Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

Flip

Original poster

Anyone work in the NHS and know a bit about pay scales?

19 replies

Moomin · 22/09/2007 14:40

Dh is going for a job this week that is advertised as being a Band 6 job.
He has been working in the private sector for the last 3 years after being in the NHS for 10 years. His present post is the equivilent of the top of Band 6.

If he is offered this job back in the NHS, will his experience in management over the past 3 years help him negotiate a salary at the top or near the top of Band 6? Or would they want him at the bottom of Band 6 again?

I'm under the impression that it's the first - I'm in education and a job would be advertised as being within a certain pay scale and it would be up to the employers to award a salary anywhere within that scale that would suit the candidate's qualifications and experience. Dh is not so sure and although he would love this job and really wants to get back into the NHS, we wouldn't be able to afford for him to be on a salary much less than he's on at the moment.

OP posts:

dissle · 22/09/2007 14:44

I do believe that it would be negotiable. However it very much depends on his work experience, and its relation to the job he is applying for.
If it is very different from what he is doing or has done in the past then they would need to train him up and so wold start him in a "junior" position.

is it clinical or management that he has applied for?

pinkteddy · 22/09/2007 14:51

It should be negotiable. Certainly within the Trust I work, we are advised by HR that we should start people on the bottom of the band unless they have relevant experience. It is up to the line manager to justify why you should pay more. In reality this is just a sentence on the form! However, not all Trusts are the same. It is certainly worth mentioning at the interview. The only problem with being at the top of the band is that he will not be entitled to any incremental points over the years but will remain on the top of the scale until he gets a promotion. HTH

tori32 · 22/09/2007 14:51

If it is clinical then pay depends on experience and it has to be relevant. I had a similar experience going back to the NHS from the RAF. I have been qualified 7 years and was equivalent to a band 6 in the RAF. However, all my experience except 6 mths was ward based. I went into theatres in the NHS and had to go back to a band 5 (top of) because my clinical experience in that field was limited. IYSWIM

tribpot · 22/09/2007 14:51

In my place it's not exactly negotiable, it's more based on how well you fit the "competencies" (dreaded word) of the role. So if this was a management role and your dh can demonstrate that he is able to meet all the criteria for the role then he'll probably be offered the pay point below the top one.

Original poster

Moomin · 22/09/2007 14:52

It's a clinical team leader. He used to work in that dept a few years ago and he qualified and practiced there. HIs 2 line managers seemed to be in for the long haul and he was wanting leadership experience so was 'head-hunted' by a person he'd previously worked under who was in the private sector. His wages jumped up considerably and he took on a managerial (clinical) role, but was unhappy with the hospital (colleagues not very nice). He then went across to another private hosp to an almost identical role and and has been there ever since.

His previous bosses in the NHS were very supportive of him leaving and thought he deserved the chance of promotion. Now one of these bosses is leaving and his post is available. It would be more of less what dh has been doing for 3 years -managing a theatre) but maybe with more teaching (and less cosmetic surgery!!), more variety and better long-term prospects. He's willing to take a small cut in pay to get back into the NHS but it couldn't be much. HE's certainly not expecting them to better his current salary.

OP posts:

dissle · 22/09/2007 14:58

The other point here is that he knows the staff etc and so it is likely that they will bend over backwards for him to accomodate him if they want him......that of course depends on other applicants and the quality of their interviews/experience etc.

If they really want him then they will have to make it worth his while, he has nothing to lose by negotiating this. He still has a job at the end of the day.

Millarkie · 22/09/2007 15:00

I agree with Pinkteddy, HR pushes to start people on the bottom of the scale but there is room for managers to push to put the candidate higher up.
Does he know about the KSF (Knowledge and skills framework) - there should be a KSF outline for the job, if he can show that he fulfils/exceeds the KSF requirements for the bottom of band 6 he has more chance of getting put higher up the scale. It's up to the manager's to be pushy IME.
Good luck to him (and you!)

tribpot · 22/09/2007 15:01

Agreed - hope it works out for him. In terms of pay he might like to consider the extra benefits of the pension scheme/NHS discounts and stuff?

It sounds like he's been doing the equivalent, just in the private sector. So all his experience should be relevant.

dissle · 22/09/2007 15:06

There definitely is a "jobs for the boys" culture in the NHS.
He will be fine.
They like to stick with what they know.

Millarkie · 22/09/2007 15:09

Oh and as Tribpot said, the highest point will be the point below the top one for the band as he will need to be assessed against the KSF to pass the 'gateway' which (on most bands) is the band before the top one. Once through the gateway you become eligible to apply for jobs in the band above (I think, it's all a bit new still), so if they put him on the top point it would really be saying that he should be in band 7. (I think)

Original poster

Moomin · 22/09/2007 15:11

THanks very much that's very interesting. Yes, he's been swotting up on his K&S framework... and the other buzzword phrase at the moment: something to do with Managing Change and all that!

I think he stands a very good chance, but he is also crap (his word!) in interviews (really nervous ad jittery) but I'm hoping that his track record and the fact that 2 of the panel already know him and know what he's like to work with will help.

His specialism is in orthopaedics and this job is for the orth theatre, which would be right up his street again. At the private hosp he's been doing all that plus all the liposuction, boob jobs, etc. I think he'd like a dose of 'real life' again!

OP posts:

pinkteddy · 22/09/2007 18:29

They will measure him against the person spec in the interview so get him to swot up on his key skills and experience around that and make sure he thinks of examples to demonstrate it. On thinking again, if he applied via NHS jobs, pretty sure it asks for details of salary etc so the panel will know what he is currently earning so presumably will have a good idea that he will want to negotiate around the salary.

themoon66 · 22/09/2007 18:33

Team Leader posts are banded at a 7 in our Trust. I sat on the matching panels and did the banding for 2 years.

moondog · 22/09/2007 18:35

AFC and KFC (or whatever the fuck it is called) have nearly finished me off.

Dreadful.

I have wept over my desk on quite a few occasions recently.

Original poster

Moomin · 22/09/2007 19:45

I stand corrected - dh has informed that its a JUnior Team leader post, so band 6 sounds about right. and yes, he applied through nhs jobs so they know what salary he's on now.

Good advice about the job spec. The only thing he hasn't had a lot of experience of recently is the teaching/menoring but that's because there is a low staff turnover at his present hosp; in fact there's been no-one new for the past 18m (except on reception!)

All this AFC stuff is a nause though isn't it? JUst how relevant is it in RL, day-to-day?

OP posts:

moondog · 22/09/2007 20:01

I am expected to piss about working out how long I stand/sit/squat/think/fart for and write it all up.

Meanwhile waiting lists grow longer and longer.....

Noone will ever read it once its done.

lilibet · 22/09/2007 20:15

I work in an NHS payroll office - you wnat to try AFC from our side!

Talk about more trouble than it's bloody worth

moondog · 22/09/2007 20:17

I have been working on an assistant's wage (for 9 months)having come back to NHS after a break.

Still not sorted.

bookwormtailmum · 22/09/2007 20:24

Tell me about AFC. I've done little else but type up consultation letters for AFC (3 copies for each person, over a 12-wk consultation period and about 300 domestics to accommodate) . One of these is for a domestic who is retiring a few weeks after the consultation period closes.

Next time I temp, I'm going to get a proper job .

Flip