FINAL PROOF COPY

AGENDA FOR CHANGE

Proposed Agreement on Modern Pay and Conditions for NHS Staff

CONTENTS

Introduction

Partnership Approach to Pay and Service Modernisation

New Pay System

1. Pay Structure
2. Working or providing emergency cover outside normal working hours
3. Pay in High Cost Areas
4. Recruitment and Retention Premia
5. Terms and Conditions of Service
6. Career and Pay Progression
7. NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework
8. Additional freedoms for NHS Foundation Trusts and other Trusts with earned autonomy in England.

 

Implementation

9. Assimilation and Protection
10. Monitoring, Reviews and Appeals



Operating the New Pay System

11. New Bodies and Procedures
12. The NHS Staff Council
13. NHS Review Bodies
14. The New Negotiating Council

Annexes

A List of bodies in each stage of implementation

B Classification of leads and Allowances

C Good practice guidance

D Local recruitment and retention premia criteria

E Partnership agreement success criteria

F Appeals Procedure

G Additional allied health professions and healthcare science

groups for inclusion in the Pay Review Body remit

H Examples of special cases under the rules for work outside normal hours

I Guidance on the application of nationally agreed recruitment and retention premia

Introduction

1. This document sets out the proposed agreement between the UK Health Departments, NHS Confederation, Unions and Professional Bodies to modernise the NHS pay system.
2. The proposals are divided into three sections. The first sets out the new pay system, the second deals with implementation and the third the arrangements for operating the new pay system.
3. If ratified following consultation, these proposals will apply in full to all staff directly employed by NHS organisations, except very senior managers and staff within the remit of the doctors and dentists review body. Staff on contracts which incorporate national agreements will assimilate to the new system, and staff on local contracts will be offered the opportunity of transferring to it, under the timetable it sets out.
4. Implementation will be managed through a two-stage approach that will ensure the reform can be managed effectively across the NHS. These stages are early implementation and national roll-out.
5. Annex A contains the lists of NHS organisations which will implement the new system as "early implementers" once the agreement is ratified, and those which will implement the system on national roll-out in October 2004.

Stage 1- Early Implementation

6. Early implementers will act as a testbed for the new system both to deal with any teething problems and ensure essential early evaluation of the progress on implementation and delivery of benefits. They should also help to improve the capability and capacity of the NHS to deliver pay modernisation, through spreading lessons learnt during implementation.

Stage 2- National Roll-out

7. Early implementation will be followed by implementation for the rest of the NHS. There will be a development programme to address the capacity and capability needs of employers and staff.

 

Partnership Approach To Pay And Service Modernisation

1. All parties agree to work in partnership to deliver a new NHS pay system which supports NHS service modernisation and meets the reasonable aspirations of staff. The signatories to this agreement will accordingly work together to meet the reasonable aspirations of all the parties to:

Local Partnership

Wider Human Resources Issues

1. Pay modernisation is an integral part of the human resource strategies of the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All parties to this agreement therefore recognise that it should be implemented consistently with the wider human resource policies set out in the relevant strategies.

Monitoring

2. Monitoring of implementation will be carried out, in the first instance, by the national implementation steering groups (or equivalent bodies) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Issues of common concern will also be discussed in the Pay Modernisation Implementation Steering Group (UK), and its successor, which under this agreement will be the sub-group of the NHS Staff Council, responsible for co-ordinating and monitoring the implementation of this agreement. Any issue requiring amendment or reinterpretation of any part of this agreement must, however, be endorsed by the NHS Staff Council.
3. The initial criteria against which progress will be monitored in the early implementers in England, together with suggested measures, are attached at annex E. These may be modified for national roll out in the light of experience in the early implementers, subject to the approval of the NHS Staff Council. During the early implementation period arrangements will be made to allow the wider NHS to learn from experience in the early implementers.
4. National roll out is due to start on 1^st October 2004. If any major problems, identified in monitoring the early implementer sites, cause a delay beyond October 2004, future pay changes will be backdated to that date. All parties agree, however, that if problems do emerge, they should be addressed immediately, with the aim of resolving them in good time before national rollout is due to start.

NEW PAY SYSTEM

Chapter 1

Pay Structure

Pay Spines

1. The NHS pay system as a whole will have three pay spines or series of pay bands: one for staff within the remit of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body; one for staff within the extended remit of the Pay Review Body for nurses and other health professions; and one for other directly employed NHS staff, with the exception of the most senior managers. This agreement introduces new, single pay spines for the second and third of these groups, replacing the large number of separate occupational pay spines currently in existence. Chapter 14 sets out an agreement on extending the coverage of the Pay Review Body for nurses and other health professions.
2. Both the second and third pay spines will be divided into eight pay bands. All staff covered by this agreement will, on assimilation, be assigned to one of these pay bands on the basis of job weight as measured by the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme. To assist this process an initial set of NHS jobs have already been evaluated, and a number of job profiles drawn up where the job evaluation score is agreed. Staff whose jobs fit these profiles will assimilate on the basis of the profile score. Other jobs will be evaluated locally.
3. The Job Evaluation Handbook sets out the basis of job evaluation, which underpins the new pay system, and includes the factor plan, the weighting and scoring document, a review process for the development of professional roles, a guide for matching posts locally and the nationally evaluated job profiles. The process for assimilation is set out more fully in Chapter 9.
4. The eight pay bands and their corresponding job evaluation scores are set out in Table 1 below. Within this structure pay band eight is sub-divided into four ranges, access to which will be determined objectively on the basis of evaluation of the individual jobs senior staff are asked to do

 

Table 1: Pay Bands and Job Weight

Review Body Spine		Non Review Body Spine
Pay Band	Job Weight	Pay Band	Job Weight
1	0 -160	1	0 -160
2	161 - 215	2	161 - 215
3	216 - 270	3	216 - 270
4	271 - 325	4	271 - 325
5	326 - 395	5	326 - 395
6	396 - 465	6	396 - 465
7	466 - 539	7	466 - 539
8	within which	8	Within which
8a	540 - 584	8a	540 - 584
8b	585 - 629	8b	585 - 629
8c	630 - 674	8c	630 - 674
8d	675 - 720	8d	675 - 720

5. There will be separate arrangements for chief executives and directors at board level. These will also apply to other senior posts with a job weight over 720 points. In addition they may be applied to other senior management posts immediately below board level provided the job weight exceeds 629 points.
6. Within each pay band there will be a number of pay points to allow pay progression in post. Staff will progress from point to point on an annual basis to the top point in their pay band or pay range, provided their performance is satisfactory and they demonstrate the agreed knowledge and skills appropriate to that part of the pay band or range. Staff joining band 5 as new entrants will have accelerated progression through the first two points in six monthly steps, providing those responsible for the relevant professional standards in the organisation are satisfied with their standard of practice. This 12 month period will be referred to as "Preceptorship".
7. Chapter 6 sets out in more detail how the new system of career and pay progression will work, and chapter 7 sets out details of the knowledge and skills framework (KSF) which will underpin it.
8. Table 2 at the end of this Chapter sets out the pay spines in full. These rates are expressed at 2002-03 rates, and will be uprated by 3.225% in April 2003, April 2004 and April 2005. For some staff whose new pay band minimum is significantly above their current pay there are special transitional pay points which apply during the assimilation period. These are set out in chapter 9.

