NHS Pay award

[Thedogscollar]

So this is what they have come back with from the insulting 1% offer by increasing it to a paltry 3%.
Workers are leaving in their droves we have a massive deficit in nursing and midwifery which is worsening daily.

I work in the South East of England, we are hugely affected with shortages in staffing, virtually every 12.5 hrs shift I do we cannot have a break due to work acuity and lack of staff. We have junior staff in tears with the pressure put upon them.
We aren't paid for our break and we are hard pushed to get it back as time owing. We cover empty shifts on the bank over and above our contracted hours as we know how hard it is for our colleagues in there.
We are all reaching breaking point some are there now and gone off sick. It is exhausting physically but more so mentally as you know before you even get to work what it's going to be like.

I have payslips going back 10 plus years and in that time my salary has barely changed and I am at the top of my band.

Our management team held an urgent meeting the other day to discuss the crisis going on within our trust with staffing and work acuity. Nothing was really dealt with just more management speak.

This government has to look after the NHS staff that have given so much and still are. Staff retention is in crisis and by offering this paltry pay rise they are doing nothing to stop this disaster becoming a momentous catastrophe resulting in even worsening patient safety levels being eroded even more.

How on earth can this government justify 30 plus billions for track n trace and HSS yet not offer a decent pay rise to NHS workers and in that I include care workers too.

Boris and co should hang their heads in shame but as per they think they are doing so well in offering us anything.

I'm sure I will have people coming on now to say they have lost jobs and taken paycuts and for that I am truly sorry but this cannot be used as an arguement for a huge group of essential workers being financially and emotionally abused by their employer which is exactly what this government are doing.

[OdetoMyFamily]

Are nurses/mid wives leaving mainly because of their pay or because of what sounds like back breaking shifts for ward staff?

NHS needs totally reforming. It's worth bearing in mind though that the NHS is a huge employer, the jobs are pretty secure and the pension excellent.

[Thedogscollar]

@OdetoMyFamily
Hi thanks for your reply. In answer I'd say a bit of both. When I started in the NHS in the 80's it was a job for life hence I'm still there but the students we are attracting now some already have degrees and other qualifications.

Some of them look at the job as temporary for a few years then transfer to something else non clinical with better hours etc.
Yes the jobs are secure and the NHS pension is good although it has changed drastically since I started and the students starting now will not have as good a deal as I got.
Yes the NHS needs a huge reform it needs to be more efficient and streamlined in the right departments.

While the shifts are long and hard all we are asking for is a decent wage for 12.5 hrs hard graft.

[ChainJane]

3% seems pretty generous to me considering many people in the private sector are getting nothing at all. The BBC report I read said the average nurse would be getting an extra thousand a month because of it.

NHS staff are in the fortunate position that their jobs are never going to be made redundant, a comfort few employees have these days.

[ShitPoetryClub]

Oh God OP, I'm completely with you but MN hates the NHS and I'm sure you'll get people along telling you that you should be grateful to work there at all.
After 30 years I'm in the process of leaving, the 1 percent (after I nearly died working on a covid ward, and several colleagues did) was the final fucking insult for me.

[Howshouldibehave]

Completely agree with you, it’s disgusting.

I see teachers are getting no pay rise at all-I can’t imagine anyone will care much about that either!

Would be interesting to look at MP pay rises over the last ten years.

[Thedogscollar]

@ChainJane
With all respect I think an extra £1000 a month is way way out.
As said in my OP whilst I genuinely feel sorry for people getting nothing out of this government that does not justify making the NHS another casualty in the shambolic way this government governs.

[ShitPoetryClub]

Extra thousand a month, as if!
Jesus wept.
Can you link to that report please so that I can complain to the BBC properly.

[EeeByeGummieBear]

@ChainJane

3% seems pretty generous to me considering many people in the private sector are getting nothing at all. The BBC report I read said the average nurse would be getting an extra thousand a month because of it.

NHS staff are in the fortunate position that their jobs are never going to be made redundant, a comfort few employees have these days.

An extra thousand a month for a 3% pay rise! No wonder people think NHS staff are overpaid. I'd love to see the maths for that report.
It's a vicious cycle. Staff are leaving because they can get the same money or more working elsewhere. The staff who are left are buckling under the pressure, due to lack of staff. All the benefits of working for the NHS (job security, good pension) are slowly being eroded so new staff aren't interested.
The government is putting money into training staff, but not looking at the issue with staff retention. They are saying it's down to individual Trust's, but their hands are tied due to lack of funding.

[Blossomtoes]

@ChainJane

3% seems pretty generous to me considering many people in the private sector are getting nothing at all. The BBC report I read said the average nurse would be getting an extra thousand a month because of it.

NHS staff are in the fortunate position that their jobs are never going to be made redundant, a comfort few employees have these days.

Nobody in the private sector has a job in any way comparable with front line NHS staff. I think you misread that report or the BBC has made an error - £1000 a year is more accurate.

I’m so glad you think it should be a race to the bottom and people spending their working lives looking after other people should just be grateful because people are always going to get sick.

[BuddhaAtSea]

@ChainJane

3% seems pretty generous to me considering many people in the private sector are getting nothing at all. The BBC report I read said the average nurse would be getting an extra thousand a month because of it.

NHS staff are in the fortunate position that their jobs are never going to be made redundant, a comfort few employees have these days.

