Bank staff who work for the NHS in hospitals in Wales are angered and feel "undervalued" after they were told they will not benefit from a one-off payment as part of the new pay deal from the Welsh Government for NHS workers in Wales. Nurses and healthcare assistants (HCAs) who are employed by health boards found out this week that they do not benefit from part of the pay rise negotiated by unions, meaning their pay will miss out on a 1.5% non-consolidated pay rise, which is a one-off bonus payment..
Unions say by not offering bank staff the one-off payment it is driving employees to work for agencies at a time when the Welsh Government needs to reduce the amount it spends on agency workers. In Wales NHS workers have received a pay offer for 2022-23 that comprises of an additional 3%. of which 1.5% is consolidated and 1.5% is non-consolidated. on top of the increase paid earlier in the year. In total this equates to an additional 7.6% on the NHS pay bill for 2022-23. Bank staff will not be getting the 1.5% non-consolidated payment.
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The NHS staff bank is a resource used to allow qualified nurses and other members of staff like healthcare assistants to book shifts and they are often used to fill gaps in the workforce. They are employed by the NHS and are not the same as agency staff, which often cost the NHS up to three times more than someone doing a shift on a bank basis.
Many of those who choose to work on the bank do so because it gives them the flexibility as a parent or carer. Jake Done is a healthcare assistant at a hospital in south Wales. He works on bank as he needs to care for his parents. Jake's mother is blind and uses a wheelchair after having a stroke. She also has kidney failure and needs dialysis three times a week and requires 24-hour care. He works nights three or four times a week so he can care for his mother throughout the day.
Jake, 30, said: "I’ve worked for the NHS for six years now but as my parents have got older I’ve needed to change my working schedule to accommodate them. I am not the only one who uses this system of working in order to support my family's needs."
He added that he is "insulted" that the job he has that allows him to be a full-time carer means he does not get the "same recognition for the exact same role" as someone who is permanent staff. The non-consolidated pay would have worked out around £300 for him. He said there was a lack of incentive for NHS staff to stay on bank and not work for an agency where they would get paid more.
Jake added: "I love caring – that is why I went into this, it showed me how much empathy and want I have to look after people – but it feels like they don't want us to stay. [Compared to] when I first started years ago you can see the change – the lack of staff, the lack of motivation, burnout is rife – and I only work in a small hospital. It is a sad time to work for the NHS."
An NHS nurse called Louise, who did not want to share her surname, works in a hospital on bank in south Wales. She shared similar concerns. Louise is in her 60s and has worked as a nurse since the 1970s. She said the bank staff were informed they would not get this non-consolidated pay rise on Monday. To get more stories like this direct to your inbox, sign up to our WalesMatters newsletter here.
She also has caring responsibilities and started as a bank nurse when her children were young as it gave her the flexibility around family life. Louise worked throughout the pandemic and described the last few years as "exhausting" but said it was also a privilege to work for the NHS. She said on Tuesday: "When we found out yesterday there was a whole tirade of people upset by it. Everyone's shared feeling was they feel undervalued. We feel immense pride to work for the NHS. Many of us could go and work at an agency for more money but we don't want to."
The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) said by not giving bank staff the non-consolidated payment it risked driving nurses in Wales to agencies at a time when the Welsh Government claims they want to reduce the amount spent on agency nurses. RCN Wales director Helen Whyley said: “ RCN Wales have raised this issue with the Welsh Government. Nurses working on the bank deserve to receive the non-consolidated payment. One of the NHS and Welsh Government’s biggest challenges is to reduce the amount spent on agency nursing. To do this it says it wants to incentivise bank shifts but it is actively driving bank nurses on to agency by not valuing them sufficiently and paying them this one-off payment. It is no wonder that bank nurses are bitterly disappointed in the Welsh Government’s attitude.” The Welsh Government said it remains in discussions with trade unions in Wales on the details relating to the NHS pay award enhancement.
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