Leads and Allowances

9. Within the new pay structure all leads and allowances will be replaced by higher basic pay for the majority of staff. This supports simplification of the pay system and is consistent with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.
10. The current value of national leads and allowances or other special payments, which compensate staff for elements of their work which are valued within the Job Evaluation system, have been taken into account in setting levels of basic pay in the new system. The allowances which it is agreed fall in this category are listed at Annex B.
11. The current value of national allowances and other special payments that reward unsocial hours, or flexible working including stand-by and on call, have been taken into account in the level of payments proposed under the new system for working outside of normal hours set out in Chapter 2. The allowances which it is agreed fall in this category are listed at Annex B.
12. The current value of national leads and allowances and other special payments which reflect continuing special recruitment and retention needs, such as London allowances, the special hospital Lead and the regional secure unit allowance, have been taken into account in either new payments in high cost areas or in new recruitment and retention payments. The allowances which it is agreed fall in this category are listed at Annex B.
13. Local allowances and other special local payments intended to enable NHS employers to respond to high market wages for staff in particular occupations or with particular skills will be reviewed under the rules for recruitment and retention premia in this agreement. Where they continue to be justified, the resources concerned will be taken into account in new recruitment and retention premia under the new system. See Chapter 4 and Annex B.
14. All other leads and allowances paid when staff are assimilated onto the new system, whether agreed nationally or locally, will cease. The value of any such payments made as part of regular pay before assimilation will, however, be taken into account in assimilation and in the calculation of any pay protection for the minority of individual staff whose regular pay may otherwise be lower under the new system. See chapter 9.

Bonus Payments

15. This agreement does not preclude bonus schemes, provided they are related to genuinely measurable targets (and not part of regular pay), and provide fair and equal opportunities for all staff in the organisation or unit or work area concerned to participate. However it is agreed that most existing bonus schemes are unlikely to be compatible with these principles. All existing schemes, except the team bonus schemes currently under trial and other local schemes that meet these requirements, will therefore cease at the date of assimilation. If they cease then the value of the bonus payments should be included in the calculation of regular pay for assimilation purposes or, if agreement can be reached locally, the resources reinvested in a properly constituted scheme offering fair access to all staff.

Other Recruitment and Retention Issues

16. The use of Job Evaluation to ensure fair pay between NHS jobs has identified a number of jobs with relatively high levels of pay in relation to job weight, which appear to reflect past responses to external labour market pressures. In some cases these market pressures require continuing special measures. Staff in these jobs will be paid a long-term recruitment and retention premium (see Chapter 4) sufficient to maintain the position of the NHS in relation to the relevant external labour market.

Table 2

Pay Bands and Pay Points on Second and Third Pay Spines

*Pay rates in italic are special transitional points which apply only during assimilation to the new system. They are show here for convenience. They are explained more fully in chapter 9.

Chapter 2

Working or providing emergency cover outside normal hours

Working outside normal hours

1. Pay enhancements will be given to staff whose working pattern in standard hours, but excluding overtime and work arising from on-call duties, is carried out during the times identified below:

1. The pay enhancement will be based on the average number of hours worked outside these times during the standard working week, and will be paid as a fixed percentage addition to basic pay in each pay period. The enhancement will be pensionable and count for sick pay, but will not be consolidated for purposes of overtime or any other payment. Once the average has been agreed, the payment will not normally change because of small week to week variations in the shifts worked. It will therefore be payable during short periods of leave or training. It will however be re-calculated if there is a significant change in working pattern.
2. This average will be calculated over a thirteen week reference period or over the period in which one cycle of the rota is completed, whichever most accurately reflects the normal pattern of working. For the purposes of the calculation short meal breaks taken during each work period will be included. (An eight hour shift from 3.00pm to 11.00 pm would therefore include four qualifying hours for staff in pay bands one to seven, irrespective of when in that period a meal break was taken.
3. The enhancement will be paid as a percentage of basic salary each month, subject to a maximum of 25% for staff in pay bands one to seven and 10% in pay bands eight and above. Basic salary for these purposes will be regarded as including any long-term recruitment and retention premium. It will not include short-term recruitment and retention premia, high cost area payments or any other payment.
4. Where the average exceeds five hours a week on average during the times set out above, there will be a banded system of pay enhancements. The payment will not vary unless the working pattern changes sufficiently to take the number of qualifying hours outside the band over the reference period as a whole.

Table 3

Average Unsocial Hours	Percentage of Basic Salary
	Pay Bands 1-7	Pay Band 8
Up to 5	Local Agreement	Local Agreement
More than 5 but not more than 9	9%	9%
More than 9 but not more than 13	13%	10%
More than 13 but not more than 17	17%	10%
More than 17 but not more than 21	21%	10%
More than 21	25%	10%

5. Where unsocial hours working is limited or very irregular (averaging no more than five hours a week over the reference period) pay enhancements will be agreed locally. These may be fixed or variable, and based on actual or estimated hours worked, subject to local agreement. To ensure fairness to staff qualifying under the national rules set out above, locally agreed payments may not exceed the minimum percentage in the national provisions.

Part time staff and other staff working non-standard hours

6. For part time staff and other staff working other than 37.5 hours a week excluding meal breaks, the average number of hours worked outside the normal hours will be adjusted to ensure they are paid a fair percentage enhancement of salary for unsocial hours working. This will be done by calculating the number of hours that would have been worked outside normal hours if they had worked standard full time hours of 37.5 hours a week with the same proportion of hours worked outside normal hours. This number of hours is then used to determine the appropriate percentage in table 2.
7. For an example of the effect of this provision, see annex H.

10. Where staff have agreed self rostering arrangements with their employer, local provisions should be agreed to ensure that the enhancements payable under these types of provisions are shared fairly between members of the team.
11. In these cases employers and staff side representatives should agree the level of payment appropriate for the team, on the basis of the unsocial hours coverage needed to provide satisfactory levels of patient care. This should be based on the period covering a full rota, or where there is no fixed pattern, an agreed period of not less than thirteen weeks activity for that team and divided between team members subject to a formula that they agree.
12. For an example of the effect of this provision see annex H.

Annual Hours and Similar Agreements

13. Agreement should be reached locally on pay enhancements for staff on annual hours agreements who work outside normal hours. The agreement should respect the principles of this Chapter to ensure that the arrangements for these staff are consistent with those for other staff working outside normal hours.
14. For an example of the effect of this provision see annex H.

