Ballot closed 17 August.
On Call Negotiations - Final Management Offer
Following negotiations with NHS Scotland employers
UNISON and the other trade unions have agreed that the
offer put on the table by our employers is the best that can
be achieved through negotiation.
As a consequence of this being
a FINAL
offer we
are writing to all members to consult them on the terms of the
employers’ proposals. Click here for FAQs
Key points
-
From 1 October 2012 availability payment
of £16.50
per session.
-
From 1 April 2013 availability payment of £17
per session.
-
From 1 April 2014 availability payment of £18
per session.
-
Payment for work done, including travel, will be
at time and a half, except on public holidays which will
be paid at double time.
Protection
-
Any member who requires protection, this
will be on a mark time basis and will be offset by annual
pay and incremental uplifts.
Key Dates
-
Ballot opens 27 July 2012
-
Ballot closes 17 August
2012
-
Ballot result reported to On Call Staff Side meeting
24 August 2012
-
Meeting with Employers 31 August 2012
- Branches will
be holding members’ meetings
top On-Call Offer from NHS Employers
Scotland:
Frequently Asked Questions Does this offer only apply to On-Call? Does it
include Standby?
This offer applies to both types of emergency cover. A member
of staff is On Call when, as part of an established arrangement
with his/her employer, he/she is available outside his/her normal
working hours – either at the workplace, at home or elsewhere – to
work as and when required.
If implemented, will this replace the Agenda for Change On Call
arrangements in the Terms and Conditions Handbook?
Yes. Paragraphs 2.31 - 2.49 will be deleted and a section will
be inserted to reflect the new arrangements.
What are the main features of the new arrangements?
From 1 October 2012 availability payment of £16.50 per
session.
From 1 April 2013 availability payment of £17 per session.
From 1 April 2014 availability payment of £18 per session.
Payment for work done, including travel, will be at time and
a half, except on public holidays which will be paid at double
time.
What is the “Chisholm Agreement”?
In March 2003, a decision was taken by Malcolm Chisholm, who
was at that time was the Scottish Minister for Health, to ensure
that no Scottish employee would suffer a loss of existing earnings
as a result of the implementation of Agenda for Change terms
and conditions. This was initially applied to the results of
the matching process but was also applied to the implementation
of changes to Unsocial Hours Payments, which took effect in 2008.
The Staff Side has successfully argued that since the new proposed
On Call arrangements form the final part of the implementation
of the Agenda for Change terms and conditions then the “Chisholm
Agreement” should also apply.
What does ‘mark time’ protection
mean?
Your total earnings including On Call will be calculated over
a reference period (3 to 12 months?). If your earnings under
your old payment regime locally is more than that provided under
these new arrangements, then your prior total earnings will be
protected. That level or previous level of earnings will continue
to be paid on a ‘mark time’ basis (i.e. no increments
or cost of living increase payments) until your old earnings
are overtaken by the level of earnings achieved under the new
arrangements; or until you change jobs or leave the NHS.
The offer gives an implementation date of October.
What if Payroll systems haven’t time to implement the
new arrangement or calculate protection by then?
The phrase “with no retrospection” means that implementation
will not take place before 1 October 2012. If Board Payroll systems
don’t manage to process the new arrangements until sometime
later staff will receive any outstanding arrears.
How will UNISON consult the members in Scotland?
The Electoral Reform Society is conducting an all members’ ballot
on these proposals. The ballot opens on 27 July and closes on
17 August 2012. All the NHS Trade Unions will consider the outcome
of their consultations and meet the Scottish Employers on 31
August 2012.
Who will be eligible to vote in the consultative ballot? All UNISON members in Scotland, whether or not you currently
work On Call.
How much scope is there for improving the offer if the consultative
ballot results in a 'NO' vote?
It is the collective view of all of the staff side organisations
on the negotiating sub group that this is the best we can achieve
by negotiation: we have moved the management position significantly
since their initial offer. If the offer is rejected, members
then have recourse to seek a ballot on industrial action.
UNISON’s Scottish Health Committee is recommending ACCEPTANCE
of the proposals.
Only my basic salary plus stand-by allowance
is pensionable. Earnings from Calls are not pensionable. I
have been on the On
Call rota for several years. Are these earnings not “regular
and a continued feature of the job”?
The Scottish Pensions Agency does not accept that On Call earnings
and overtime fit that definition.
I am in receipt of protection of earnings (due
to organisational change). The proposed new arrangements state
that protection
will be on a ‘mark time basis’, but my current organisational
change protection provides an uplift each year (when we eventually
get a pay rise). Will this new agreement, if accepted, affect
my protection or will it continue as it currently stands?
If accepted, the new proposals will have no effect on the current
organisational change protection which applies to your pay.
Does AFC para 27.17 provide scope for local agreement on compensatory
rest?
Para 27.17 is not there to enable local agreements to be reached
which breach or improve upon the WTRegs - it is simply saying
that if daily rest periods are regularly breached then there
must be local agreement. The reason that the Scottish HDL2003/3
is referenced in the offer is because the WTRegs Framework contained
within the HDL gives more detailed information about Compensatory
Rest than Section 27.
My query is regarding the ‘sleeping in’ payments,
where staff will be paid ‘at appropriate rate for work
done in line with On Call’. How will the hours worked be
calculated? Will it be only the hours/minutes worked or will
it be payment for each undisturbed period (as with the ‘Calls’ arrangements)
or will it be a flat rate for the total hours worked/sleeping
in?
The section of the offer which is headed “Sleeping in” does
not refer to the stand by arrangements which Radiographers work
when they are in the hospital overnight – it refers to
staff who work in situations where they are obliged to sleep
in their place of work e.g. care homes, residential establishments
for children and adolescents who are in care.
When levels of protection are calculated could an average be
worked out for the department rather than per individual, so
all staff are paid the same?
No. Levels of pay protection are calculated on an individual
basis.
How do I find out more?
Speak to your Branch to find out about LOCAL meetings being
held in your Health Board area.
PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE DURING THE BALLOT PERIOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tom Waterson
Chair, SHC
Willie Duffy
Secretary, SHC
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NHS
Scotland On Call Ballot 2012
