My pay was "uplifted" and I earn less 😭

[PeaceandLoveandCoffee]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has any ideas of what I can do about this?

I work in the NHS on the agenda for change pay scale. I work 2.5 days per week part time. We have been awarded a pay 'uplift' to increase our pay more (but not really) in line with inflation. This came into force on our September pay but was backdated to April this year.

My problem is that the uplift pushes me into a much higher band of pension contributions based on my full time equivalent salary (9.6 to 12.9% to be precise). This has also been backdated to April so in actual fact my pay deceased last month as my actual pay increase was about £350 backdated but the pension contributions arrears were £500. This seems incredibly unfair and is frankly not something I can take given I am already earning so little per month (would love to work more hours but can't get anything other than full time which doesn't work for childcare).

I feel like there has been a total oversight to how this "uplift" might affect part time workers who clearly aren't getting the same uplift in actual pay. Do I have any chance at all of doing anything about this by contacting payroll etc?

Thanks for any advice

This happens a lot with the Agenda for Change pay steps, I’m afraid. It also happens in other public sector pay scales. You think you’re getting a pay rise but the pension increase swallows it up. But, you’ll feel the benefit properly at your next pay step award.

Pretty sure the pension bands are being changed to sort this out.

www.nhsemployers.org/publications/nhs-pension-scheme-member-contributions

I’ve just googled and found this:-

Your contributions from 1 October 2022

“The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced it will be introducing changes to the amount members pay towards their NHS pension.

The DHSC has updated the pensionable pay ranges used to decide how much you contribute to your pension, and the percentage of your pay you’ll pay to be a member of the Scheme.

The amount you pay will be based on your actual annual rate of pay, instead of your whole-time equivalent. This means if you’re part-time, you may pay less as your contribution rate will be based on how much you’re paid each year, instead of how much you would earn if you worked full time.

The changes help to reduce the gap between the different tiers of contribution rates.

To give members time to adjust the DHSC is phasing in the new contribution rates in two stages, starting on 1 October 2022 with further changes planned in 2023:”

From the looks of the chart your full time equivalent pay is about £50k which means that your actual pay will be about £25k. So you will be paying 7.7% (although it will go up to 8.3% in a year or so.)

My pay last month was lower than it's ever been and I didn't budget for the £150 less due to them clawing back pension contributions on money I don't even get.

Do you know if they are backdating the changes to pension too? I've tried to research but find all the official communication a bit impenetrable in terms of the language.

It's bloody demoralising, particularly as I have held a full time equivalent caseload over the past few months 😬

Assume you're an 8A? I'm the same (but 4 days a week) she was down £300 this month. Pension tiers are changing this month though so that they reflect your actual salary, but your WTE salary, so for me that means my pension contributions will be back at what they were before the uplift. Yours will either be the same or less.

But yes it's shit. And our health board only warned us about it the day before payday.

Not backdating the changes to pension.

I'm guessing you are an 8a?

@Mumoftwoinprimary thanks! My FTE is now just over £40k including London high cost area supplement so I'm wondering if they've actually just made a mistake... Will give them a call.

Trying not to be cynical and think that the reason they backdated the pay increase in September is before the pension changes.

No I'm a 6 in inner London

We were warned about this for some bands (including 8) I believe it should right it’s self and from next month you should see your pay go up. It’s crap though. It’s also crap that your trust hadn’t explained this to you.

This

I’m the same OP. I can cope with the less pay this month but I agree it’s hugely demoralising. As others have mentioned, the pension contributions should change this month so we’ll be paying less, which should help a bit.

I did send a grumpy email to payroll about the lack of warning about the pension arrears, but never had any reply. It also took our trust a good 24 hours to issue any statement about it. They’d obviously had lots of complaints!

My Trust are paying the backdated pay differently for lower band 8s to avoid them having a big cut in pay in September. I believe they're spreading the backdated pay across more than one month.

I'm a band 6 (in inner London so high cost area supplement) so now wondering if they've actually just made a mistake.

@RichardMarxisinnocent that's really human of them!!

Even if they'd just waited one month it would have been quite different due to the pension changes.

I’m in LGPS and have come out with less before following a regrading because I was pushed into a higher pension contribution tier. The contribution tiers do get uplifted periodically so it only lasted a few months but I’m clearly just on the cusp so expecting the same to happen when the annual pay award is agreed.

@OrDis we've had no communication about it. Just a Comms reminder of the local food banks for when the cost of living crisis really hits 🙄

Thanks all. The issue for me is clearly that the pension contribution is full time equivalent and my working hours are so significantly (50%) less than this that it makes the differences feel much bigger as I'm not getting as much of the benefit of the uplift to start with. Which obviously will be addressed with the change to pension rates but I'm not sure how long it will take for me to regain the £500 I lost this month...

Hi the same happened to me last year. Top band 7 working part time and because we are pensioned on WTE I ended up losing money as it shoved me into the 12.5% bracket (on a salary of 35.5k). Worst still the took the £600 pension arrears without notice end of October, so just 2 pay dates until Xmas. I managed to get it back but had to pay it in monthly instalments instead.

PP are correct though this October will see the rates adjusted. Get onto pay role / pensions dept, I found mine pretty helpful last year when I rang up crying!

I had grief when I was TUPEd from one set of pay and conditions to another.

Whilst my pay carried on as before - no problems there - one short sentence in teachers’ pay and conditions meant that I couldn’t go up to the next, and last, teachers’ pay threshold.

These are/were steps up in pay in which you had to demonstrate a level of working/ability/competence and were independent of extra pay for positions of responsibility etc.

I was effectively locked out of this for a couple of years.

Fortunately the head was in sympathy with my situation and I got a lump sum to make this up.

Good lick with yours.

Luck not lick!

This explains nhs pension.
I assumed all nhs staff got this letter in the post .
Sorry it's sideways

This is very common. When you get next years pay award you should then see your take home pay increase. Just hang on for the year - I know easy to say, hard to do.

You have to take the long view on this, your pension is one of the best you can get being DB (Defined Benefit). It would cost you a fortune to replicate this. I know it can seem a long time until you get your pension but you will appreciate it when you retire.

if you’re close to a threshold you do need to be quite careful. I’m just under one at the moment and to avoid driving yourself mad you have to change your outlook. When you were under the threshold you were getting a good deal and a discount on your pension contributions compared to peers at that same band. Once you’re over the threshold you can do more hours to earn more without it being a barrier. I know I’ve probably only got one more pay rise left before I go over and am prepared for that as annoying as it is.

DD got that letter the week from NHS pensions, I hope it helps your position.

@Bunnycat101 that doesn't quite work for me as I earn half the amount of other people in that threshold due to the fact pension contributions are based on a full time equivalent salary and my contract is 0.5. I don't see that as a good deal at all. Now I've learnt this pension situation has been affecting people (mostly women) for years and will be changing but it doesn't change the unfairness of pushing through the arrears the month before this change and with no option to spread the payment.

For context my pension arrears were 15% of my take home pay, my pension payments another 12%. After childcare and travel I have £70 (I am in a relationship with a higher earner so my actual situation is not as bad as we do share finances). I'm one bad day from handing in my notice on an 8 year career and a job that I actually really enjoy.