Bank Staff

15. Work for a staff bank run by the employer should be treated as a separate contract for the purpose of these rules and any additional payment due calculated as a percentage of their bank earnings, based on the number of bank hours worked outside normal hours.
16. For an example of the effect of this provision see annex H

Unforeseen changes to agreed patterns of working

17. Local employers and staff side representatives, working in partnership, should develop protocols which ensure sensible planning for unexpected absence (such as the use of first on call rotas for overtime) and minimise the need for frequent or sudden changes to agreed normal working patterns.
18. However where it is necessary for employers to ask staff to change their shift within twenty four hours of the scheduled work period, they should receive an unforeseen change payment of £15 for doing so. The payment is not applicable to shifts which a member of staff agrees to work as overtime, or which they swap with other staff members.
19. Good management practice should ensure that this type of payment is not used where absence is predictable e.g. to cover maternity leave, long term sick leave, planned annual leave etc Appropriate monitoring of these payments should be undertaken at both a local (e.g. ward) and strategic (i.e. board) level in the organisation to identify circumstances that would suggest excessive or unusual trends for such payments.

On-Call and other extended service cover

20. An employee who is required to be available to provide on-call cover, outside their normal working hours, will be entitled to receive a pay enhancement. This enhancement recognises both their availability to provide cover and any advice given by telephone during periods of on-call availability.
21. This enhancement will be based on the proportion of on-call periods in the rota when on-call cover is required. The on call period in each week should be divided into 9 periods of at least 12 hours. The enhancement for an individual staff member will be based on the proportion of these periods in which they are required to be on call, as set out in paragraphs 2.16 to 2.21 below.

Pay enhancements for On-call cover

22. An enhancement of 9.5% will be paid to staff who are required to be on-call an average of 1 in 3 of the defined periods or more frequently.
23. An enhancement of 4.5% will be paid to staff who are required to be on-call an average of between 1 in 6 and less than 1 in 3 of the defined periods.
24. An enhancement of 3% will be paid to staff who are required to be on-call an average of between 1 in 9 and less than 1 in 6 of the defined periods.
25. An enhancement of 2% will be paid to staff who are required to be on-call an average of between 1 in 9 and less than 1 in 12 of the defined periods.
26. For these purposes, the average availability required will be measured over a full rota, or over a 13-week period if no standard pattern is applicable.
27. Where on call cover is limited or very irregular (averaging less than one period in 12) pay enhancements will be agreed locally. These may be fixed or variable, and based on actual or estimated frequencies of on call work worked, subject to local agreement. To ensure fairness to all staff qualifying under the national rules set out above, locally agreed payments may not exceed the minimum percentage in the national provisions.

Table 4

Frequency of On-Call	Value of Enhancement as Percentage of Basic Pay
1 in 3 or more frequent	9.5%
1 in 6 or more but less than 1 in 3	4.5%
1 in 9 or more but less than 1 in 6	3.0%
Between 1 in 12 or more but less than 1 in 9	2.0%
Less frequent than 1 in 12	By local agreement

 

On-call payments for part-time staff or other staff working non standard hours

28. For part time staff and other staff working other than 37.5 hours a week excluding meal breaks, the percentage added to basic pay on account of on-call availability will be adjusted to ensure that they are paid a fair percentage enhancement of salary for on-call working. This will be done by adjusting the payment in proportion to their part time salary so that they receive the same payment for the same length of availability on-call as full time staff.

2.29 For an example of the effect of this provision see Annex H.

31. For work (including travel time) as a result of being called out the employee will receive an overtime payment at time and a half, with the exception of work on Bank Holidays which will be at double time. Time off in lieu should be at plain time.
32. By agreement between employers and staff, there may be local arrangements whereby the payment for hours worked during a given period of on-call is subject to a fixed minimum level, in place of separately recognising travel time.
33. In addition, where employers and staff agree it is appropriate, the amount paid for work and travel time during periods of on-call may be decided on a prospective basis (e.g. for a forward period of three months), based on the average work carried out during a prior reference period (e.g. of three months). Where these arrangements are agreed, the actual work carried out during a given period would be monitored and, if there were significant differences with the average amount assumed in the calculation of the payment, the level of payment would be adjusted for the next period; there would be no retrospective adjustment to the amount paid in the previous period.

Existing staff with higher on-call earnings

31. Existing staff who receive less under these arrangements for on-call than under national on-call agreements will have their earnings protected in accordance with arrangements identified in Chapter 9.
32. Existing staff who are subject to local on call arrangements may agree with their employer to retain those arrangements for a transitional period not exceeding four years from the effective date of assimilation.

Other arrangements to provide extended service cover

33. Some staff are required to be on the premises to provide emergency cover but are allowed to rest except for the times when they are required to carry out emergency work. Where employers consider this an essential arrangement to provide service cover, there should be an agreed local arrangement, at least equivalent to on-call payments to recognise the type of cover provided.
34. A further group of staff, often in community services such as learning disabilities, have ‘sleeping-in' arrangements, where they sleep on work premises but are seldom required to attend an incident during the night. In these circumstances appropriate arrangements should be agreed locally.

Chapter 3

Pay In High Cost Areas

1. The current system of London weighting and Fringe allowances will be replaced by a new category of "high cost area" supplement.
2. High cost area supplements will apply to all NHS staff groups in the areas concerned who are covered by this agreement. The supplements will be expressed as a proportion of basic pay (including the value of any long-term recruitment and retention premium), but subject to a minimum and maximum level of extra pay
3. High cost area supplements will be pensionable. They will not count as basic pay for the purposes of calculating the rate of overtime payments, unsocial hours payments, on-call availability payments or any other payment.
4. The initial level of high cost area payments will be as set out in table 4 below. The minima and maxima will be uprated by 3.225 per cent in April 2003, 2004 and 2005. Beyond 2005 the value of the supplement will be reviewed annually, based on the recommendations of the Pay Review Body for Nurses and Other Health Professions and the Spine Three Negotiating Council.

 

Table 5

Area	Level
Inner London	20 per cent of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £3,000 and a maximum payment of £5,000.
Outer London2	15 per cent of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £2,500 and a maximum payment of £3,500.
Fringe2	5 per cent of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £750 and a maximum payment of £1,300.

