Restraining pay bill costs will be essential to minimise potential job losses and protect patient services. This is according to evidence submitted by the NHS Employers organisation yesterday to the NHS Pay Review Body for the 2012/13 pay round.
Despite the Government's two-year pay freeze across all staff, employers face an upward pressure on their pay bill costs of 2.4%. This is a combination of a 2% annual increase resulting from annual pay increments given to nurses, administrators and other non-medical staff under the national Agenda for Change pay arrangement, plus a further 0.4% increase which will arise as a result of implementing the £250 uplift recommended by the Government to be paid to staff earning under £21,000.
Dean Royles, director of the NHS Employers organisation, said: "All NHS organisations are facing up to some difficult decisions as they seek to deliver efficiencies on an unprecedented scale of up to £20 billion by 2014/15. The pay bill for health trusts is often nearly 70% of their budget and even during the Government's pay freeze there is an upward pressure on their pay bill costs of 2.4%. Tight control of staff costs will be necessary if the service is to minimise potential job losses and ensure patients continue to have access to high quality services.
"Employers are very concerned about the cost of the pay bill. As the NHS Employers organisation we are keen to continue discussions with trade unions on the NHS Staff Council about the scope for negotiated changes to the national pay agreements to make them more affordable and flexible.
"We also believe it is essential that local employers have meaningful discussions with local trade unions and staff about the workforce implications of the financial challenges for their organisations."
