To be outraged that prison officers get a 4k bonus for Covid overtime, while NHS staff have got nothing?

[PPEcompensatoryeyeliner]

www.lowdownnhs.info/news/covid-19-bonuses-for-prison-staff-what-about-care-workers/

I waa talking to a friend who works in a prison yesterday. They are receiving 4k bonuses for commiting to 9hrs a week overtime for 12 weeks. They are on the same pay scale as nurses.

I don't resent them bonuses, they a do hard and difficult job. But I know so many nurses who routinely do unpaid overtime to make sure things keep running and patients get care, and it's been repeatedly estimated that between 40-50% of nurses do 5hrs unpaid each week. I personally as a ward manager usually work at least an extra hour a day and have done for years, if I don't something is missed.

I think the government knew that NHS and care staff would work for free because we're needed to, and counted on this.

Nurses are paid overtime ,however I think what the Op means is when there's an incident in the ward or staff don't turn in ( regular occurrence ime)and the Nurse stays behind to help ,or when the Nurse is unable to take their unpaid break due to staff shortage also a regular occurrence, this is all supposed to go down as " Time Owing" ie you get it back at some point however in reality being able to take it back is as rare as hens teeth.

"up to 50% off weekly shop etc."
Neither I nor my colleuges got this, or the phone thing.
"Plus they had weeks of saving money due to donated takeaways, food and gifts."
Yes we did get this but I don't think many saved much money anyway its not the point week in week out we are struggling to do a jo that we believe in.
"Another forgotten area is nursing bank staff.Due to virtually everything other than CV and urgent/emergency work stopping, there have been months where no bank shifts have been needed in entire hospitals, unheard of before"
My trust carried on using bank staff, agency staff and even premium agency staff especially for specialised areas.

tiredwardsister

Good luck to the prison officers I hope they enjoy their bonus

The only appropriate response to hearing prison officers are getting a bit of extra cash (that tbf they are working for!)

Working conditions for prison officers are miles away from nurses and Healthcare practitioners

If they don't like it they should get their union to fight for one, just like the prison officers did

The only appropriate response to hearing prison officers are getting a bit of extra cash (that tbf they are working for!)

Yes true BUT this doesn't mean that the OP can't say that nurses also should be getting fair pay for hours worked. This is like saying that people working in Leicester sweat shops shouldn't be complaining that everyone else gets minimum wage.

Sure. I agree @LadyPrigsbottom

Just seems unnecessary to me to have brought prison officers into it in the first place really. Comes across as being a bit bitter I think and has obscured her true point which is allegedly the lack of pay for nursing overtime. Why bring a different profession into it?

@Bluemooon I've been involved in strike action as a nurse. Prison officers are actually banned from striking.

Most are privately owned so they can pay then what they choose...

Yes, I think the op was using this as a conversation starter and people have taken it as a personal insult to prison officers and the very difficult job they do. I don't think that was the point or the intention at all.

As to why POs are not on the same pay scale as nurses; nurses have to have degrees now, which no longer get extra funding (some extra funding has just been reintroduced, but it's something like £5k per year, when uni fees are circa £9k per year). They have to pay back any student loans out of their wages, so possibly this is taken into account when pay is set, but obviously I don't know.

Nurses ARE paid overtime. It’s untrue to say they are not. They are on professional pay scales that rise with seniority and expertise. Like any other profession. They are not doctors. They could retrain as doctors and get double the money but usually they have lower A levels so they couldn’t become doctors in the first place. That’s why the pay is less. Less training too. However the public services still have great pensions and this is part of remuneration.

Not all nhs staff worked in Covid and don’t forget other nhs services have been non existent. Specialists in other areas of medicine ground to a halt. That’s why we will now have more cancer deaths. Lots of operations are now on hold. The staff are still paid. No ones been furloughed. I’m well overdue for an eye operation. What have the eye surgeons been doing? Not a lot presumably. Or the staff in the eye department. Nhs staff at times are overwhelmed but others haven’t been. It’s been the same in schools. The prison officers haven’t got rid of prisoners. They are full. The schools were virtually empty. Social services cut right down on visits. Ditto anyone with a person facing role. They haven’t worked at anything like capacity and we will notice this with domestic violence figures. The police had very little to do. No cars about. Etc. It wasn’t an equal lockdown!

Most teachers were at home during the whole lockdown with the odd day in to mind the key worker kids. How they have racked up unpaid overtime is beyond me. I'm sure there are a few teachers who have gone above and beyond (my DCs headteacher for one) but the vast majority have had an easy time of it.

This is very ignorant, not at all based in reality. I am not a teacher, btw!