5. Current payments for London weighting, Fringe allowances and Cost of Living Supplements in these areas will be discontinued once the new arrangements are in force.
6. For existing staff, where the new level of supplement falls short of the combined entitlement to these former payments the former level of payment will be included in the calculation of any protected level of pay (see Chapter 9), provided they remain in a job in which they would have received the former payment.
7. Current entitlements for Cost of Living Supplements in areas outside London and Fringe will continue but will be re-expressed as long-term recruitment and retention premia.
8. It will be open to the Pay Review Body for nurses and other health professions and/or the Pay Spine Three Negotiating Council to make recommendations on the future geographic coverage of high cost area supplements and on the value of such supplements.
9. It will be open to NHS employers or staff organisations in a specified geographic area to propose an increase in the level of high cost area supplement for staff in that area - or (in the case of areas where no such supplement exists) to introduce a supplement. But this can only be implemented where:

Chapter 4

Recruitment and Retention Premia

1. A Recruitment and Retention Premium is an addition to the pay of an individual post or specific group of posts where market pressures would otherwise prevent the employer from being able to recruit staff to and retain staff in sufficient numbers for the posts concerned at the normal salary for a job of that weight.
2. Subject to the provisions below, NHS employers may apply a Recruitment and Retention Premium to posts of a specific class or type. They may also be applied to individual posts where the post is unique within the organisation concerned (such as the head of a department or service).
3. Recruitment and Retention Premia may also be awarded on a national basis to particular groups of staff on the recommendation of the Review Body and/or the Negotiating Council for non-Review Body staff, where there are national recruitment and retention pressures. The Review Body and Negotiating Council must seek evidence or advice from NHS employees, Staff Side organisations and other stakeholders in considering the case for any such payments. Where it is agreed that a Recruitment and Retention Payment is necessary for a particular group, the level of payment should be specified or, where the underlying problem is considered to vary across the country guidance should be given to employers on the appropriate level of payment.
4. Recruitment and Retention Premia will be supplementary payments, over and above the pay that the post holder receives by virtue of their position on their pay band, any high cost area supplements, or any payments for unsocial hours or on-call cover.
5. Recruitment and Retention Premia will apply to posts. Where an employee moves to a different post that does not attract a Recruitment and Retention Premium, either within the same organisation or elsewhere in the NHS, their entitlement to any previous Recruitment and Retention Premium will cease.
6. NHS employers and staff side representatives, in partnership, will follow the procedure set out in Annex D in deciding the award of a recruitment and retention premium.

Long-term and short-term Recruitment and Retention Premia

7. The body responsible for awarding a Recruitment and Retention Premium shall determine whether to award a long-term or short-term premium.
8. Short-term Recruitment and Retention Premia will apply where the labour market conditions giving rise to a recruitment and retention problem are expected to be short-term and where the need for the premium is expected to disappear or reduce in the foreseeable future.
9. Long-term Recruitment and Retention Premia will apply where the relevant labour market conditions are more deep-rooted and the need for the premium is not expected to vary significantly in the foreseeable future.
10. Short-term Recruitment and Retention Premia:

1. Both long-term and short-term Recruitment and Retention Premia will be expressed as cash sums and will be separately identifiable from basic pay, any high cost area supplement and any other component of pay.
2. The combined value of any nationally awarded and any locally awarded Recruitment and Retention Premium for a given post shall not normally exceed 30% of basic salary. It shall be the responsibility of employers to ensure that any premia awarded locally do not normally result in payments in excess of this amount, taking into account any national awards for the posts in question. See also the Earned Autonomy Chapter 8.

Nationally agreed recruitment and retention premia

3. Table 6 below lists a number of jobs for which there is prima fasciae evidence from both the work on the job evaluation scheme and consultation with management and staff side representatives that a premium is necessary to ensure the position of the NHS is maintained during the transitional period.

Table 6

Job

Chaplains

Clinical Coding Officers

Cytology Screeners

Dental Nurses, Technicians and Therapists

Estates Officers/Works Officers

Financial Accountants

Invoice Clerks

Medical Laboratory Scientific Officers

Payroll Team Leaders

Pharmacists

Qualified Maintenance Craftspersons

Qualified Maintenance Technicians

Qualified Medical Technical Officers

Qualified Midwives (new entrant)

Qualified Perfusionists

4. Initial guidance to employers in setting appropriate levels of premia in these cases and the arrangements for their review is included at Annex I. It requires the level of premium payable to be set locally on assimilation in cash terms at a level at least sufficient to ensure that at assimilation an existing member of staff will be no worse off than now, and that these premia should be uprated by 3.225% in April 2003, 2004 and 2005. The guidance may be revised by the NHS Staff Council, following experience in early implementer sites and any uprating of these premia beyond 2005 will be by agreement at national or local level.

Chapter 5

Terms and Conditions of Service

Hours of the Working Week

1. All full time NHS staff covered by this agreement will have a working week of 37.5 hours excluding meal breaks, subject to the protection and assimilation arrangements set out in Chapter 9.
2. The standard hours may be worked over any reference period e.g. 150 hours over 4 weeks or annualised hours with due regard for compliance with employment legislation such as the Working Time Regulations.
3. Part-time workers will suffer no detriment either in terms of pay or pension rights. Staff have the right to move to a new number of weekly hours that equates to the same proportion of the standard full-time hours as before assimilation (see also Chapter 9).

Overtime Payments

4. All staff in pay bands 1-7 will be eligible for overtime payments. There will be a single harmonised rate of time-and-a-half for all overtime, with the exception of work on general public holidays, which will be paid at double time.
5. Overtime payments will be based on the hourly rate provided by basic pay plus any long-term recruitment and retention premia.
6. The single overtime rate will apply, whenever excess hours are worked over full-time hours unless time of in lieu is taken, provided the employee's line manager or team leader has agreed to this work being performed outside the standard hours. Part time employees will receive payments for the additional hours at plain time rates until their hours exceed standard hours of 37.5 hours a week.
7. Staff may request take time off in lieu as an alternative to overtime payments. However staff who for operational reasons are unable to take time off in lieu within three months must be paid at the overtime rate.
8. Senior staff paid in pay band eight will not be entitled to overtime payments.
9. Time off in lieu of overtime payments will be at plain time rates.

 

Annual Leave

10. Staff will receive the entitlement to annual leave as set out in table 6 below:

Table 7

Length of service	Annual leave + General Public Holidays
On appointment	27 days + 8 days
After 5 years service	29 days + 8 days
After 10 years service	33 days + 8 days

11. These leave entitlements include the two extra-statutory days available in England and Wales in the past, and therefore any local arrangements to add days on account of extra statutory days will no longer apply. In Scotland this entitlement includes the two additional days that could previously be designated as either statutory days or annual leave. In Northern Ireland this entitlement also contains the two extra-statutory days, however there are 10 general public holidays. Local arrangements to consolidate some or all of the general public holidays into annual leave may however continue subject to agreement at local level.
12. Staff required to work or to be on call on a general public holiday are entitled to equivalent time to be taken off in lieu at plain time rates in addition to the appropriate payment for the duties undertaken.
13. Where staff work standard shifts other than 7.5 hours excluding meal breaks, annual leave entitlements should be calculated on an hourly basis to prevent staff on these shifts receiving greater or less leave than colleagues on standard shifts. All part time staff should have their annual leave entitlement calculated in hours.

