to the abolition of Band I included reductions in enhancements for staff in Bands 1 to 3. Due to increases […]
Conference notes the grave funding and staffing crisis still facing the NHS, with recruitment freezes at many trusts despite over 100,000 jobs remaining unfilled. Conference believes that tackling this crisis and returning the NHS to a position of safe and sustainable staffing must be a top priority for a Labour government, and reaffirms UNISON’s opposition […]
Conference celebrates the successful year of LGBT+ workers marked in UNISON by organising and campaigning events across the union. LGBT+ workers make up an integral part of the workforce in the Health service group, estimated to make up 1 in 20 NHS workers, and it is important to celebrate their contributions and ensure that their […]
The staffing crisis in our NHS has resulted in an increasing reliance upon the labour of international workers. This trend is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Migrant workers are increasing in number because we need them. Without them, the staffing crisis and patient outcomes would be that much worse. Despite this fact, […]
This conference notes with concern that some NHS employers are not allowing employees to accrue bank holiday whilst off sick in their local policies. Some NHS employers are deducting hours for sickness from rolled up annual leave for bank holidays for employees who would not normally be rostered to work on a particular bank holiday. […]
Over recent years, many migrant workers have come to the UK to work in the NHS. This is a group of workers who have travelled from around the world to support a vital public service which is suffering from high vacancy rates particularly in healthcare support worker and nursing roles. UNISON has had regular, sustained […]
Conference understands that role erosion occurs when roles and responsibilities are gradually removed. The employer usually does this covertly, so staff are unaware of what’s happening. By the time staff notice what is happening, it is often when they are being faced with redundancy or potential downbanding. Conference believes this could be a hidden issue […]
Conference notes the establishment of wholly owned subsidiary companies within the National Health Service has raised significant concerns regarding the impact on patient care, staff conditions, and the overall ethos of public service in healthcare. These companies often operate within a framework that prioritises profit over patient outcomes, leading to fragmentation of services and a […]
Conference notes that NHS staff are increasingly accessing training through digital means. This includes online training and training provided via Microsoft Teams. Many NHS training courses have been streamlined to cater for this shift to digital learning and this is supported by e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH). Conference understands that many NHS staff struggle to find […]