UNSOCIAL HOURS ANNOUNCEMENT

The Staff Council, our National negotiating body, has agreed some changes to the way Unsocial Hours Payments are made.

Since 2008 we have been paid an additional 11.59% of Unsocial Hours. This is to comply with the European Working Time Directive that states during annual leave we should be paid what we would have earned had we been at work.

UNISON has said for some time now that this payment is too low.

The Staff Council have eventually agreed with us and have agreed to raise this to 12.5%.

This means all staff that earns Unsocial Hours payments are untitled to an additional 0.91% of the Unsocial Hours payments that have been paid since April 2008.

Staff side have agreed with the Trust that the arrears owed will be paid in March’s pay.

This will cover from April 2008 to Feb 2010.

March 2010’s Unsocial Hours will attract an additional 12.5%.

From April 2010 Unsocial Hours payments  will be paid 1 month in arrears, i.e. April’s Unsocial Hours payment will be paid in May, May’s Unsocial Hours to be paid in June and so on.

This will mean that a very small number of staff, about 140, who are not currently paid in arrears, will see changes in the Unsocial Hours pay in April and May.

Some weekly paid staff who are not paid Unsocial Hours in arrears will not receive Unsocial Hours in the first week in April but will receive this in the second week of April and  will then  receive Unsocial Hours pay weekly in arrears.

Unsocial Hours Payments during annual leave will be paid based on your average Unsocial hours pay for the previous 12 weeks prior to taking annual leave.

For the vast majority of staff this is a return to how we where paid Unsocial Hours prior to the introduction of a new computer system in Pay Services in 2008.

These changes have been negotiated nationally for the whole of the NHS.

Any members of staff adversely affected by these changes please contact UNISON at the City on 57088 or 56651, or at the QMC on Ext 68428. Alternatively you can contact us via our website at:
www.unison-nuh.org.uk/Contact.html

TREATMENT CENTRES

Figures obtained by the Nottingham Evening Post from the Primary Care Trust paint the damning picture that UNISON had predicted from the outset.

The Barlborough Treatment Centre, just north of junction 30 of the M1, secured a five year contract in 2005 from the Nottingham City PCT and has year-on-year failed to provide the services it has been paid to provide.

Since 2005 the PCT has spent £9million on the contract and only received £4million worth of services.

The reason behind this is that Nottingham patients appear reluctant the travel up the motorway but the Barlborough Treatment Centre still gets paid.

Closer to home, the Nottingham Treatment Centre, from August 2008-March 2009 was contracted to provide £7,671,112 worth of services but only provided £6,657,899.

This is work transferred from the Trust so therefore the Treatment Centre is costing the PCT over £1million per year more than the Trust.

I did an interview with Central News, prior the opening of the Nottingham Treatment Centre, pointing out this very thing had happened elsewhere in the country and was potentially going to happen here in Nottingham.

I have no pleasure in being right about this.

UNISON will ask the question of Nation’s Healthcare to ascertain where Nottingham tax payer’s money has gone.

We will also be asking Nottingham’s MPs to look into this issue.

This is a clear example of how the imposition of the private sector on the NHS just does not work, which is why UNISON will continue to oppose privatisation of our National Health Service, be it through Treatment Centres, Private Contractors or Foundation Trusts

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