Agenda for Change - NHS terms and conditions of service ...

1 January 2005 Agenda for Change NHS terms and conditions of service handbookThe terms and conditions of service set out in this handbook apply in full to all staffdirectly employed by NHS organisations, except very senior managers and staff withinthe remit of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body. NHS organisations include Healthand Personal Social services organisations in Northern Ireland. References to the NHSthroughout this document should be read as including these organisations whereappropriate. Staff on contracts that incorporate national agreements will assimilate into the new system, and staff on local contracts will be offered the opportunity oftransferring to it under the timetable it sets for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 20053 Agenda for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 2005 Part 1 Principles and 8 Part 2 PaySection 1 Pay structure.

2 12 Section 2 Working or providing emergency cover outside normal hours .. 14 Section 3 Overtime payments .. 18 Section 4 Pay in high-cost areas .. 18 Section 5 Recruitment and retention premia .. 19 Section 6 Career and pay 21 Section 7 Payment of annual salaries .. 26 Sections 8 9 (Unallocated)Part 3 terms and conditions of serviceSection 10 Hours of the working 30 Section 11 Part-time employees and employees on fixed-term contracts .. 30 Section 12 Contractual continuity of service .. 31 Section 13 Annual leave and general public holidays .. 31 Section 14 Sickness absence .. 32 Section 15 Maternity leave and pay .. 34 Section 16 Redundancy pay .. 41 Section 17 Mileage allowances .. 44 Section 18 Subsistence allowances .. 48 Section 19 Other terms and 50 Sections 20 24 (Unallocated)Part 4 Employee relationsSection 25 Facilities for staff organisations .. 52 Section 26 Joint consultation machinery.

3 53 Section 27 Working Time Regulations .. 54 Sections 28 29 (Unallocated)CONTENTSPart 5 Equal opportunitiesSection 30 General statement on equality and diversity .. 60 Section 31 Recruitment, promotion and staff development .. 62 Section 32 Dignity at 65 Section 33 Caring for children and adults .. 67 Section 34 Flexible working 68 Section 35 Balancing work and personal life .. 69 Section 36 Employment break scheme .. 72 Sections 37 39 (Unallocated)Part 6 Operating the systemSection 40 New bodies and procedures .. 76 Sections 41 45 (Unallocated)Part 7 Transitional arrangementsSection 46 Assimilation and protection .. 84 Section 47 Monitoring, reviews and appeals .. 93 AnnexesAnnex ANHS employers .. 96 Annex BPay bands and pay points 2004 .. 97 Annex CPay bands and pay points 2005 .. 98 Annex DWorking or providing emergency cover outside normal hours .. 99 Annex EProvisions for unsocial hours payments for ambulance staff and available to early implementer sites.

4 100 Annex FExamples of special cases under the provisions for work outside normal hours .. 103 Annex GGood practice guidance on managing working patterns .. 105 Annex HHigh-cost area payment zones .. 105 Annex IHigh-cost area supplements .. 108 Contents4 Agenda for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 20055 Agenda for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 2005 Annex JLocal recruitment and retention premium criteria .. 109 Annex KAdditional freedoms for trusts with earned autonomy .. 110 Annex LMileage allowances .. 111 Annex MLease car policies .. 112 Annex NSubsistence allowances .. 112 Annex OOther terms and 113 Annex PCoverage of nurses and other health professions review body .. 114 Implementation annexesAnnex QClassification of leads and allowances (listed by staff group).. 118 Annex RGuidance on the application of national recruitment and retention premia.

5 120 Annex SLocal appeals procedures .. 123 Annex TDevelopment of professional roles .. 125 Annex UArrangements for pay and banding of trainees .. 125 Annex VNHSS cotland: Partnership Information Network guidelines .. 126 ContentsPART 1:PRINCIPLES AND PARTNERSHIP1 Part 2: PSection 1: Pay Structure8 Agenda for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 20051 All NHS employers are obliged to adhere to employment and tax law and otherstatutory provisions. The NHS Staff Council will seek to keep the handbook up todate with any changes, but current law takes precedence over the Scotland, the statutory framework includes legislation on staff governance as setout in the NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Staff Governance with this standard includes implementation of Partnership InformationNetwork (PIN) guidelines, which define a minimum standard of best employmentpractice. This handbook should be read in conjunction with the provisions of thePIN guidelines as listed in Annex provisions set out in this handbook are based on the need to ensure a fairsystem of pay for NHS employees which supports modernised working provisions recognise that modern forms of healthcare rely on flexible teams ofstaff providing patient care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a yearand applying a wide range of Agenda for Change partners agree to work in partnership to deliver a newNHS pay system that supports NHS service modernisation and meets thereasonable aspirations of staff.

