Increased pay package proposed for hospital pharmacists …
Pharmacy staff look set to receive a cumulative pay rise of nearly 8 per cent over the next three years.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced a proposed
pay deal for all staff
working under NHS Agenda for Change earlier this week. The offer has
been agreed by the Department of Health, NHS Employers, Unison and the
Royal College of Nursing.
Under the new proposals NHS staff across the UK would receive a 2.75
per cent pay rise from April 2008, a 2.4 per cent increase in 2008–09
and a 2.25 per cent increase in 2010–11, with the opportunity to
reopen negotiations if inflation is higher than
expected.
David Thornton, chairman of the terms and conditions committee of the
Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, commented: “There are a number
of good points within the proposal. In particular, this year’s
pay award implements the Pay Review Body’s recommendation of [an
increase of] 2.75 per cent in full from April across all four [home]
countries. The opportunity to reopen talks if inflation is higher than
expected is a welcomed safeguard for years 2 and 3.”
Mr Thornton pointed out that the proposals also suggest reducing the
number of incremental points (salary rates within each pay band) in bands
6 and 7.
“This could have a positive impact on a large number of pharmacists
allowing faster pay progression thereby narrowing the salary gap between
the managed
and private sectors,” he said. He added: “We will need to
look closely at the proposals before making a formal recommendation to
our members.”
… along with “golden handcuff” payments for five years’ service
Newly qualified pharmacists who go on to work in the NHS for five years should receive a retention bonus, the NHS
Pay Review Body has suggested.
In its latest report it acknowledges that there is a problem retaining
pharmacists as they reach their third year of service in the NHS, and
suggests that bonuses similar to the “golden handcuff” payments
in some private sector organisations should be made.
“The aim of offering such a bonus after five years’ service would
be to increase the supply of pharmacists to the NHS beyond the point
at which they often leave, and to enable experienced pharmacists to pass
on their expertise to the newly qualified pharmacists who join after
them,” the report states.
The NHS Pay Review Body has rejected calls from Unite (the Guild of Healthcare
Pharmacists’ parent union) for a national recruitment and retention
premium for band 6 and 7 pharmacists, equivalent to £4,000 per
year, reasoning that this might encourage newly qualified pharmacists
to join the NHS, receive the extra money and then leave to join the private
sector.
David Thornton, chairman of the guild’s terms and conditions committee,
said that the proposed five-year-service bonus would need to be “a
significant sum” to compensate for the £10,000 annual salary
differential between pharmacists working in the NHS and the private sector
over their initial five years. “It will also need to recognise
existing as well as future postholders,” he added. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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