Unsocial hours payments should stay

The independent Pay Review Body (PRB), which recommends pay for NHS staff, released a report today (July 16) examining the viability of delivering healthcare services seven days a week.

 
Unite, among 15 unions representing 1.3m NHS workers, welcomed the key points in the report, which negated the government’s view that unsocial hours payments are a road block to delivering full-week services.

 
“We welcome the fact that the Pay Review Body has demonstrated its independence on this issue, despite ministerial pressure in recent times that has either undermined or ignored its findings,” said Unite head of health Barrie Brown.

 
“The PRB has put the kibosh on the claims from the Department of Health and the NHS Employers that payments for unsocial hours create a barrier for delivering seven-day-a-week services,” he added.

 
Brown highlighted that the “heart of the matter” when it comes to delivering 24/7 services is the lack of staff, which he said was caused, in major part, by “the continual pressure on salaries that has seen pay eroded by 14 per cent in real terms for NHS staff since 2010”.

 
“Healthcare professionals are walking away from the NHS they love because they can no longer afford to work for the health service or take the mounting work pressures, stoked up by continual ministerial interference,” he added.

 
Speaking on behalf of the 15 unions representing health workers, Unison head of health Christina McAnea also emphasised the importance that unsocial hours payments play in running a comprehensive and efficient health service.

 
“If NHS workers were not paid more for working at night, and over weekends and public holidays, many would vote with their feet, and either leave the health service altogether or seek more lucrative agency work,” she said.

 
“The PRB report shows the effect that cuts to unsocial-hours payments would have on staff morale, and make recruitment and retention of key NHS staff more difficult.

Real barriers

 
“The real barriers to a safe seven-day NHS are underfunding, understaffing and lack of employee involvement.”

 
The PRB report highlighted the need for staff to be involved in the design and delivery of seven-day services alongside managers and patient groups. It also recommended that unsocial-hours payments must be looked at as part of a wider discussion on staff pay.

 
The independent body emphasised that most NHS staff already work across seven days, and that there are significant gaps in the government’s data and information to support the delivery of seven-day NHS services.

 
Brown condemned the way in which the health secretary has refused to deal with the real problems plaguing the NHS, instead seeking to attack hard-working staff who keep the health service ticking over.

 
“Jeremy Hunt’s disdain in addressing the serious staffing and pay issues facing the NHS will come back to haunt this government before the next general election,” he said.

 
Read the full Pay Body Review report here.