Last week trade unions in England agreed to consult their members on a Government “pay offer” for NHS England staff under Agenda for Change terms and conditions covering the years 2022/23 and 2023/24. What is this deal, who does it involve, is it any good and is there any chance it could apply to HSC staff here in Northern Ireland? These are just some of the questions we’ve been asked over the last number of days and in this article, we’ll attempt to answer all these questions.
What is initially interesting about this pay offer is the sampling the Branch has done of views of NHS staff in England on the current offer. This has been taken from a number of sources across a number of social media platforms and from newspapers such as the Guardian. It’s been an interesting mix of views and it offers an indicator of the mood amongst the striking unions across the water.
From what we have seen it is reasonable to say there is increasing criticism and scepticism about this pay offer, with a growing number of NHS staff strongly advocating rejection. As for HSC staff here in Northern Ireland, we’ve admittedly only seen a small sample, but what we have seen grabbed our attention as staff across various grades indicated frustration at what the main Health trade unions covering NHS England have agreed.
So, what does this offer mean for HSC Workers in Northern Ireland? Firstly, and simply put, at the time of writing this article, there is no pay offer to HSC staff in NI as the Secretary of State has not yet confirmed that this offer also applies here. Pay remains a devolved matter, and with no sitting Stormont Executive, we have nobody in Government to formally put any offer to the health trade unions. However, all trade unions have written to the SOS asking for clarity on this issue and meetings with the DOH and the NI Office have been requested. We patiently await a response.
The closest parallel we have is that in 2019 there was agreement (that Nipsa at the time did not agree with) that the pay award in England would apply to HSC staff here in NI. Nipsa’s position was and remains that we want the best available pay offer made across all the jurisdictions in England, Scotland or Wales to be the basis of any HSC offer. So, at the time NIPSA wanted ‘parity plus’ with Scotland, which would have benefited HSC staff financially, but unfortunately this did not happen with all the other trade unions settling for pay parity with England.
However, before we move on to this current offer, it is worthwhile looking back and asking how did HSC pay in NI fall so far behind by as much as 20% and comparatively with those health workers working in Scotland, who earn significantly more than HSC staff for the same job here? Well, these figures may help and they were all taken by the then Health Minister and endorsed by the Assembly at Stormont.
- Usually pay awards in the NHS cover the period 1st April to the 31st March the following year known as the financial year
- A consolidated pay award means your hourly rate changes and all hours worked such as overtime, change in line with the pay award and this is back paid. It excludes fixed rates such as sleep-ins, and on-call which is dealt with separately.
- A non-consolidated pay award is basically a lump sum payment, sort of like a bonus which DOES NOT CHANGE your hourly rate. So, your hourly rate which defines pensions, sick pay and allowances from the start of the financial year doesn’t change. So, there is no back payment in respect of overtime etc.
HSC Pay in Northern Ireland 2014-2021
The above makes for grim reading and explains the core tenet of falling living standards under a Conversative Government that has ruthlessly implemented austerity for all but their fat cat friends and doners. However, it is also worth remembering that all of the above pay awards were endorsed by the Assembly Executive, with very few dissenting voices.
For the year 2022/2023 different pay offers have been made to Agenda for Change health staff in England, Scotland and Wales, but so far there has been complete radio silence when it comes to Health and Social Care staff in NI. So, we await clarification on whether a pay offer will be made, or even if it will be applicable to NI. Also, given the precarious funding position for the HSC system here, there is no current information on how this pay offer will be financed and if the Barnett Formula will apply.
Suggestions that Nurses are going to have a separate pay award appears to be wide of the mark at this moment in time, as the current offer applies to all NHS staff in England irrespective of grade.
As previously stated, trade unions in Northern Ireland have collectively written to the Secretary of State seeking an urgent meeting on pay. So far, the SOS has failed to respond to previous TU requests on this issue. So, to be clear, all industrial action continues. Nothing has changed. And yes, there is a potential for more strikes and further action short of strike action on pay and safe staffing.
Given all of the above, it is important to break down what has been offered to the trade unions in England and to provide an initial Branch assessment. Much has been written about this offer and it remains nothing more than an “offer” that trade unions in England are currently consulting on.
This is a two year pay offer, from 2022/23 to 2023/24 (remember the new financial year starts on 1st April). Also, for clarity, the 22/23 parts of this offer is in addition to the Pay Review Body recommendation of a consolidated £1400 that all HSC staff will receive in the coming week.
For 22/23 there are two non-consolidated top ups:
- One payment is an additional 2% on top of the 4% (or £1400) pay award.
- The second payment is a “covid recovery bonus” worth 4% of the 22/23 pay award.
- Given these are percentages increases it will mean there is a different amount back paid for each staff member depending on what pay point each individual is on at the 1st April 2022.
The second year of this pay offer is forward facing into 2023/24, which starts on the 1st April 2023 and is a straight 5% consolidated pay award – which means the hourly rate will change from April 2023.
Normal deductions in relation to tax and NI contributions apply. There are potentially major implications also for members across the HSC in relation to increased pension contributions should this award apply here in NI, as pension contributions are tiered depending on salary. Our initial analysis doesn’t stretch to providing specific info on affected pay points etc, but it is undoubtedly a potentially massive issue for HSC workers in a wide variety of pay bands.
Working under assumption that it is likely this offer will eventually be put to HSC staff in NI, our initial assessment of this offer is that trade unions could and should have done much much better.
Not in a generation have trade unions been in such a position of negotiating strength on pay with a weak Government needing to quell public outrage at their policies, while the spectre of an election looms in the next year or so. The Tories are low in the polls, there is and continues to be widespread public support for health workers, there is the spreading public sector strikes and a Government on the back foot – it was there for all to see! Yet, an opportunity has been passed up on to seek the real pay rise that our hard pressed members so deserve.
In our view, non-consolidated pay awards are only a short-term fix designed to make you feel good in the moment. Because they don’t change the hourly rate for any job, they can be a compromise both too easy to accept, but hard to stomach going forward as they do not benefit members once a new financial year begins and have no bearing at all on sick pay, pensions or any overtime worked.
The Government has gone all in on the premise that inflation will be below 4% by the end of the year. Given the amount of evidence there is to say you cannot trust this Government on the economy, betting on a potential reduction in inflation as some sort of reason for promoting a 5% consolidated pay award for 23/24 is hard to fathom.
We say this when in the here and now, facing us all, is an all too real cost of living crisis with massive reliance on food banks, increased child poverty and lost pay over 12 years of austerity, all worsening the position of members today. Also, any reduction in inflation does not mean the current cost of living drops also – it just means prices don’t rise as quick as they have over the last two years. So, we are still in a situation where essentials like food costs significantly more than a year ago as prices continue to rise.
The issue of the potential increases in pension contributions which will impact upon many members should have addressed, with immediate changes back dated to March 31st 2022 for all pension contribution tiers so they are brought in line with annual pay awards. Such a demand could have put money into the pockets of thousands of health workers, yet once again many workers are faced with a prospect of being pick pocketed on this issue.
Extra money for hard pressed workers is always welcome but a better pay offer could and should have been negotiated. What leverage trade unions in NI have to improve this offer isn’t clear given the limbo we are in on pay where we still don’t have a formal offer and no Government to speak/negotiate to/with.
The days and weeks ahead will certainly be challenging as this pay offer is scrutinised and NHS workers become clearer about the shortfalls contained within this offer, but from a Branch perspective we don’t see how this pay offer, if made to hard pressed NIPSA members as it is currently proposed, can be endorsed by any trade union. The final decision however, lies with the members.