AGENDA FOR CHANGE
Report by Anne Gent, Director of Human Resources and Donald Shiach, Pay and Equality Manager
The Board is asked to:· Note progress with matching, assimilation, payment of arrears and running of reviews across NHS Highland, including Argyll & Bute CHP;
· Note that all matching, consistency checking and data collection processes for Argyll & Bute CHP jobs are now carried out within NHS Highland.
1 Background and Summary
This is the regular report to the NHS Highland Board (Performance) on progress with the implementation of Agenda for Change within NHS Highland.
2 Agenda for Change figures for end October 2007 (a verbal update on the end November position will be available at the meeting)
(a) In October overall progress in ‘old’ NHS Highland was as follows:
o Number of staff assimilated at start of October: 8490
o Number assimilated during October (paid on first available date thereafter): 106
o Total assimilated by end of October: 8596
o Total current staff still to assimilate: 1382* (789 substantive, 593 bank)
o Total leavers still to assimilate: 1440
o Arrears paid in October : 211
o Cumulative total of staff with arrears paid: 5955
o Staff currently on protection as a result of AfC assimilation: 121
* This figure has been revised from that previously reported to the Board in the light of new information available from the Pay Unit. It should be noted that there is not a complete correlation between staff being assimilated on the one hand and the number of staff still to be assimilated on the other. For example, current staff who are appointed to a job which has not yet been matched are placed on the Whitley scale, meaning that technically they are still to be assimilated. However, since all staff are only assimilated once, transferring these staff to AfC Bands does not register as an assimilation.
As previously reported, all substantive and bank staff whose details have been finalised and are straightforward to process have now been assimilated. This suggests that the numbers for assimilation in coming months will continue at roughly the current level, as the data for staff who have changed job, been temporarily promoted, acted up to a higher grade, had periods of secondment or career break etc takes more time to resolve. Managers have been reminded that staff appointed on Whitley scales before the Band outcome was known should be notified to the AfC Team to allow them to be assimilated.
At its meeting on 15 June, the Pay Modernisation and Workforce Planning Board was advised that of staff assimilated up to end May, 2.9% received no initial increase or were on protection, 5.8% received an increase of less than 1%, and 91.3% received an increase of 1% or more, with the increase being 2.5% or over for 70.3% of the total. There is no indication that subsequent assimilations have changed these proportions.
(b) In October 2007 progress in Argyll and Bute CHP was as follows:
o Number of staff assimilated and paid by end of October: 1412
o Number of staff assimilated and paid in October : 80
o Total current staff still to assimilate: 1219* (352 substantive, 867 bank staff)
o Total leavers still to assimilate: figure awaited from Paisley Pay Unit
o Arrears paid in October: 49
o Cumulative total of staff with arrears paid: 820
o Staff currently on protection as a result of AfC assimilation: 12
* See comments under 1 (a), above
3 Progress with Matching of outstanding jobs
Since the last meeting of the Board (Performance), steps have been taken to accelerate the matching and consistency checking of outstanding job descriptions. It has been decided to prioritise two categories: those relating to October 2004 and those new jobs submitted for matching prior to advertisement. Additional meetings of the Quality Control Group have been scheduled to assist with this process and all October 2004 jobs which have been submitted have now been matched and consistency checked. This does of course allow more staff to be assimilated, but it should be noted that where staff have moved to a job which does not sit in either of the priority categories there will still be a delay pending matching of that job.
On top of the outstanding jobs from “old” NHS Highland, the AfC Team has been responsible from 22 October for all outstanding matching relating to Argyll & Bute CHP; the best estimate at present is that this amounts to approximately 200 jobs, a proportion of which has not yet been submitted. Processes are now in place to ensure that outstanding jobs are chased up so they can be matched and consistency checked prior to assimilation of staff.
Additional panels based in Argyll & Bute have started and it is expected this will make a significant contribution to dealing with the backlog across both “old” NHS Highland and Argyll & Bute itself.
4 Progress with assimilation of staff in Argyll & Bute CHP
The AfC Team has now taken on complete responsibility for all data collection associated with the assimilation of staff in Argyll & Bute CHP, although the actual assimilation and arrears processes continue to be carried out by the Pay Unit in Paisley. Additional staff have now been taken on to support this activity and budget has been identified to allow this to happen.
5 Progress with reviews
Review panels have been meeting as often as possible since 7 August, looking initially at the jobs of staff who have been placed on protection as a result of AfC assimilation. The Quality Control Group has been meeting to look at the review outcomes so far, and following agreement on by the Pay Modernisation and Workforce Planning Board on processes, we will shortly be able to advise some staff of the outcomes.
It was expected that we would encounter logistical problems with scheduling panels and with the number of review requests that could be dealt with in one day. What was not anticipated was the high number of staff who have sought a review but are not prepared to confirm that they have submitted all evidence so the review can go ahead. Out of the first 140 staff contacted by the AfC team (including those who are on protection), 84 have not advised whether all evidence has been submitted. It is not intended to issue second letters to these staff at this time. Instead, the next batch of staff has been contacted, and this will proceed as a rolling programme to ensure there are enough review requests available to keep panels occupied. This will, however, inevitably mean requests being taken out of sequence. There are currently approximately 1100 review requests, covering approximately 650 different jobs. Both numbers are expected to rise further given there are still staff to be assimilated. It is already clear that the process will not be complete by 31 December and it seems unlikely that it will be complete by 31 March, although all effort will be made to achieve that goal.
Consideration is now being given to ways in which we can enhance review panel capacity, including the possibility of training more matchers. It is clearly important to progress the reviews as quickly as possible, but there is a concern that an influx of newly trained and inexperienced matchers may undermine the quality and consistency of review work. Further work will be carried out in partnership to identify the most effective way forward.
6 Contribution to Board Objectives
The implementation of Agenda for Change will contribute to the Board objective to have well trained, supported and valued staff to support the community’s health and health care needs.
7 Governance Implications
The successful implementation of Agenda for Change will impact directly and critically on the Board’s application of the revised Staff Governance Standard (3rd Edition, June 2007). The impact on the Patient and Public Involvement Standard, and on the Clinical Governance Standard, will be through successful implementation of the Knowledge and Skills Framework, which will be the subject of a separate report to the October meeting of the NHS Board (Performance). The Financial Implications of Agenda for Change are significant, and the outturn figures are being carefully monitored by the Pay Modernisation and Workforce Planning Board against accrued funding based on a Scotland-wide funding model endorsed by SPRIG.
8 Impact Assessment
Agenda for Change impacts on all staff apart from doctors, dentists and a small number of Senior Managers. It has been designed to ensure equal pay for like work, and if applied robustly and consistently will provide the Board with a defence against equal pay claims.
Anne GentDirector of Human Resources
23 November 2007 / Donald Shiach
Pay and Equality Manager
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