Sick Leave

14. Sick leave entitlements will be harmonised on the normal Whitley provisions with a maximum of up to six months full pay and six months half pay, and the separate qualifying period for workers previously covered by the Ancillary Staff Council will be abolished.
15. The definition of full pay will include regularly paid supplements including long-term recruitment retention premia, payments for work outside normal hours and high cost area payments.
16. Full pay needs to be inclusive of any statutory benefits (so as not to make sick pay greater than normal working pay). The combined addition of SSP to half pay must not exceed full pay.
17. To aid rehabilitation there will be provision to allow staff in some circumstances to return to work on reduced hours or be encouraged to work from home without loss of pay. Any such arrangements need to be consistent with SSP rules.
18. Employers will have the option to terminate employment before exhausting the contractual paid sick leave period after investigation, consultation and consideration of other alternative posts and where there is no reasonable prospect of the employee returning to work.
19. Staff will not be entitled to an additional day off if sick on a statutory holiday.
20. Notification procedures and payment of sick pay when injuries are connected with other "insured" employment will be for local determination.

Other National Terms and Conditions

21. The following terms and conditions will remain NHS wide:

Other Terms and conditions of service

1. Other terms and conditions will be determined locally following consultation with staff side representatives with a view to reaching agreement on the changes proposed. The same terms and conditions should apply to all staff groups unless there are significant reasons why this is not appropriate.
2. The existing national conditions of service in the General Whitley Council Handbook and the other Functional Council arrangements will continue to apply to staff on national contracts who have not assimilated to the new terms and conditions, until they are replaced by new arrangements.
3. Decisions on the following areas, currently covered by GWC agreements, will be devolved to individual NHS organisations:

Chapter 6

Career and Pay and Progression

Development Review Process

1. All staff will have annual development reviews, which will include appraisal, assessment against the Knowledge and Skills Framework and production of a personal development plan, using the Knowledge and Skills Framework as a development tool. Similar to current practice development reviews will take place between staff and their manager or where appropriate their supervisor or another appropriately trained senior team member.
2. The main purpose of the development review will be to look at the way a member of staff is developing with reference to:

1. The primary output of a development review will be a personal development plan, which links to the needs of the job. During the development review process, discussion should cover the duties and responsibilities of the job that are being undertaken as outlined in 6.2. This will help to define future objectives and learning needs.
2. The review of learning achievements demonstrated in the workplace will be demonstrated by reference to the current Personal Development Plan.
3. Development will primarily focus on helping members of staff to carry out their job to the highest standard, although personal interests and opportunities for career progression will also be taken into account. Approaches to development will not just consist of courses but may also involve distance learning, private study and opportunities to participate in particular projects or work areas, short secondments and work shadowing as well as courses.
4. Development plans will distinguish between goals for the year ahead and those applying to the longer term. There will be a commitment on both sides to make reasonable efforts to meet the developmental goals for the year ahead in that year, and elements not completed through force of circumstance on either side will be carried over to the following year unless agreed otherwise.
5. Managers and staff will work together to fulfil agreed development plans. Employers will encourage staff members to progress and develop, and where training and/or development needs have been identified and agreed, employers will ensure sufficient financial support is provided. Where appropriate, employers should be expected to ensure that staff have appropriate time to fulfil training and/or development needs related to their current job and to provide appropriate financial and other support. If an employer fails to do this, they cannot defer pay progression. Wherever possible employers will also provide similar encouragement and support for elements of the Personal Development Plan which reflect personal interests or help staff prepare for a more senior role or transfer to a different area of work within the NHS.
6. Staff members will contribute to undertaking the agreed Personal Development Plan through their personal effort. They may individually choose, where appropriate, to commit personal time and resources, especially in those areas relating to longer-term career development.
7. Local development and review processes must be designed to ensure that part-time staff and those working outside normal hours have equal access to them.

Gateways

8. Gateways are points on a pay band where assessment of the application of knowledge and skills necessary to progress will be made. There are two gateway points: the foundation gateway and the second gateway.

Foundation Gateway

9. The foundation gateway applies no later than twelve months after appointment to the pay band regardless of the pay point to which the person is appointed.

Second Gateway

10. This will be followed by a second gateway that will vary between pay bands as follows:

Table 8

Pay band	Position of second gateway
Pay band 1	Before final point
Pay bands 2-4	Before first of last two points
Pay bands 5-7	Before first of last three points
Pay band 8, ranges A-D	Before final point

11. The assessment at each gateway will be based on the relevant dimensions of the Knowledge and Skills Framework applied consistently and fairly.
12. The gateway review should take place in time for staff to progress on their normal incremental. Robust local arrangements must be agreed to deal with cases where this is not possible (for example because someone is ill). These should ensure that there is no incentive on either side to abuse the process.

Pay Progression

13. Newly appointed or promoted staff joining a pay band under the new system will serve an initial foundation period of up to twelve months. During this initial period all staff will have at least two discussions with their manager or supervisor to review progress guided by the Knowledge and Skills Framework. The first of these discussions should normally be during the induction period. The aim of these discussions and any resulting support and development, will be to help staff make a success of the new job, and confirm as quickly as possible that they are applying the basic knowledge and skills needed for the job and can pass through the foundation gateway and commence progression up their pay band
14. Once progression has been agreed, a member of staff will normally progress to the next point on their pay band twelve months after appointment and to subsequent points every twelve months thereafter subject to meeting the criteria for progression when they pass through the second gateway point.
15. Before moving through the second gateway, there will be an assessment as part of the process of development review, against the full outline of Knowledge and Skill for the post. Staff will normally expect to move through the second gateway at this point, but - subject to the safeguards set out below - progression may be deferred if the assessment indicates that they are not yet applying the full range of knowledge and skill required for the post.
16. The gateway system will only become fully operational when an employer has put in place reasonable arrangements to ensure that staff have access to development reviews, personal development plans and appropriate support for training and development to meet the applied knowledge and skills required at the gateway concerned. This must be done for all posts covered by this agreement no later than October 2006.
17. Existing staff with at least twelve months experience in post will be assumed to have met the criteria for passing through the foundation gateway. Where the gateway system is operational, they will however be subject to the normal operation of the new system at the second gateway.
18. The following safeguards will also apply:

Exceptional grounds for deferral of pay progression

Career Development Moves

1. Where a member of staff moves to another job in the NHS covered by this agreement, where the necessary arrangements to support the operation of the gateways are in place, pay progression will normally depend on demonstrating within the first twelve months of appointment the level of applied knowledge and skills appropriate to the point on the new pay band to which they are appointed in their new job.
2. Where however an individual retrains in a different area of work for wider service or operational reasons with the explicit agreement of with the employer concerned, their existing level of pay should be protected. Once protection is agreed, it may not be withdrawn until the person concerned has had a reasonable opportunity to complete their re-training and progress to a point where pay protection is no longer required. Explicit employer agreement in this context cannot however be deemed to have been given solely because they have agreed to re-employ someone following redundancy.

