NHS terms and conditions of service handbook

1 E NHS STAFF COUNCIL IN PARTNERSHIP NHS terms and conditions of service handbook This is the version of the Agenda for Change terms and conditions handbook which NHSS cotland should refer to. The text is consistent with the handbook across the UK but contains notes and annotations which reflect the Scottish context. This version is up to date as at 3 September 2019. NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council This handbook is published on the Management Steering Group website ( ), with a link also place on the Scottish terms and conditions Committee website ( ). It is not published in hard copy. It is amended whenever new agreements are reached in the NHS Staff Council. Amendments to the handbook are published in numbered pay circulars which set out details of the changes, including the effective date(s) of changes to pay and conditions .

2 The terms and conditions of service set out in this handbook apply in full to all staff directly employed by NHS organisations, except the Executive and Senior Management cohorts and staff within the remit of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body. Please Note Sections and annexes with the suffix "(a)" apply in England only, and in most instances now also Wales. These and any other provisions agreed by the UK Staff Council which do not apply in Scotland are included in this version for completeness but are greyed out to distinguish them from those provisions which are applicable to NHSS cotland. Introduction NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Part 1 Principles and partnership Part 2 Pay Section 1 Pay structure Section 1(a) (England and Wales) Pay structure Section 2 Maintaining round the clock services Section 2(a) (England and Wales) Maintaining round the clock services Section 3 Overtime payments Section 4 Pay in high cost areas Section 5 Recruitment and retention premia Section 6 Career and pay progression Section 6(a) (England and Wales) Career progression Section 7 Payment of annual salaries Sections 8 9 (Unallocated)

3 Contents NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Part 3 terms and conditions of service Section 10 Hours of the working week Section 11 Part-time employees and employees on fixed-term contracts Section 12 Contractual continuity of service Section 13 Annual leave and general public holidays Section 14 Sickness absence Section 14(a) (England and Wales) Sickness absence Section 15 Maternity leave and pay Section 16 Redundancy pay Section 16(a) (England) Redundancy pay Section 17 Mileage allowances Section 18 Subsistence allowances Section 19 Other terms and conditions Section 20 Mutually Agreed Resignation Schemes Section 21 Right to raise concerns in the public interest (whistleblowing) Section 22 Injury Allowance Sections 23-24 (Unallocated) NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Part 4 Employee relations Section 25 Time off and facilities for trades union representatives Section 26 Joint consultation machinery Section 27 Working time regulations Sections 28-29 (Unallocated) Part 5 Equal opportunities Section 30 General equality and diversity statement Section 31 Recruitment, promotion and staff development Section 32 Dignity at work Section 33 Caring for children and adults Section 34 Flexible working arrangements Section 35 Balancing work and personal life Section 36 Employment break scheme Sections 37 39 (Unallocated) Part 6 Operating the system Section 40 National bodies and procedures Section 41 46 (Unallocated)

4 NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Part 7 Maintenance Section 47 Reviews, appeals and job evaluation Annexes Annex 1 NHS employers Annex 2(S) Pay bands and pay points on the second pay spine in Scotland from 2004 Annex 2 Pay bands and pay points on the second pay spine in England from 2004 Annex 3(S) Latest pay bands and pay points in Scotland Annex 3 Latest pay bands and pay points in England Annex 4 Working or providing emergency cover outside normal hours Annex 5 Provisions for unsocial hours payments for ambulance staff Annex 6 Provisions for unsocial hours payments for ambulance staff: examples of special cases Annex 7 Good practice guidance on managing working patterns Annex 8 High cost area payment zones Annex 9 High cost area supplements Annex 10 Local recruitment and retention premium criteria Annex 11 Additional freedoms for NHS foundation trusts and other trusts with earned autonomy in England NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Annex 12 Mileage allowances Annex 13 Lease car policies Annex 14 Subsistence allowances Annex 15 Other terms and conditions Annex 16 Coverage of NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) Implementation annexes Annex 17 Classification of leads and allowances (listed by staff group) Annex 18 Withdrawal of nationally agreed recruitment and retention premia and transitional arrangements Annex 19 Local appeals procedures Annex 19(a)

5 (England) Local appeals procedures Annex 20 Development of professional roles Annex 21 Arrangements for pay and banding of trainees Annex 22 NHSS cotland Partnership Information Network policies Annex 23 (England and Wales) Pay progression Annex 24 (England and Wales) Guidance on workforce re-profiling Annex 25 Arrangements for general and public holidays over the Christmas and New Year holiday periods Annex 26 Managing sickness absences developing local policies and procedures NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Annex 27 Principles and Best Practice of Partnership Working Annex 28 Guidance on frequently asked questions Annex 28(a) (England and Wales) Guidance on frequently asked questions Annex 29 Principles for harmonised on-call arrangements NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council PART 1: PRINCIPLES AND PARTNERSHIP 1 NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Principles and partnership NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council 1.

6 All NHS employers are obliged to adhere to employment and tax law and other statutory provisions. The NHS Staff Council will review this handbook periodically, taking account of changes to relevant legislation. 2. In Scotland, the statutory framework includes legislation on staff governance as set out in the NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Staff Governance Standard. Compliance with this standard includes implementation of Partnership Information Network (PIN) policies, which define a minimum standard of best employment practice. This handbook should be read in conjunction with the provisions of the PIN policies as listed in Annex 22. 3. The provisions set out in this handbook are based on the need to ensure a fair system of pay for NHS employees which supports modernised working practices. The provisions recognise that modern forms of healthcare rely on flexible teams of staff providing patient care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and applying a wide range of skills.

7 4. Nationally, employer and trades union representatives have agreed to work in partnership to maintain an NHS pay system which supports NHS service modernisation and meets the reasonable aspirations of staff. The national partners have agreed to work together to meet the reasonable aspirations of all the parties to: ensure that the pay system leads to more patients being treated, more quickly and being given higher quality care; assist new ways of working which 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.

8 Principles and partnership Principles and partnership NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council improve all aspects of equal opportunity and diversity, especially in the areas of career and training opportunities and to ensure 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 ; Local partnership 5. Trades union and employer representatives at national level actively support, encourage and promote a partnership approach to the development of the pay system. Their aim is to ensure the pay system supports NHS service modernisation and meets the reasonable aspirations of staff. Employers and trades unions are expected to work in partnership to apply the pay system at local level.

9 6. To this end, employers should ensure that the representatives of trade unions and other staff organisations, recognised for purposes of collective bargaining at local level, are released appropriately to participate in the partnership process and that nominated officers of local staff representatives can be fully involved in the local partnership arrangements. The adequacy of facilities arrangements will be monitored by the NHS Staff Council. 7. Within NHSS cotland the Staff Governance Standard applies. This can be found at: Wider human resources issues 8. Pay modernisation is an integral part of the human resource strategies of the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All parties recognise that the pay system should be consistent with the wider human resource policies set out in the relevant strategies.

10 NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council PART 2: PAY 2 NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Part 2: Pay Section 1: Pay structure NHS terms and conditions of service handbook The NHS Staff Council Section 1: Pay structure Pay spines The NHS pay system as a whole will have two pay spines or series of pay bands: pay spine one for staff within the remit of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body and pay spine two for staff within the extended remit of the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). This handbook sets out pay and conditions for staff within the remit of the NHSPRB. Section 40 explains the role of the NHS Staff Council, its Executive and the NHS pay review bodies. Annex 16 sets out the extended coverage of the NHSPRB. Pay and conditions for the most senior managers are outside the scope of this handbook (see paragraph in this section).