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Our Reference: HC/60/04

When telephoning please ask for: Paul Marks on 0207 551 1497

Mike Jackson on 0207 551 1202

To: All Health Branches

11 August 2004

Dear Colleague

AGENDA FOR CHANGE UPDATE

This letter is written to bring you up to date with the progress of the Agenda for Change Review of Early Implementation.

During week commencing 2nd August there were four days of intense discussions at the Shadow Executive (of the Shadow Staff Council) and considerable progress was made in either resolving outstanding issues or finding solutions that might be acceptable as a way forward.

UNSOCIAL HOURS PAYMENTS:

Arguably this has been the area of greatest concern with early implementers (EI) reporting some major changes upwards and downwards in earnings as a result of the % banding arrangements. The new unsocial hours system has been a major factor contributing to the need for protection of earnings in a number of EI Trusts.

For the employers’, the banding system had exceeded their estimates of the cost of unsocial hours payments under Agenda for Change. They accepted our argument that it failed to provide adequate reward for weekend and bank holiday working and discriminated against the lowest paid.

The employers’ proposal was to move away from a banding system to one where 1-hour unsocial hours paid 1% of basic pay. Whilst linking payments more closely to hours actually worked, this system failed to deal with the weekend, bank holiday and low paid issues. In any case to change the unsocial hours system so radically at this stage without it being piloted or tested made the proposal impractical.

The Trade Union Side agreed that the employer’s proposals were unacceptable and it was mutually agreed that the only way forward was to recommend a ‘de-coupling’ of unsocial hours from the Agenda for change draft agreement.

This would mean that the respective Whitley unsocial hours multipliers would apply to the new Agenda for Change pay scales until at least April 2006. Between October and December 2005 a further review of unsocial hours would be undertaken with a view to reaching agreement on a harmonised unsocial hours system to apply from April 2006. A harmonised unsocial hours system is necessary to ensure that Agenda for Change meets the principles of '‘equal pay for work of equal value.'’

The only exceptions to this would be in Ambulance Trusts who would go onto the AfC unsocial hours structure, as it is clearly beneficial to them. Other staff without Whitley provisions for unsocial hours working would be covered by the Nurses and Midwives arrangements. Staff in EI Trusts would revert to Whitley except where individual units elected to stay on the AfC unsocial hours scheme.

The Trade Union Side is confident that by applying Whitley unsocial hours multipliers to AfC rates of pay, the need for protection of earnings will be reduced substantially. Modelling and statistical work is now underway to establish the impact of this change on earnings and protection.

OTHER ISSUES:

A number of other parts of the review were completed last week.

·  Band 1 salary scale would be increased by one point, i.e. the bottom point would be removed and an additional point created at the top, thus improving the minimum wage.

·  Accelerated progression of up to two salary points would be introduced where this is necessary to avoid protection because of pay in high cost area arrangements (London and Fringe), with a new incremental date of 1st October for such staff.

·  New hours of work would take effect from 1st December 2004. All other parts of AfC would be effective from 1st October 2004. The date for completion of assimilation would move from March to September 2005.

·  The AfC on-call scheme would be available to Trusts but the current Whitley or local arrangements may continue for an agreed 4 years protection period, during which they would be reviewed.

A joint statement from the Shadow Executive setting out the above is attached.

Over the coming two weeks, the shadow Executive will be focusing on the following issues:

·  Reviewing the Sunderland outcomes and why they vary from the other EI sites

·  Priorities for production of job profiles

·  The draft Facilities Agreement

·  The final wording of the Review Report.

I am confident that the progress we are now making will allow me to make a full report to the Service Group Executive on 24th August and ensure that the timetable for our Special Conference and ballot can now be met.

I would also express the personal view that the firm stance taken by the SGE at its meeting on 27th & 28th July in sticking with our original conference decision and timetable has aided the Trade Union Side in achieving this recent progress in our discussion on the review of early implementation.

We will issue further reports on the review in due course.

Yours sincerely

Paul Marks

PAUL MARKS

NATIONAL SECRETARY (AGENDA FOR CHANGE)

AGENDA FOR CHANGE

Outcome of Early Implementation Process Review

Having reviewed the Early Implementation process the Shadow Executive is reporting the following proposals to the Shadow Staff Council and other key stakeholders. Subject to agreement Agenda for Change would be implemented from 1 December 2004 with an effective date of 1 October 2004 on the following basis:

§  The new pay system, with the one exception of unsocial hours payments would go ahead.

§  This would include job matching, job evaluation, annual leave provisions, the Knowledge and Skills Framework, working hours arrangements, overtime pay, on-call arrangements, high cost area payments, recruitment and retention premia.

§  New hours of work would take effect from 1 December 2004, including the protection arrangements in the agreement.

§  All other conditions except unsocial hours would be effective from 1 October 2004

§  An interim regime based on the current Whitley unsocial hours arrangements would apply until a review is complete the aim of which would be to bring in new harmonised arrangements from 1 April 2006. The review process to achieve this would begin no later than October 2005 and further testing may take place in EI sites or other sites

§  The new unsocial hours arrangements may continue to apply in EI sites and would also be introduced in ambulance trusts.

§  The Agenda for Change on-call arrangements would be available but current arrangements may continue during an agreed four-year protection period. The on-call arrangements would be reviewed during the four year protection period.

§  Band 1 would be increased by one point, ie the bottom point would be removed and an additional point be created at the top of the band thus improving the NHS minimum wage.

§  A new Band 9 would be added to accommodate those senior staff evaluated above 720 points.

§  Accelerated progression of up to two points would be introduced where this is necessary to avoid protection because of pay in high cost area arrangements

The revised documentation incorporating details of all the above points will be circulated to NHS staff, partnership bodies, project teams etc as soon as possible, to support preparation for roll out on 1 December, including the practice matching of posts to pay bands.