NHS unions and employers are pushing the Department of Health for an extension to the deadline for trusts to transfer staff to the Agenda for Change pay system.
The NHS Staff Council has requested ‘managed extensions’ to give trusts that are struggling with the 30 September deadline until the end of December.
Unions have estimated that up to half of the NHS trusts in England and many in Wales will miss the deadline, according to a report in the Nursing Times.
Trusts applying for an extension would need to draw up an action plan that would be closely monitored by the NHS Staff Council.
Earlier this year Andrew Foster, NHS HR director, admitted that the health service would miss its target of having 100% of staff covered by Agenda for Change.