An extra thousand a year. Before tax. Take NI and tax out, which totals to 31%, you’re left with £690. Divide that by 12, that’s £57.5 a month. £14.37 a week.

[SingingWaffleDoggy]

It’s a viscous circle from my experience @OdetoMyFamily. They are leaving because the real life pay cut (due to minimal pay rises offset by inflation over the past decade or so) means that people are not enticed into the profession (cutting the bursary did not help either) nor given a financial incentive to stay, which causes the shortage of staff, leading to a stressful and unfulfilling career.
Generally speaking, nurses aren’t in it for the money but for the job satisfaction. When you can’t give people the care they deserve it’s disheartening.

[Thedogscollar]

@ShitPoetryClub

Oh God OP, I'm completely with you but MN hates the NHS and I'm sure you'll get people along telling you that you should be grateful to work there at all.
After 30 years I'm in the process of leaving, the 1 percent (after I nearly died working on a covid ward, and several colleagues did) was the final fucking insult for me.

Yes I genuinely think until you have experienced it you can't quite believe it. I do not mean that in an insulting way to anyone not NHS here but it really puts everything in perspective.
Good luck and enjoy your retirement you deserve it @ShitPoetryClub

[DrManhattan]

@BuddhaAtSea
Extra £1K a month

12% is not gonna happen.

[AnneLovesGilbert]

How much would make a difference?

[Kittyswhiskers]

It costs me £25 a week just to park (nhs nurse) so the pay rise hasn’t even covered my parking 🤣

[Souther]

@ChainJane

3% seems pretty generous to me considering many people in the private sector are getting nothing at all. The BBC report I read said the average nurse would be getting an extra thousand a month because of it.

NHS staff are in the fortunate position that their jobs are never going to be made redundant, a comfort few employees have these days.

I doubt it's a 1000 a month. I think I they said around 1000 a year but I think even that is an exaggeration

[Amijustagrump]

DP is NHS and I'm a teacher. Both feeling very let down! It they went for the 10% increase DP wouldn't be leaving, but this has made up his mind.

[June2008]

I guess as the award is for all NHS staff as opposed to just public facing staff the award has to be capped at something affordable. What would be better is to give a bonus to those who have been doing the gallant on the wards. There are an awful lot of NHS staff who haven't been under the pressure that frontline/ward staff have been under so should they be getting the same?

[Stompythedinosaur]

The propose pay increase is 3% spread over the next three years, not 3% in one year. This is after a decade of pay cuts which have resulted in a nurse of my grade being paid 20% less than they were ten years ago.

There is no way to seperate whether nurses are leaving because of pay or because of the difficulties of the job - the pay is poor so there aren't enough nurses, which means every shift you are understaffed and having to do work intended for several nurses. Pay is clearly not a seperate issue to the staffing crisis.

[Peaplant20]

I’m glad it’s gone up from 1% but agree they deserve more! I’m a teacher so getting nothing but the NHS are amazing. What would nhs staff get on a normal year? Also I wouldn’t be bothered if I genuinely believed there was no budget for it but i don’t believe that, it’s just about what they want to prioritise.

[Workyticket]

It's disgusting op.

Not helped by an NHS nurse interviewed on a news chanel rhe other week who had no clue what the pay rise actually meant and guessed at a figure she was expecting - she was way out and made the pay rise look decent. I was shouting at the telly.

I'm a teacher in FE. our employer is giving us a one off £500 (pre tax) bonus in lieue of a pay rise.

[OdetoMyFamily]

While the shifts are long and hard all we are asking for is a decent wage for 12.5 hrs hard graft

How many 12.5 hr shifts do you do per week?
What is the salary range for midwives? Do you get shift allowances? How much does NHS pay into your pension?

[Noterook]

Sadly that's the public sector for you. Remember when they made loads of armed forces redundant after Afghanistan just before they reached their qualifying period for their pensions (and then begged for them back)? No one has really had a reasonably pay rise in line with inflation, its a sad reality and explains why so many qualified and great workers across various trades and sectors move over to the private sector.

I don't think a pay rise will actually solve much though, investment should be made in trying to sort the fundamental issues that make working so challenging. I don't think many people when they're on their knees will say ah it's alright though as I now get x extra a month.

[Quickchangeartiste]

Preface this by saying I am a huge supporter of and believer in the concept of the NHS. The NHS saved my life, I have experienced US medicine and we are so lucky in the UK.
It’s time for a serious discussion around this. I have only ever worked in the private sector and attitudes to pay were very different. Pay for performance does not appear to exist in the public sector. Hence patient facing staff are not differentiated from others when it comes to pay awards. Staff who do not pull their weight, are entitled to the same raise as those who give there all. Performance issues are supposed to be managed but in talking to friends working in the NHS it is nearly impossible to do.
This needs to change ( and good luck with that) so that even if the budget is modest, individual raises can reflect individual contributions,

[Noterook]

@June2008

I guess as the award is for all NHS staff as opposed to just public facing staff the award has to be capped at something affordable. What would be better is to give a bonus to those who have been doing the gallant on the wards. There are an awful lot of NHS staff who haven't been under the pressure that frontline/ward staff have been under so should they be getting the same?

How do you fairly distinguish though? Yes there's those who have been working directly with covid patients, but there are also those who have been doing exceptionally long days (without overtime or time in lieu) during covid- who decides who is more deserving?