Chapter 7

NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework

1. A new NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework will be available for use in early implementer sites from June 2003 and will be applied to all NHS jobs covered by this agreement no later than October 2006.
2. The output from the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework for an individual job will be a list of descriptions and/or standards specifying the basic applied knowledge and skills required for a job, and how this should develop during a person's time in post. It will provide prompts for action by individuals and their managers to update or develop their knowledge and skills, or address weaknesses in the application of knowledge and skills.
3. It must be clear which elements, as identified in the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework, should be demonstrated at both the foundation and second gateway.
4. The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework will continue to be developed so that it :

Chapter 8

Additional Freedoms for NHS Foundation Trusts and Other Trusts With Earned Autonomy in England²

1. The new pay system set out in this agreement will be implemented in all NHS organisations, giving extra local freedoms within the new system compared to current national agreements. NHS Foundation Trusts will be implementing the new pay system ahead of establishment. But where NHS organisations acquire earned autonomy or Foundation Trust status in England they will have greater autonomy in relation to the use of specified local freedoms under this agreement. In these areas

• The ability to offer alternative packages of benefits of equivalent value to the standard benefits set out in this agreement, among which the employee can make a personal choice (eg greater leave entitlements but longer hours);
• The ability to negotiate local arrangements for compensatory benefits such as expenses and subsistence which differ from those set out in the Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook.
• The ability to award recruitment and retention premia above 30 per cent of basic pay where that is justified, without prior clearance by the NHS Staff Council and Strategic Health Authority;

IMPLEMENTATION

Chapter 9

Assimilation and Protection

1. Staff on national contracts and other contracts which incorporate, or permit employers to incorporate, national agreements on pay and conditions of service will assimilate to the new pay system on the effective date determined below.
2. Staff on local contracts that do not incorporate national agreements on pay and conditions of service will be offered the opportunity to assimilate to the new system with the same effective date, subject to a reasonable period of notice. If staff on local contracts do not exercise this right within the initial notice period, they may do so later, but in that case their effective date of assimilation will be the start of the next pay period after they have notified the employer of their intention.
3. Newly appointed or promoted staff will be appointed or promoted on the new terms.

Effective dates and operational dates

4. The effective date for implementation for the first 12 early implementer sites announced on 28 November 2002 will be 1 June 2003, but may be deferred if the outcome of consultation is not known by 31^st May 2003.
5. The effective date for early implementation in Foundation Trust sites will be determined once their status is confirmed³.
6. The effective date for assimilation during national roll out will be 1 October 2004.
7. To support the smooth transfer of staff onto new contracts employers may agree locally, through their joint negotiating machinery, a series of operational dates for staff to move in practice to the new system. These operational dates may vary for different categories of staff. Where this provision is used locally, the operational date must be no later than 6 months after the effective date. Any member of staff whose assimilation to the new system is deferred for operational reasons under this provision will have any pay increase and any other improvement in terms and conditions back-dated to the effective date.

 

Assimilation to new Pay Spines and Bands

8. An employee's current pay for the purpose of assimilation to the new pay spines and bands, referred to below as "basic pay before assimilation", is their annual full time equivalent basic pay on the effective assimilation date plus the annual value of any job evaluation related allowances (Annex B) plus the average value of any bonus payments under schemes that are discontinued (Chapter 1).
9. Where the employee's basic pay is already subject to protection at the point of assimilation the protected level of basic pay should be used in this calculation.
10. The assimilation rules for basic pay are as follows:

12. During any period when the special transitional points are in use in respect of any member of staff in a given unit or equivalent work area, new appointees to the same pay band in that unit or work area, who would normally join at the minimum pay for the job, should be appointed on the lowest special transitional point currently in use.

Staff approaching retirement age

Pay Protection

16. Where the combined value of the payments before assimilation is greater than the combined value of the payments under the new system, the former level of pay will be protected.
17. The level of protected pay will be recalculated for staff assimilating before April 2004 taking into account the 3.225 per cent uplift in April 2004 in respect of all payments to which it applies.
18. The level of protected pay will be recalculated for staff assimilating after April 2004 taking into account the 3.225 per cent uplift in April 2005 in respect of all payments to which it applies.
19. If standard hours change during the period of protection, other than under the rules for assimilation to new standard hours below (for example where a member of staff changes from full time to part time employment), or if a staff member reduces their hours of work or level of unsocial hours working, the protected level of pay will be recalculated.
20. The period of protection will end when the total level of payments under the new system set out in paragraph 10.8 above exceeds the level of protected pay, or when the protected person changes job voluntarily, or at the latest on 30 September 2009 for staff in early implementer sites and 31^st March 2011 for staff in national roll-out.
21. As soon as possible during the period of protection the skills, knowledge and role of staff subject to protection will be reviewed to establish whether they could be reassigned to a higher weighted job or offered development and training to fit them for a higher weighted job.
22. Staff with pay protection arising from changes unrelated to this agreement who are also eligible for protection under this agreement may, at the time of assimilation, elect either to continue with their existing protection agreement or to move to this protection agreement. When the agreement concerned expires they will move onto the normal terms and conditions under this agreement.

Incremental Dates

23. For existing staff on spot salaries or on or above the maximum of their current pay scale the incremental date will be the anniversary of the effective date of assimilation.
24. For newly appointed or promoted staff the incremental date will be the date they take up their post.
25. All other staff will retain their current incremental date.

Assimilation to new conditioned hours

26. For staff who currently work more than 37.5 hours, excluding meal breaks, there is a two year transitional period during which the new contracted hours will be phased in, as set out in the table below, and during which staff may be required to work up to their old contracted hours with overtime payable for any hours in excess of their standard hours. Pro rata arrangements will apply to part-time staff.

Table 9. Assimilation of working hours for those currently working more than 37.5 hours

Current standard hours	New standard hours
Up to 39	37½ from the date of implementation
More than 39, up to 41	39 from the date of implementation 37½ after 12 months
More than 41	40½ from the date of implementation 39 after twelve months 37½ after 24 months

27. Staff currently working less than 37.5 hours, excluding meal breaks, will have their hours protected for a phased protection period as set out in the table below. Part-time staff will be treated on an equivalent pro-rata basis. These protection arrangements will continue to apply where staff move to a post with the same hours under the old pay system during the protection period.

Assimilation to new annual leave arrangements

16. Any additional leave entitlements set out in Chapter 5 will begin to accrue from the effective date of assimilation. If the staff member remains in post for the remainder of the leave year, the additional leave available in that year will be calculated pro-rata to the proportion of the leave year falling after the date of assimilation.
17. Any member of staff whose leave entitlement is reduced under this agreement will have their existing entitlement protected for five years from the date of assimilation into the new system. During this period staff may continue to claim existing entitlements.

