NHS, promotions and red tape

[idontknowwhattodoatall]

I work in a non-clinical NHS role. Six months ago my manager approached me and said that as I’ve been working above my role, they were looking to move me up a band.

This hasn’t materialised and for the last six months I’ve been working above my band with no remuneration for it but no real scope to stop doing the work. It’s one of those where you start, so you must continue.

There are now three jobs coming up in our office at the higher hand. My manager asked if I was going to apply. I said I’d probably apply, because it gets me the higher banded role.

He’s asked me not to, as they’re hopeful I’ll be moved up soon, and they want to have as many of this higher banded position as possible.

AIBU to think this is really unfair? If I apply, I probably won’t get it. But I just think they’re now used to me doing the higher work, for less money.

Your Manager can't just upgrade you even if he thinks you are on the wrong band. There should be a policy on your Boards intranet about the band re - evaluation process. I'm NHS Scotland

If you are working to say a band 5 job description but think you should be a 6 you basically need to rewrite the job description with every single thing you do over and above what is in your original then it should go with all the back up evidence and supporting statements from yourself and your manager to the job evaluation team.

There are then 3 panels who review it all and score it to see what band it should come out as. If it doesn't go up you can appeal and go through the whole process again with even more added information if you think they have scored any of the sections incorrectly.

I've just been through this and from beginning to end it has been an absolute nightmare and took 11 months from the first submission.

If you apply for the higher band job your new salary will start from the day you start but if you 'win' through the re- evaluation process your Manager should be able to back date your pay from when you started the extra duties if it wasn't too long ago. I got backdated to January 2023. Non Clinical as well

Good Luck

Can people actually be promoted in the NHS without the vacancy/recruitment rigmarole?

Because it doesn't generally happen in the civil service. There has to be a vacancy to apply for and you have to be the best candidate interviewed. It doesn't matter if you've been doing the job to a good standard for months/years, it's all about the interview. People end up being beaten to posts by other candidates and then they have to train them and do half their job for them because the person who performed according to the system doesn't have direct experience of actually doing the job.

The other possible way would be for your job to be regraded, but that would have to go through JEGS and there would have to be budget available in the department to cover the extra costs of the higher grade.

Yes that’s the process they’re doing. Every time I ask for an update it’s “it’s at panel, no news”. I find that hard to believe after six months.

I just think it’s unfair that they don’t want me to apply for the new job. I’d happily do it.

I don’t think it’s technically a promotion, it’s called rebanding or something.

It's an absolute nightmare - so much went wrong with ours - 3 of doing the same job - 1 came back as a 6 and the other 2 5's so appeals went in and we finally got them after 11 months but that was with us chasing nearly every second day.
We all came back with different scores as well!
Are you NHS Scotland as well?

Yep rebanding for a job that has significantly changed since you started it.
A promoted post would would need to be advertised.

England.

What I find so frustrating is I’d interviewed for a higher band back in January, before this promotion shite. I had a conditional offer, and then they rescinded it because someone from the redeployment pool was placed into that role instead. Infuriating

Apply for the new job. It’s much harder these days to uplift a banding due to financial restrictions, so even if your manager wants to they don’t really have a say now.

explain to them you are looking to develop your career, that you are going for one of these posts and should they be in a position in the future to have th role created they are trying to entice you with them you will consider it at that time.

I don’t think I’ll get it

I was in exactly this position. Went for and got a job at a different nhs organisation at the level I was working at and have successfully got another promotion since. Never had a moment's regret... even as they tried to talk me out of leaving as they would sort it all out soon! Don't rely on anything until the contract is in place is my advice and make decisions accordingly

Just apply for the higher band job. Remember people are not your friends at work OP. You are just another number...

That's ok. It's a chance to update your cv and hopefully get some interview experience at that level so you're ready for the next one. You have to be prepared to apply for anything that's suitable

I don’t really see the point. Despite being perfect for it I think the manager’s implication was I wouldn’t get it because they want to essentially make a new role for me

I also worry that if I apply for it I’ll face consequences in work for doing so when they want to keep me and up and me.

I am in a very similar situation. I work in a non clinical facing role within the NHS and am the only person in my team that is a band lower than everyone else, however, I still do most of what everyone else does and have been training towards doing these jobs anyway.

Since Christmas i've been shoved around services within our trust because of a lack of resources and was highly encouraged to go for a job a band higher than my current role, even by the recruiting manager for that role - I didn't get the job but am still expected to cover when the person who did is on holiday or ill -

It's been thrown around for a couple of months now that they would like to put me forward for up-banding, our direct report has recently semi retired and another member of staff within the team has left, so there is budget for it, but i've still been told that I would have to apply for it if their business case for it goes through. (our trust has to make a saving of £18M so there's a counter argument to not spending the extra money on up banding me)

It's been months and I haven't heard anything about this moving forward - I know anything in the NHS moves at a glacial pace but at this point i'm not convinced that anything will change but they'll continue to use my "development" as an excuse to get higher band work out of me for the same wage.

If they're that petty I'd start looking at other teams. No decent manager would punish people wanting to move up a band. It's completely normal and presumably how they got to their position

You might not.. but you might.

if you decide not to this time, have a think about how long you are going to wait for the job you think is being created for you. How would you feel if you’d work so create that post and they recruit someone else -it’ll have to go out to advert. Put yourself first.