People complaining about their 'bonus'

[extramoney]

Reading a thread about the NHS bonus and everyone unhappy that it's not as much as they expected because of deductions

Made me think that actually people are a bit entitled. we all get taxed on bonus, we should just be grateful we've had some extra.

The sooner it’s privatised the better

Yep. Privatisation has worked well for the railways, utilities and the royal mail. I mean what could possibly go wrong?

Is that you Rishi?

I've worked in the NHS since I was 16. I worked 50+ hours per week during Covid even though I worked from home, so not all of us sat around doing nothing. I've been taxed over £3k this month. Yes it was expected, but it doesn't make it easier to swallow!

Can you give an example of one public service that works better after privatisation?

No matter how many times this gets repeated, people don’t listen. “My family member just retired at 55 set for life though” yes! Because he is old enough to have got the amazing pension! It doesn’t exist for the majority of NHS workers any more!

They used to be when I was younger. Pretty sure it was Labour that removed the ability to give tax free bonuses as too many people/companies were abusing them to avoid tax. Which makes sense really.

I'm not sure this makes the point you think it does, annual bonuses are but a dream nowadays in the public sector so no, some won't be familiar with the fact they'd invariably be better off in the private sector.

Pre privatisation it took weeks or months to get a phone line, and you got a limited choice of phones - you couldn’t buy them elsewhere.

Pre privatisation the UK car industry was a basket case. Now it’s successful, albeit mainly foreign owned, and employees more people than it did back in the day.

Pre privatisation British Airways was a basket case with appalling customer service that lost money. Now it’s a commercial, profit making businesses. You get the customer service and product you pay for though, unfortunately!

Pre privatisation trains were old, clapped out and dirty, and the whole thing lost money. You had limited choices of fares. Nowadays, on the whole trains are relatively modern, air conditioned and a whole lot better at actually running, except when they’re on strike which, fortunately, happens far less than it did when they were nationalised. Rose tinted glasses in play if anyone thinks that the service then was better than todays, and it had more accidents (employee and trains)

Pre privatisation airports were dirt, old, run down places. Now they are, on the whole, modern and well invested. And too busy! But they are now net contributors to the exchequer.

Pre privatisation British Steel was costing the taxpayer over £1 billion a year, on a turnover of £3 billion.

Water and sewerage industry was a pointless privatisation, on the whole. And I’m not sure privatising electricity distribution was sensible, though on the generation side huge amounts have gone into renewable and alternative source energies than would have been unlike to happen in a state run business. But we have lost the strategic planning, as OFGEM or whoever is responsible (some form of quango) have failed, and been let down by the planning system as well I expect.

Some analysis post privatisation showed that in the year to March 1980 the 33 businesses that were privatised cost cost the taxpayer just under £500 million (£2 billion in todays money), and post privatisation in 1987 the same companies contributed £8.4 billion (£23 billion in todays money).

So for most, if you lose the rose tinted glasses, service improved and the taxpayer was way better off year on year, ignoring the one off receipts that also averaged £3.5 billion a year between 1984 and 1994 (a total of around £80 billion to the exchequer in todays money).

@3BSHKATS what do you think a privatised NHS looks like? Where are you anticipating all these private hospitals, private staff and rapid access to treatment is going to pop up from when they decide you have to pay for it? It's not currently hidden behind some secret door just waiting to be opened.

Decades after it's brought in, yes the money will trickle through to slowly look like that but the period in between will be an expensive, members of the public moaning more than they are now, shit show.

so much to ask here I don't where to start really.

To reiterate, anyone who joined the NHS after 2008 will get a worse person that those that joined before then.

In line with just about every other profession. final salary schemes were scrapped about 20 years ago in the private sector.
Objectively, are civil service pensions better or worse than private sector pensions these days? I would bet they are better, not as good as they were I am sure, but still better than most.

So all you handwringers need not worry, the rest will be working just as long as you.

Good. But I am interested to know why you think that should not be the case.

