NHS pay modernisation put to test

PUBLIC SECTOR PAY

Sweeping changes to health workers' pay are being piloted in 12 NHS trusts. A recent issue of IRS Employment Review looks at some of the lessons emerging from the experiences of early implementation sites.

Agenda for Change is the 2002 agreement covering the modernisation of pay terms and conditions for 1.2 million NHS employees. At the heart of the programme is a new job evaluation system coupled with two new pay spines, harmonised terms and conditions and career progression based on a new knowledge and skills framework. To road test this vast pay modernisation programme, 12 NHS trusts were identified as pilots for the process.

This four-page article assesses progress to date. Researchers at IRS spoke to the head of pay modernisation in the NHS Unison's national secretary the head of the staff side at Herefordshire NHS Primary Care Trust and the early implementation project manager at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital.

Want to know more?

Title: "Agenda for changes: pay modernisation put to the test", IRS Employment Review 798/Pay and Benefits, 16 April 2004.

Availability: Contact the subscriptions department at Industrial Relations Services in London, tel: 020 8686 9141 or visit www.irsemploymentreview.com

Posted 5 May 2004