1 Responses to Queries Raised by EI Sites Q. What should be the position of staff recruited after June 1st but before an Agenda for Change pay band could be indicated, should the protection arrangements within the agreement apply? A. Yes the protection arrangements should apply. They should stop being applicable to staff whose posts are advertised on Agenda for Change pay bands
Q. What should be the position of staff recruited after June 1st but before an Agenda for Change pay band could be indicated, should the protection arrangements within the agreement apply?
Q. What is the position on staff who are seconded do they retain entitlement to enhancements that were applicable in the substantive post. A. This should be a matter for local resolution since the circumstances of the secondment may vary widely.
Q. When some one is on call and for example responds to the call by dialling in from home and remotely solves a fault could this count as work, as in paragraph 2.31 A. Yes this should count as work.
Q. Part time staff and Bank Holidays, are they entitled to a proportionate share irrespective of the days of the week on which they work. A. Yes this is covered by the agreement.
Q. Will there be any national guidance on what is “ other relevant employment” in paragraph 12.2 A. No, it is for local determination of what is relevant.
Q. Will national assessor's roles continue. A. Agenda for Change does not change this. If national assessors are used to assess at the point of recruitment currently we assume that this will continue. If national assessors are used as part of JE panels they should be trained like any other panel member.
Q. Are there any plans for further guidance on which bonus schemes comply with the agreement. A. There are no plans for further guidance, but all trusts have freedom to introduce team bonuses.
Q. What is the position on staff working more than 37.5 hours when it is not possible to change rotas immediately from June 1st. A. Staff are entitled to the new hours from June 1st, where rotas can not be changed until some later point then overtime is applicable for the balance of hours between 37.5 and the Whitley arrangements.
Q. Will there be a national time sheet A. No this is a local matter.
Q. Are current staff entitled to count existing service in paragraph 12.1 because the text refers to “ will count “ implying in the future. A. This should be interpreted the same as “ counts”. It is not designed to give existing staff less favourable terms.
Q. In section 46 in the draft handbook there is a footnote 7, is this correct? A. This is the correct reference, it refers to the enabling clause on local protection arrangements.
Q. In paragraph 46.24 how is a spot salary defined. A. It has the normal meaning of a post being paid at a single rate with no increments.
Q. How should high cost areas be interpreted. A. The relevant paragraph covering this is 4.5
Q. Can there be any movement on the December deadline. A. There are no plans to move the target date. We should make it clear however that the most important thing is for organisations to get implementation right, rather than force things through too quickly.
Q. What is the position on overtime worked prior to assimilation, would payments be clawed back? A. There should be no claw back of payments.
Q. How can transitional points ever be eradicated. A. Transitional points will go automatically. This is set out in paragraph 46.13
Q. What is the position for staff who under Whitley are entitled to higher overtime rates than 1.5 eg on Sunday. A. Agenda for Change applies from June 1st. The applicable rate for all overtime except BH's should be the Agenda for Change rate of 1.5