But many are likely to have had a much bigger physical toll than you too.

On what basis could you possibly make that ridiculous assumption?

'The race to the bottom' argument is usually used when there is no response to questions asked. No it should not be a,race to the bottom but it is a complete mystery to me why nurses consistently demand better than most other professions and somehow still have the rest of the population on side.

Things which have already been mentioned on this thread include paying for degrees, worse pensions and being taxed for back pay. Give it a few more hours and paying for parking will also be mentioned.

All of these things are exactly what just about every other profession has to put up with, so why are they cited as hardship for nurses? I don't get it.

All of these things are exactly what just about every other profession has to put up with, so why are they cited as hardship for nurses? I don't get it.

@Katypp it isn't different for nurses or doctors or anyone else in public sector roles. The difference comes from the public (you) whether you want to be able to access these services? If you don't. Fine. They don't need to exist and every one should stop moaning and leave.

If you do think there is a need for a health service etc then you need to make the pay and conditions appealing.

It doesn't matter one bit whether you think they are paid too much or too little or should shut up moaning or agree with them - the only thing that matters is that new members of the public want to become these roles and will go through the training and years on the floor to provide the service the public wants.

@snoopybus

Charity sector actually - not private sector and we don't need to race to the bottom - we are already there

Point one - I merely stated a fact. I have no opinion.

point two - I merely stated a fact. I made no comment at all about thinking NHS deserved better than private sector at any time in this thread.

point three - that ridiculous assumption is based on many (and note I said many, not all) NHS jobs are physical from the age of 21 upwards. Far more physical than any desk job.

I have not made a single comment about a race to the bottom. Or the pros and cons of public or private. I have merely set the record straight from the Ill informed “all nurses get to retire with a cushy pension at 55” posters which is not true for the majority still working.

It is you that has projected all of that on to me.

We need nurses, id certainly like to know if I needed to access healthcare I could do! I do think some professions are worth more to society also and I won't apologise for that.

Also pensions have long been the carrot for the public sector. People have accepted being paid less than their contemporaries for the 'perks' which have massively been eroded

My private pension is roughly inline with my NHS pension contribution wise.

Just realised autocorrect did me no favours by changing “gave no opinion” to “have no opinion” 🙄

Bloody hell me too. Last 2 shifts 24 bedded maternity ward so add 12 babies on as well between 2 midwives maternal observations, baby observations, meds, iv abx on mothers and babies, breastfeeding support, equipment checks, phone constantly ringing plus ward door ringing. 2 midwives. No breaks off late.
Common occurrence.
Unsafe and fed up.
We deserve so much more.

Pre privatisation the UK car industry was a basket case. Now it’s successful, albeit mainly foreign owned, and employees more people than it did back in the day.

As far as I know the UK car industry was never nationalised in the first place.

I have merely set the record straight from the Ill informed “all nurses get to retire with a cushy pension at 55” posters which is not true for the majority still working.

To set it even straighter, the retirement age of 55 is only for people in certain specific clinical roles; who started in that role before March 1995; who have not have more than 5 years break from NHS employment (or from paying into the pension); and who are still doing that role when they turn 55.)

First bit of that should have been bold.

Anyone besides me wondering what the overlap of people complaining about paying taxes for this bonus/back pay and the ones that think more taxes are needed to fund the NHS is?

Just musing 💭

No one I know is complaining about paying taxes. But they ARE complaining about it screwing up universal credit etc. £200 a year over 5 years is very different to £1000 in one lump sum when it comes to universal credit.

A friend is about £1500 under neath the child benefit limit. £300 a year would make no difference. But now she needs to work out paying back child benefit which is a bloody pain and means she's given money in one hand, and it's taken back with the other.

I have private medical insurance and have accessed private medical care in the last week. It’s currently, there it’s available.

I would strongly urge anybody who could afford it to buy it. I think we do need an NHS in some form to patch people up basically. But if you actually want your problem resolving you’re going to need to pay for it going forward. We are already at that point, so let’s just get on with it.