Advice needed from any NHS managers on here x

[Mi89lle]

I'm NHS Band 2 admin on a permanent contract.. I'm not in a union (yet).
Steadily over the past few months, management have been planning to tain me up for duties that are way above the remit of a Band 2. Examples include procurement (there is 1 team member who does this but they are Band 4).
Management (my immediate manager abd their manager) are basically saying hard luck, I need to be trained up because their eventual goal is to have all team members cross trained.
I feel it unfair that they are seriously asking a Band 2 to be learning the ins and outs of procurement, ordering from suppliers, invoices issues and planning duty rotas as well as management of clinicians diaries.
They don't listen and say I need to accept it or stop moaning..
What would you do?

Join the union!

Just be aware that you often need to be a member of a union for 3 months before they will represent you. You should be able to get advice though.
You could look at your contract or original job description. Sounds unfair to me.
Have you spoken to HR? Training is one thing but being expected to do tasks beyond your pay band doesn’t seem right.

Having worked in the NHS for 20 years I would say this is pretty standard to ask for duties to be carried out that are above your pay grade. The NHS rely on staff who want to do this to acquire new skills and further their career. If you are happy staying at a band 2 then I would suggest you say no. If you want to progress to a band 3/4 then I would take the opportunity to learn these new skills then push for a change of conditions and ask for them to reband you to a 3/4 depending on the new duties you can evidence you are performing

In my experience if you show eagerness to learn and develop then you will progress up through the banding. It doesn’t always happen in the order you expect though. You’ll likely have to demonstrate you are already working at a higher level.

I’d take the training and then find out what band has those tasks in their job description, then I’d ask to move up to that band.

Join the union.
Also, whilst band 2 is the lowest grade, you can benefit from learning new skills and a band 3 or 4 role could be much more interesting and worthwhile.
Your attitude matters and being a team player involves looking out for others and issues that arise.
Basic procurement should not be beyond you at band 2 - keeping a stock take and flagging when something needs ordering or has been delivered is not higher grade work. I’d be less defensive as work roles do change over time.

They are refusing to reband me. I've already asked and it's gone to senior management and the finance department who basically said no, because my teams budget won't allow for any up-banding.

I agree with this. Worked in the NHS for over 15 years.

Take the training
Once trained / with enough experience to talk confidently about it apply for a band 3/4 role in another team (or even private sector)
Thank your managers for giving you the training and experience for free and wish them well with recruiting your replacement.

I am a bit worried reading this thread.

I am about to start a part time role as NHS band 2 admin. I have deliberately taken a huge step back career and finance wise because my elderly DPs live an hour away and take up a lot of time.

I want to do a good job for what I was hired to do but have zero interest in climbing the bands or taking on additional responsibilities for no extra pay.

What’s the best way of politely articulating that? On the low salary I am not overly keen to be paying out union dues.

There basic admin task
I’d say they’ve only been done by a band 4 because they’ve been dumped with doing them rather than it’s relevant to there grade

Take the training and the extra skills and take them with you to a band 3 elsewhere
(40 years in the nhs and 20 in management and never saw a post re-banded )

I would agree, learn the skills and apply for another job at a higher band.
And if you do join a union, look very carefully. Unison don’t protect women.

Unison are awful. I have a good friend at Band 4, bullied into doing Band 5 work and bullied even more, gaslit, lied to by managers, HR, when she asked for a job description and salary review. Unison won't support her and we are convinced that this is because she is an older woman. They all speak to her as if she is an idiot. She is hanging on for retirement but she already knows they plan to bring in a young male Band 5 to do her job.

Agree re Unison, they let a huge percentage of the female workforce down some years ago when I worked in a university. Plus isn't it Unison who refused to support the Darlington nurses?

Yes.

Unison have a long history of not supporting women in the workplace, despite 75% of their membership being female, including the Darlington nurses. They actually supported the male individual in that case.
Unison also recently organised a counter protest outside a sports centre in London where women were trying to ensure the changing rooms allowed women only in the women’s changing rooms. Unison support allowing men in to women’s single sex spaces.