Why is the NHS so generous with their employee leave

[Ionlywentandbloodydidit]

Maybe I’m just jealous plain and simple.
I work really hard in a patient facing private sector clinical role ( not transferable to NHS) , long hours, huge amounts of stress and responsibility just like NHS workers . Four weeks holiday , no sick pay , no time off for GP, dentist appointments etc . Not just me , this is completely normal in my industry.
The NHS is on its knees , I see it every day , I’m privately employed but am also registered with NHS as a performer ( it’s complicated ) .
I have several friends who work within the NHS as nurses, midwife’s etc . They are all mostly on eight weeks holiday per annum , regularly on leave for months at a time on full pay for various reasons such as two months for a miscarriage, six months for the death of a very elderly parent or a bad back or stress etc.
They will all receive a good pension .
I’m so intrigued ( and envious I admit ) at how the NHS can be so generous with tax payers money.
Im ashamed to say I’m beginning to resent my NHS friends some of whom are quite brazen with it, especially when I also see first hand how long waiting lists are for consultations / ops for my own patients / family etc .

If the NHS is that amazing to work for, and the terms and conditions so superior to those in the private sector, why is there a recruitment and retention crisis?

NHS employees are all taxpayers.

Not in the sense that they contribute anything to total tax revenue. The tax public sector employees pay was taken from private sector taxation and put in their pay so they could give it back again.

It's only an accounting wrinkle so they can treat public and private sector pay the same.

A nurse or teacher who has no other income is not paying one penny towards the cost of running the state.

There's nothing wrong with that, before anyone jumps on it. But it is a fact.

Yep this is a huge issue - we've got a colleague at the moment who is, at best, incompetent, but at worst, incompetent and bone idle and knows exactly how far she can push it and what to say to make herself as untouchable as possible.

Working with her, and pushing back on her constant attempts to get me to cover her laziness is what's destroyed my own mental health to the point I'm moving out of a community patch I've done for years, know the patients and care teams - just to get away from her.

Makes me incredibly angry - hopefully things are in place so she'll get her comeuppance eventually - but I'm not doing her job as well as my own - hence requesting a move.

I think you need to tell us the industry you're in, where the stresses are so high and the rewards are so poor. If it's a whole industry, it's hardly outing to say what it is.

It’s not a race to the bottom. If your own benefits are inadequate the best thing to do is take it up with your employer.

They are taxpayers though.

And the people bleating about their taxes paying for the public sector are probably paying a similar amount in taxes to those public sector workers they are complaining about.

I get nearly 8 weeks. I’ve done twenty years service for that extra leave. You get a little more in 5 years and then a little more again by 10 years.

It was probably to try and encourage long service. Back in the day where they tried to attract people.

Also i have friends in local gov and university that have more than 4/5 weeks leave its not solely the NHS.

My husband is a police officer and this year he was "sick" with stress for 10 weeks which just so happened to fall over the summer holidays. Saved us almost £2k in holiday clubs and he actually got to spend time with his kids.

The problem with the public sector is that "sick" can be anything from broken leg, can't drive for 6 weeks or "stress or mental health" which can't be measured and you can go about your daily life but on full pay and they can do nothing about it.

The police have absolutely taken the piss for the last 2 years with their expectations and woke bullshit that we have started taking the piss right back.

Why don’t you apply to the same position in the NHS ?

I’m sure you were paid better than NHS.

But as always, if not happy about something, do something about it.

The 8 weeks is because it includes bank holidays which some years will be ten days. NHS staff work bank holidays and if you work part time it gets really complicated. The only time I got a decent break at Christmas was during mat leave.
I struggled to get time off for funerals. Holidays have to be booked months in advance and weekends had to be swapped with a suitable person and approved.
There are some people who swing the lead with sick leave.

Quite. Well put.

Let's be clear. Private sector health care absolutely fleeces people. They arent some benevolent sector that's had their money unfairly taken off them.. Come on. Be real.

Anyone who has suffered a miscarriage will know the devastation this causes and can take time to recover from, both physically and mentally. Surely you dont begrudge a mother this time to recover.
An "elderly" parent is still a parent, no matter their age or the circumstances surrounding their death. Compassionate leave would be given initially which is just a few days, after that a sick note would be required.
As previous posters have stated extra holidays are given for long years of service to the NHS.
I dont begrudge these people anything. It's a difficult and stressful job and they deserve the perks they get.

We are humans not work horses.
The days of people leaving everything behind and working till they drop for their employer are gone.

People get sick. They have life issues. Sometimes they have reasons why they cant work full time. Or might need to start later etc etc

I mean I see posts all the time about people working from home. Statying a but later and how productive they are.

The NHS is just moving with the times.

By offering certain perks, because the pay is certainly not competitive.

And obviously applying to work with the NHS is open to anyone who has the necessary qualifications. So nothings stopping any of you who think they've got it so easy from applying.

They are not paying one penny towards running the country. The money they pay in tax was put in their pay packet by another taxpayer, there is no additional tax.

This is not a problem but it is a fact.

Sorry, I don't understand the relevance of this answer to the post of mine that you quoted?

Most NHS staff would not last one week in the private sector.

My NHS pension is pants, the days of the old final salary pension is long gone. It costs me £400pm in contributions.
i have zero hope of retiring early.

I regularly work 50 hours a week in my NHS job when I'm only paid for 37.5 hours. Sometimes I've had to take annual leave so I can have a day of not being bothered by "new" tasks so I can complete outstanding work in peace.

There are thousands of NHS jobs available right now, so if anyone who thinks the so called perks are so amazing then please apply and join!

But your employer puts more than 3% in and you have a guaranteed income, no matter how small when you retire. Compare with DC pension workers and you’ll make yourself feel much better.
Does the NHS really have a recruitment crisis? I thought we had doctors / nurses / midwifes leaving training with no jobs to go to? Is the crisis not in funding additional roles? Ie that the government refuses to increase the number of GPs nurses etc they’ll fund? And we need to close places to overseas applicants until all half decent UK applicants have a job. There no point paying an overseas nurse to nurse while at the same time funding unemployment benefit for a UK nurse.

Again with the hyperbole

Can't you discuss things sensibly?

No need to be so defensive.

No need for ridiculous hyperbole

Some people are listing leave that’s a legal right in any job as though it is NHS specific and it’s not.

Maternity leave - a legal requirement and available in any job.

Carers leave - a legal requirement and available in any job. Unpaid in the NHS.

Dependants leave - a legal requirement and available in any job. Unpaid in the NHS.

Compassionate / bereavement leave - 6 days maximum paid and only for parents, partner and children. Can’t have leave for grandparents or siblings funerals unless you use annual leave or take it unpaid.

Sick leave - Looks generous at 6 months full pay but in reality if you have more than 2 absences in 6 months or more than 8 days absence in 6 months you go in an action plan to improve sickness and can’t be off sick at all for 6 months or it goes up a stage and can eventually lead to you being fired. So it’s not exactly something that you can use unless you are seriously unwell.

Annual leave - 33 days plus bank holidays. Only a few days more than the legal minimum requirement and that’s a reward for over 5 years service. Restricted as to when you can take it. I’m not allowed to take any leave in December or September and only allowed 2 weeks during the summer June - August.

Also there is no paid time off for appointments, you take it out of your annual leave