Chapter 10

Monitoring, Reviews and Appeals

Monitoring

1. A national framework will be agreed by the NHS Staff Council for national roll out, supported by the learning gathering during early implementation, to ensure that consistent information will be collected on:

Reviews

Local Reviews

1. The information will also be used locally to identify problems.
2. Where common problems arise for a group of staff in an organisation, the employer and staff side representatives, working in partnership, should review the problem in order to try to identify a common solution which can be applied to as many of the cases as possible.
3. Where the issue appears to have implications beyond the organisation concerned, and in particular where the issue is the interpretation of this agreement the matter should be referred to the NHS Staff Council and may be so referred at the request of either party.
4. The results of a review, and the reasons for them will be made available to all those concerned. Where a matter has been dealt with by review, and remedial action instituted, no further right of appeal will exist, unless the staff member concerned can show a material difference in their case, which was not considered by the review.

National Reviews

5. As outlined in Paragraph 11.6, the NHS Staff Council (or the Central Negotiating Group if the Council is not yet established) can be consulted by local employers or staff sides on the interpretation of the agreement where there is an issue that may have wider applicability. Additionally the NHS Staff Council will have a monitoring role in the identified areas and where inconsistencies are emerging, recommendations and advice will be given to local employers and staff sides.

Appeals

6. Every effort will be made to ensure that locally managers and staff are able to resolve differences without recourse to formal procedures. They should agree in partnership a procedure to resolve differences locally based on the framework attached at annex F.
7. The majority of employees will be assimilated using national job profiles, in accordance with guidance issued centrally. Appeals may not be made against the evaluation of a profiled post. The guidance on matching profiles to individual posts is included in the JE profile handbook.
8. Where appeals are upheld the associated pay or benefits will normally be backdated to the date the appeal was lodged. But in the case of appeals relating to decisions in relation to assimilation they will be backdated to the effective date of assimilation provided the appeal was lodged within six months of the date on which the person was notified or could otherwise have reasonably been expected to be aware of the decision giving rise to the appeal.

OPERATING THE NEW SYSTEM

Chapter 11

New Bodies and Procedures

1. This agreement provides for revised pay review body terms of reference and a new set of partnership structures to oversee and negotiate changes to the new system of modernised pay and conditions of service in place of the present Whitley Councils. This part of the agreement sets out when it is proposed these structures will come into existence and any interim arrangements while they are being established.
2. The new pay review body terms of reference, single pay negotiating council and NHS staff council will be established as soon as possible after this agreement has been ratified following consultation.
3. To assist this process it has been agreed that consultation with the review bodies and other parties on revised review body terms of reference can begin on a contingent basis in parallel with consultation on the agreement:
4. All parties commit themselves to make best efforts to complete these processes by 31^st May 2003. However they recognise that steps requiring consultation may take longer. In that case members of the Central Negotiating Group will be notified of the delay and kept informed of progress.
5. Following ratification of this agreement no unilateral proposals will be made to the pay review body, or any council to alter the existing Whitley or new Agenda for Change pay structures during the period in which it is being implemented.
6. In the event of a delay in establishing the NHS Staff Council, any matters of concern over implementation and monitoring of the new system will be referred to the Central Negotiating Group.

Chapter 12

The NHS Staff Council⁴

1. An NHS Staff Council will be established to replace the relevant functions of the General Whitley Council and the separate functional Whitley Councils, and have overall responsibility for the pay system set out in these proposals.
2. Its remit will include:

Chapter 13

NHS Review Bodies

1. This chapter sets out proposals for changes to the remit of the NHS Pay Review Bodies and the pay review process that are intended to:

Proposed changes to help ensure consistency with equal pay principles

1. It is proposed that there should be changes to the Review Bodies' remits and to the pay review process so that:

Proposed changes to the remit of the Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine

1. It is proposed that the remit of the Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine be extended to include all staff employed in the NHS belonging to professions which:

Ensuring effective partnership

1. The Health Departments, NHS employer representatives and the organisations representing staff within the remit of the Review Bodies will review arrangements for working in partnership on:

Chapter 14

The New Negotiating Council

1. A spine three pay negotiating council (The Council) will be responsible

for negotiating and monitoring the pay awards of all staff on pay spine three.

2. The Council will replace the relevant functional Whitley Councils and

other related bodies with regard to negotiating pay awards.

3. There will be direct linkage between basic pay awards (excluding

awards to deal with recruitment and retention or other special issues affecting particular groups) for staff on spine two and those in an equivalent position on spine three.

4. The Council will negotiate any variation in these basic pay awards

having regard to the same factors in relation to its remit group as the pay review body for their remit groups.

5. It will be open to the Government or Staff Side organisations to make

a case for awarding differential pay increases, where these are justified by the impact of different labour markets, or to tackle recruitment and retention difficulties.

6. Where, based on material factors the Council judges differential

awards are required, either at particular levels within the pay structure or in respect of particular groups, the Council should be explicit about the reasons for such recommendations.

7. Where higher awards to particular groups are justified by reference to

material factors, the additional award should be separately identifiable and may typically take the form of a recruitment and retention premium Any such additions should be periodically reviewed by the Council and may over time be adjusted or withdrawn to reflect changes in the relevant material factors, for instance in the scale of labour market pressures and their impact on recruitment and retention.

8. The Council will operate in a spirit of social partnership. It will have

joint chairs, one from staff side and one from the UK Health Departments (who represents the interests of UK Health Ministers). When both chairs are present, the functional chair will alternate each year.

9. There will be an equal number of members representing the UK Health

Departments and NHS Management and members representing NHS staff organisations. There will be a joint secretariat. Meetings of the Council will be hosted by agreement between the four UK Health Departments, and the expenses of individual members will be born by the organisations nominating them.

10. The departmental side will include representatives of the UK Health

Departments, the NHS Confederation, the Ambulance Services Association and employer representatives including a primary care representative and a Health Authority or Health Board nominee and representatives of Foundation Trusts.

11. The staff side should reflect membership in the NHS but also make

some provision to ensure that smaller staff organisations with national recognition for pay purposes have a voice in the new system. The weighting of membership on the staff side will be a matter for the collective staff side to determine.

12. The Council should meet at least twice yearly and may form sub

groups to discuss analysis, evidence and issues with significant implications for a particular group, or to oversee particular parts of the system, and make recommendations on them to the Council.

13. Decisions of the Council will be reached by agreement of both departmental and staff sides. All decisions of the Council will require the formal agreement of the Secretary of State for Health and the Ministers of Health for Scotland and Northern Ireland and the National Assembly for Wales.
14. The staff side organisations with national recognition for pay purposes with staff who may be on spine 3 currently are:

ANNEXES

Annex A

List of bodies in each stage of implementation

Early Implementer sites - from Spring 2003

James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust

Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust

City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust

Papworth Hospital NHS Trust

Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust

Herefordshire NHS Primary Care Trust

Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust

List of bodies in national roll-out - from October 2004

England

All other NHS Trusts including NHS Direct,

All other Primary Care Trusts,

Strategic Health Authorities

Dental Practice Board,

Public Health Laboratory Service,

National Blood Authority,

Prescription Pricing Authority,

NHS Information Authority,

NHS Logistics Authority,

UK Transplant,

National Treatment Agency

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Northern Ireland

Health Boards

HSS Trusts

Agencies

Scotland

Health Boards

Special Health Boards

NHS Trusts

Primary Care Trusts

NHS 24

NHS Education for Scotland

Wales

NHS Trusts

Local Health Boards

Annex B

Classification of Leads and Allowances (listed by staff group).