6 The signatories to the agreement will worktogether to meet the reasonable aspirations of all the parties to: ensure that the new pay system leads to more patients being treated more quickly and being given higher quality care assist new ways of working that best deliver the range and quality of services required, in as efficient and effective a way as possible, and organised to best meet the needs of patients assist the goal of achieving a quality workforce with the right numbers of staff, with the right skills and diversity, and organised in the right way improve the recruitment, retention and morale of the NHS workforce improve all aspects of equal opportunity and diversity, especially in the areas of career and training opportunities and working patterns that are flexible and responsive to family commitments meet equal pay for work of equal value criteria, recognising that pay constitutes any benefits in cash or conditions implement the new pay system within the management.

7 Financial and service constraints likely to be in partnership5 The Agenda for Change partners will make every effort to continue to support,encourage and promote a partnership approach to implementation of the new payPart 1: Principles and partnershipPart 1: Principles and partnershipsystem at local level. The agreement to work in partnership to deliver a new NHSpay system that supports NHS service modernisation and meets the reasonableaspirations of staff should, therefore, be replicated at local level. Workingexamples of staff involvement and partnership working are in the resource packStaff involvement better decisions, better care, available To this end, employers should ensure that the representatives of trade unions andother staff organisations recognised for purposes of collective bargaining at locallevel are released appropriately to participate in the partnership process and thatnominated officers of local staff representatives can be fully involved in the localpartnership arrangements.

8 The adequacy of facilities arrangements will bemonitored by the NHS Staff Within NHSS cotland the Staff Governance Standard applies. This can be found human resources issues8 Pay modernisation is an integral part of the human resource strategies of the NHSin England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All parties to this agreementtherefore recognise that it should be implemented in a way that is consistent withthe wider human resource policies set out in the relevant for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 2005 PART 2:PAY212 Agenda for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 2005 Part 2: PaySection 1: Pay structurePay 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 forstaff within the extended remit of the Pay Review Body for Nursing and OtherHealth Professions; and one for other directly employed NHS staff, with theexception of the most senior This part of the handbook sets out the pay spines and the associatedarrangements for the second and third of these groups.

9 Section 40 (Part 6) andAnnex P also set out the extended coverage of the Pay Review Body for Nursingand Other Health Both the second and third pay spines will be divided into nine pay bands. All staff covered by Agenda for Change will, on assimilation, be assigned to one ofthese pay bands on the basis of job weight as measured by the NHS JobEvaluation To assist this process a set of NHS jobs have been evaluated and national jobprofiles drawn up where the job evaluation score is agreed. Staff whose jobsmatch these profiles will assimilate on the basis of the profile score. Other jobs willbe evaluated locally on a partnership The NHS Job evaluation handbook1sets out the basis of job evaluation, whichunderpins the new pay system and includes the factor plan, the weighting andscoring document and a guide for matching posts locally. The process forassimilation is set out more fully in Section The nine pay bands and their corresponding job evaluation scores are set out inTable 1 opposite.

10 Within this structure, pay band 8 is sub-divided into four There are separate arrangements for chief executives and directors at board may also apply to other senior manager posts with a job weight over 720 Within each pay band there will be a number of pay points to allow payprogression in post. Staff will progress from point to point on an annual basis tothe top point in their pay band or pay range, provided their performance issatisfactory and they demonstrate the agreed knowledge and skills appropriate tothat part of the pay band or range. Staff joining pay band 5 as new entrants will1 Available, together with the nationally evaluated job profiles, on the Agenda for Change website at: for Change : NHS terms and conditions of service handbook January 2005have accelerated progression through the first two points in six monthly steps (thatis, they will move up one pay point after six months and a further point aftertwelve months) providing those responsible for the relevant standards in theorganisation are satisfied with their standard of practice.