P R E S S R E L E A S E

11th August 2004

The agreed joint statement is issued by the Shadow Executive of the Shadow NHS Staff Council on 11 August 2004

Signed

Mike Evershed
Head of Pay Branch
(Department of Health)

Paul Marks
Staff Side Chair
(On behalf of NHS Unions)

AGENDA FOR CHANGE

Outcome of Early Implementation Process Review

Having reviewed the Early Implementation process the Shadow Executive is reporting the following proposals to the Shadow Staff Council and other key stakeholders. Subject to agreement Agenda for Change would be implemented from 1 December 2004 with an effective date of 1 October 2004 on the following basis:

The new pay system, with the one exception of unsocial hours payments would go ahead.
This would include job matching, job evaluation, annual leave provisions, the Knowledge and Skills Framework, working hours arrangements, overtime pay, on-call arrangements, high cost area payments, recruitment and retention premia.
New hours of work would take effect from 1 December 2004, including the protection arrangements in the agreement.
All other conditions except unsocial hours would be effective from 1 October 2004
An interim regime based on the current Whitley unsocial hours arrangements would apply until a review is complete the aim of which would be to bring in new harmonised arrangements from 1 April 2006. The review process to achieve this would begin no later than October 2005 and further testing may take place in EI sites or other sites
The new unsocial hours arrangements may continue to apply in EI sites and would also be introduced in ambulance trusts.
The Agenda for Change on-call arrangements would be available but current arrangements may continue during an agreed four-year protection period. The on-call arrangements would be reviewed during the four year protection period.
Band 1 would be increased by one point, ie the bottom point would be removed and an additional point be created at the top of the band thus improving the NHS minimum wage.
A new Band 9 would be added to accommodate those senior staff evaluated above 720 points.
Accelerated progression of up to two points would be introduced where this is necessary to avoid protection because of pay in high cost area arrangements

The revised documentation incorporating details of all the above points will be circulated to NHS staff, partnership bodies, project teams etc as soon as possible, to support preparation for roll out on 1 December, including the practice matching of posts to pay bands.