Government seeks views on new pay scale for NHS Nurses

THE Government has published a call for evidence to seek views on a new pay scale for Nurses. It will collate feedback from across the health sector on the merits of a separate pay structure for nursing staff in the NHS, considering both the risk and benefits of this approach.

The Government has heard the concerns of nursing staff and their representatives about the challenges they face in terms of career progression and professional development.

The call for evidence will seek to understand whether the Agenda for Change contract; covering more than 1 million NHS workers such as Nurses, midwives, Paramedics, as well as other non-medical, workers - is creating specific barriers to the career progression of Nurses and explore solutions that could be considered if the evidence shows there are issues with the current arrangements.

Health Minister Andrew Stephenson said:- "We hugely value the work of Nurses, who play a vital role in the NHS. We have listened to union concerns and are launching this call for evidence to explore the risks and benefits of a separate pay structure for Nurses. I want stakeholders to share their expertise and help us collate feedback from across the healthcare sector, ultimately helping to make the NHS a better place to work."

This call for evidence, which runs for 12 weeks, will now provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their views and suggestions. Any changes will be carefully considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.

Nurses play a vital role in the NHS and that is why the Government agreed a deal for the Agenda for Change (AfC) workforce through the NHS Staff Council in May 2023. This resulted in a pay rise of 5% for 2023 to 2024 alongside 2 1 off payments worth over £2,000 on average for full time Nurses, alongside a series of non-pay measures to support the NHS workforce, including improving opportunities for nursing career progression.

The Government is taking steps to support and grow the workforce; data published in November showed there were 51,245 additional Nurses in September 2023 compared to 2019. This means the number of Nurses has increased from 300,904 in 2019 to over 352,000 - hitting the Government's commitment to recruit an additional 50,000 Nurses 6 months early.

It is the largest ever sustained growth in the NHS nursing workforce, with the expanded workforce delivering hundreds of thousands of extra appointments, helping to tackle waiting lists and improve access for patients.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan; backed by over £2.4 billion over 5 years; also sets out 3 priority areas to train, retain and reform the health workforce. The plan will significantly expand domestic education, training and recruitment and will deliver more Nurses than ever before. It will almost double the number of adult Nurse training places by 2031, with around 24,000 more Nurse and midwife training places a year by 2031. This will include over 5,000 more mental and learning disability Nurses a year.

Boohoo needs to clean up its act and they can start by recognising Usdaw as the union for their staff

RETAIL trade union Usdaw is again calling for discussions with online fashion retailer Boohoo about representation of their employees to ensure they are fairly treated. Usdaw represents workers at Boohoo's warehouse and call centre in Burnley along with the head office in Manchester, but the company continues to refuse to recognise the union, leaving staff without a real voice at work.

The BBC is reporting that Panorama programme investigators have found that much troubled Boohoo put:- "Made in the UK" labels on potentially thousands of clothes that were actually made in South Asia. It is reported that Boohoo said the incorrect labels were down to a misinterpretation of the labelling rules. This revelation comes after the BBC reported that the firm is considering closing their Leicester site, opened 2 years ago and was promoted by the retailer as a UK manufacturing centre of excellence.

Usdaw continues to urge Boohoo to not only clean up their supply chain, but also engage with the union to help repair their reputation and ensure their own staff are treated with fairness and respect. Something they promised to do when in front of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee.

Mike Aylward - Usdaw Regional Secretary says:- "For some years we have been seeking a dialogue with Boohoo to enable us to represent our members' concerns. We have been met with a wall of silence and staff have been told in no uncertain terms not to engage with the union. Concerns about working conditions are not isolated to the supply chain and Boohoo's directly employed staff feel like they have no way of raising issues with managers or finding resolutions to problems. That is why they need an independent trade union, to give them a voice at work. We have yet again asked Boohoo to take the simple step of sitting down with Usdaw to explore how we can work together. Staff, the local community, Councillors, MPs and campaign organisations all want this to happen, to help make Boohoo an ethical trader. The company could go a long way towards repairing their damaged reputation by meeting with Usdaw and engaging in a positive relationship. Regrettably we have still received no response; for the sake of their employees we hope that will change."