@tiredwardsister

You and your colleagues should have kept up to date with discounts. Lots of these still available but some out of date.

www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/nhs-staff-offers/

www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjE5OeIsNbqAhWU7u0KHZA6CQMYABAAGgJkZw&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASE-Ro5sm_C-ihgF7oV9dAw7mUgW0&sig=AOD64_2vrnW7smJjcnaYtaJbgB8mna5RlA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjsseKIsNbqAhVRhlwKHZKmDVUQ0Qx6BAgPEAE

Unlimited data on EE still seems to be available too.

Doesn’t every salaried employee in every sector end up doing “unpaid overtime”? I don’t think I’ve ever worked in a role where I’ve worked my 7.5 hours to the minute.

It’s very true! No clsssroom management. No parents to see. No pastoral care. Just a few worksheets and no marking! Of course it was less work! No early starts to prepare the classroom and no parents evening. No sports matches. It’s been less work! There are always people who make out that they have worked all hours but how could they with virtually no children in school. I bet in secondary schools art teachers worked really hard. What about all the sports teachers? What did they do with no sport? Music anyone? What about prepping those science labs? People did some work but not at the pace or intensity of before. No working out progress or assessment either. It’s really easy to convince outsiders you’ve worked hard when those people have no idea of what teachers actually do. They haven’t taught lessons and there’s are lot of evidence where thousands of parents are tearing their hair out over lack of education from schools of even contact. Again, not something a prison officer could expect. However that’s not a degree led “profession” so it is a race to the bottom of pay scales!

Good for them it’s a very very challenging role

Believe me if we get a bonus many in here will be bitching. Many were about our discounts for take aways and that some got free food

@Babs709

Doesn’t every salaried employee in every sector end up doing “unpaid overtime”? I don’t think I’ve ever worked in a role where I’ve worked my 7.5 hours to the minute.

Well said, there has to be some goodwill everywhere in all professions.

If people want to work to rule, employers will quickly realise there is 3m-4m unemployed quing for their jobs at the end of furlough.......

I think there are many professions which have been overlooked during the pandemic. NHS had a weekly clap and a whole range of benefits that other frontline workers haven't had. Not all NHS staff have been dealing with covid patients.
Think about;
Bin men/refuse collectors
Mortuary workers
Funeral directors
Bus drivers
Care workers
Staff in old people's homes
Police

Personally I would not want to work in a prison - let alone during a pandemic.

I'm sure there are issues working in mental health - but pretty sure lots of prisoners have mental health issues.

I don't begrudge prison officers getting extra pay for overtime.

I'm a teacher and regularly work over time.

What are all the other benefits that nhs workers have ?

@EnthusiasmIsDisturbed

Discounts or work benefits?

Pension (though that's dwindled over the years). I have over 10 yrs service so 33 days leave a year plus 8 BHs. Six months full sick pay then six months half. Unions (I think everyone is a member now unless they pay private indemnity insurance) have hardship grants you can apply for and provide legal help if under investigation etc.

I'm frontline supermarket.

We weren't offered overtime. They took on kids whose colleges and unis had shut down to cover the extra shifts caused by colleagues going on lockdown or shielding.

We carried on normal hours, being coughed on, shouted at, etc etc with no extra pay available at all (although we did get a £100 bonus in May). But that's because it's OUR JOB.

EVERYONE who worked through in a role that meant dealing with the public in ANY CAPACITY should be remunerated somehow. Not just for the overtime but because they were heading to work never knowing if they might get ill overnight and never work again. No furlough, no WFH, no extra pay.

Imagine being a nurse working in a prison and finding this out.
Yay for equality.

@EnthusiasmIsDisturbed 10% off domino pizzas.

They are not benefits they are what workers should have

I got a better pension/same holiday/benefits when I worked in private sector (not health care)

discounts what the 20% off a take away after I’ve done hours and hours of unpaid over time

And the Blue Light cars also offers these and online there is discounts if you search

Imagine NHS staff got a bonus too it wouldn’t be long before the its so unfair remarks would start even if it was only for those that were working directly with covid during lockdown

I think nhs staff were entitled to a free pizza from dominos too

Working in prisons is difficult at the best of times, never mind with no PPE and prisoners confined to their cells with no visits. I'm actually surprised, and impressed, that there haven't been riots and I think prison officers deserve some recognition.

I think they don't get paid the same as nurses, either. They were also having to manage a situation they were not trained for nor expecting to have to, in the shape of a pandemic, whereas nurses were looking after sick people, which is their job.

I don't agree with the cuts to the NHS which mean wards and services are understaffed, and so on, but on this occasion I think YABU.