NHS pay review body: twenty-sixth report 2012 - Official Documents

3.62 NHSE remarked that, for Bands 1-4, employers reported reductions in turnover since
2007, fewer long term vacancies in the wider job market and NHS pay remaining
competitive with other sectors. In general, NHSE believed that the recruitment and
retention position across the NHS had improved. NHSE added that non-medical FTE staff
numbers fell by 1.6% in the year to May 2011.
3.63 The Staff Side commented that:
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Future shortages in key elements of the NHS workforce were highlighted by the
latest figures on commissioning;
It was of great concern that the NHS Information Centre had not produced revised
figures for turnover and vacancy in the NHS for 2011. Without this data, the Staff
Side pointed to the difficulty of identifying risks that accrue in relation to future
gaps in the workforce and the difficulty in mitigating these risks through effective
commissioning of relevant healthcare education;
An ageing NHS nursing and midwifery workforce was apparent. In 2004, 9.2% of all
nurses and health visitors were aged over 55 and that figure had grown every year
to 2009, when it stood at 12.8%. Similarly, 40% to 45% of the midwifery workforce
would reach retirement age in the next ten years; and
Surveys undertaken by individual trade unions indicated that morale was falling
year-on-year among staff. The main factors that kept staff attached to the NHS, such
as commitment to their job, enjoyment of their job and the pension scheme, had all
weakened in the estimation of staff.
Specific comments and data on recruitment and retention issues provided by individual
staff organisations can be found in the evidence on their websites (see Appendix E).
Parties’ Proposals for AfC Staff Earning £21,000 or Less
3.65 In his letter of 20 June 2011, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury identified the scope of
our remit to make recommendations in respect of staff earning £21,000 or less in the
following terms:
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Determined on the basis of basic salary of a full time equivalent employee, pro-rated
on the basis of the hours worked, using the standard number of hours per week for
that organisation;
Part time workers with a full time equivalent salary of less than £21,000 should
receive a pro-rata increase on the basis of the number of hours worked;
The £21,000 was based on the normal interpretation of basic salary and did not
include overtime or any regular payments such as London weighting, recruitment or
retention premia or other allowances.
We were also informed that in considering our recommendations we might want to
consider:
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The level of progression pay provided to the workforce;
Affordability;
The potential for payments to be more generous for those on the lowest earnings;
and
How best to avoid “leapfrogging” of those earning just under £21,000 with those
earning just over £21,000, potentially through the use of a taper.