The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7384 p61
21 January 2006

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Unsocial hours options tested

Pharmacists at 10 trusts are among the health professions involved in testing options for how pay for unsocial hours will be calculated and introduced under Agenda for Change, it was confirmed this week.

Three options have been drawn up which will be evaluated against pay roll data from last October, November and December. The “dummy data” will go towards deciding the costs of the three options and which one works most effectively in practice. The best option will then be tested live for three months starting in March with the intention of rolling it out across the NHS to all staff from October.

David Miller, chairman of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists committee on terms and conditions, said: “The main effect for the profession will be on weekend working — that is where pharmacists work their unsocial hours, unless they have a residency. I don’t know the details of the schemes but the pay is likely to be a percentage on top of the hourly rate.”