Leads and allowances which relate to job weight as valued in the Job Evaluation scheme are:

• Maintenance Staff

• Ambulance Staff

• Ambulance Officers and Control Room Assistants

• Ancillary Staff

• Admin and Clerical staff

• Nursing and PAMs Staff

• Maintenance Staff

• Ambulance Staff

• Ambulance Officers and Control Room Assistants

• Ancillary Staff

• Nursing and PAMs Staff

• PTB & S&P Staff

Leads and allowances which relate to recruitment and retention premia are:

• Chaplains accommodation allowance
• Special hospital lead
• Regional secure unit lead

Annex C

Good practice guidance

1. An important aspect of managing the provision of emergency cover outside normal hours element is ensuring good management practice and, where necessary, appropriate protocols are put in place. This should reduce the difficulties arising from the unpredictability within the system.
2. Similarly, in line with good working practices, employers should ensure that staff are given adequate time to be made aware of their working patterns, as a guide at least 4weeks before they become operational.
3. Flexible working arrangements are a key element of the Improving Working Lives Standard and ensuring the effective management of the rostering process can impact on unexpected difficulties.
4. The Improving Working Lives (IWL) website (www.doh.gov.uk/iwl) includes a good practice database, which details a raft of information and provides examples of how flexible working is used to cover both normal hours and the provision of care outside normal hours.
5. A series of Improving Working Lives Toolkits have been produced to provide guidance to both managers and staff, covering the whole range of issues within Improving Working Lives, including flexible working. Specific toolkits have also been produced aimed at particular staff groups, for example, allied health professionals and healthcare scientists. These documents can be downloaded from the IWL website (www.doh.gov.uk/iwl)

Annex D

Local Recruitment and Retention Premium criteria

1. To ensure consistency in the application and payment of Recruitment and Retention Premia, local employers should adhere to the following protocol.

Recruitment

2. All new vacancies should be advertised in relevant local, regional, national and/or professional media.
3. Where adverts have produced no suitable applicants HR personnel and service/department managers should consider the reasons for this. Account should be taken of number of applicants, relevant national vacancy data and local labour market information, the media used and any non pay improvements that could be made to the employment package (e.g. training opportunities, childcare, relocation), or any expected increase in the supply of staff suitable for the post.
4. If it could be reasonably assumed that vacancies could be filled through, for example, advertising in different media or by waiting for an expected increase in supply (for example from new trainees) then vacant posts should be re-advertised.
5. However if on the basis of 2 and 3 above, it is decided that the vacancy problem can be addressed most effectively only through payment of a Recruitment and Retention Premium, the employer should decide in partnership with the local staff side whether the problem is likely to be resolved in the foreseeable future (in which case any premium should be short term) or whether it is likely to continue indefinitely (in which case any premium should be long term (see Chapter 4 of this agreement).
6. The employer should then consult with neighbouring employers, Workforce Development Confederations, staff side organisations and other stakeholders, before implementing any premium. See 4.6 of this agreement

Retention

7. Before consideration is given to paying Recruitment and Retention Premia to increase retention of staff, HR personnel, service/department heads and relevant staff side representatives should ensure non-pay benefits (e.g. childcare support, training and development) are sufficiently developed. Where possible local turnover rates should be compared with national rates. Employers are also advised to undertake regular exit surveys to assess how far pay is a factor in employees' decisions to leave the organisation.
8. However if it is decided that a retention problem can be addressed most effectively only through payment of a Recruitment and Retention Premium, the employer should decide whether the problem is likely to be resolved in the foreseeable future (in which case any premium should be short term) or whether it is likely to continue indefinitely (in which case any premium should be long term (see chapter 4 of this agreement).
9. The employer should then consult with neighbouring employers, Workforce Development Confederations, relevant staff side organisations and other stakeholders, or follow agreed protocols in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland before implementing any premium.

Review

10. Once Recruitment and Retention Premia are awarded they should be reviewed annually. This review should be done by HR personnel, relevant service/department heads and staff side representatives.
11. The review should consider amongst other factors:

Annex E

Partnership Agreement Success Criteria

(And approach to measurement in early implementers)

Approach to any Problems

1. If there is no evidence of the expected benefits starting to emerge, or if the risks identified are arising to a significant degree, the appropriate action should be discussed in the NHS Staff Council. The appropriate actions may include any matter within the normal powers of the Council including new guidance on interpretation, implementation or if necessary agreed variations to particular systems or rules within the new pay system. If any major problems are identified during early implementation which cause a delay to national roll out, pay changes will be backdated to he agreed date of 1^st October 2004.

Annex F

Appeals Procedure

Model Local Appeals Procedures

1. All employers should agree procedures with their local staff side for dealing with differences over the local application of the new national agreement to their individual pay and terms and conditions of service, including

Annex G

Additional Allied Health Professions And Healthcare Science Groups For Inclusion In The Review Body Remit

Allied Health Professional Groups

Speech and Language Therapists

Prosthetists and Orthotists

Ambulance Paramedics

The Professions in Healthcare Science

Engineering and the Physical Sciences

Clinical Engineers

Medical Physicists

Medical Physics Technologists

Nuclear Medicine Technologists

Critical Care Technologists

Radiotherapy Technologists

Rehabilitation Engineers

Clinical Measurement Technicians

Vascular Technologists

Medical Illustrators

Renal Dialysis Technologists

Technologists in Equipment Management

Physical Sciences

Audiological Scientists

Hearing Therapists

Audiological Technicians

Cardiology Physiologists

Cardiographers

Clinical Perfusionists

Gastroenterology Technicians

Neurophysiologists

Respiratory Physiologists

Life Sciences

Biomedical Scientists

Cytology Screeners

Medical Laboratory Assistants

Phlebotomists

Clinical Biochemists

Clinical Cytogeneticists

Molecular Geneticists

Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Assistants

Clinical Embryologists

Clinical Microbiologists

Clinical Scientists (in haematology)

Clinical Scientists (in immunology and histocompatibility)

Post-mortem Technicians

Quality Assurance Scientists

Annex H

Examples of Special Cases Under the Provisions For Work Outside Normal Hours

Example of application to part time staff

H4. A person working half time - 18.75 hours a week - is on call for one of the

nine on call periods each week. Had they worked full time the payment for

Example of application to annual hours agreements

Example of application to bank staff

Example of application to staff working rostered overtime

Annex I

Guidance On The Application Of Nationally Agreed Recruitment And Retention Premia

Background

Posts to Which This Guidance Applies

Minimum Level of Premium

Maximum Level of Premium

Further Guidance on Specific Cases

Qualified Midwife (new entrant)

Uprating of Nationally Agreed Premia

Review of this Guidance

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