NHS in the news
by Sarah
The NHS have been in the news twice this week in the employment field. The first employment issue was that NHS staff could be disciplined for failing to wash their hands or failing to take infection control seriously. The Government has lauched a new strategy called “Clean, safe care” which will see employers and unions working together to determine how HR processes can be used to cut infections.
Secondly, you may or may not have heard of Agenda for Change. I certainly have as this was relevant for one of my recent cases of Unfair Dismissal (successfully won) against an NHS Trust. In typical public sector style it is a complex mechanism and is still largely strouded in secrecy. Our Practice Manager herself went through Agenda for Change before she left the NHS to join us and has such fond memories!
Well the NHS is facing a landmark test case, which could pave the way for hundreds of thousands of equal pay claims. The test case will attempt to prove that Agenda for Change was flawed when it was introduced in 2004. It was supposed to be an equal pay deal reflecting skills and knowledge. The allegation is that it was instead based on salaries before Agenda for Change, which were discriminatory.
The first case is set to be heard before the Newcastle Employment Tribunal towards the end of 2008. The test case will argue on behalf of the claimants that the policy is based on discriminatory principles and will try to force the NHS to re-examine Agenda for Change. The NHS argues that the Agenda for Change principle was agreed between the unions, the Department of Health and the NHS. If successful, the challenge could open the floodgates for equal pay claims in the NHS. As always watch this space.
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