NHS trusts that miss this week’s deadline for switching staff to the Agenda for Change pay system will be given more time, after the Department of Health (DoH) and trade unions agreed a compromise deal.
A joint statement by the DoH, health service unions and the healthcare pay negotiating body NHS Employers said they were optimistic that by the end of September a “significant majority” of NHS employees will have moved onto the new national pay structure.
According to DoH figures, as of the end of August, 80% of jobs were matched to the new grades, with about 60% of staff assimilated. This translates as more than 540,000 individuals being paid on their new grades.
The statement said there may be “a minority of organisations that will not be able to finish the task by the end of September”.
Those trusts will be required to propose tight timetables to achieve completion. The DoH, NHS Employers and the trade unions will then manage the performance of these plans.
It is now hoped that all NHS employees will be assimilated by the end of the year.
