Agenda for Change
Encyclopedia
Agenda for Change is the current National Health Service
(NHS) grading and pay system for all NHS staff, with the exception of doctor
s, dentist
s and some senior managers
. It covers more than 1 million people and harmonises their pay scales and career progression arrangements across traditionally separate pay groups, in the most radical change since the NHS was founded.
It was agreed 1 December 2004, by unions, employers and government, but it is not yet fully implemented nationwide. Although most NHS employees in England and Wales have been transferred to the new system and received their back-pay, Scotland has been slower to implement the system because Scotland has taken a more robust approach to the implementation. All the signatory organisations have agreed to implement it through a partnership approach.
AfC assimilates staff to a new salary according to an evaluation of their job weight under an NHS Job Evaluation Scheme. There are nine new numbered Pay Bands
subdivided into points, similar to the old alphabetic Whitley Council 'grades' pay scales. A set of national job profiles has been agreed to assist in the process of matching posts to pay bands. All staff will either be matched to a national job profile, or their job will be evaluated locally. In theory, AfC is designed to evaluate the job rather than the person in it, and to ensure equity between similar posts in different areas. In reality it has been implemented differently in different places, and some posts have been graded very differently to similar jobs elsewhere, despite the supposedly tighter definitions. Around 5% of staff have appealed their gradings, but again the appeals process varies from site to site. Current indications suggest that lower bandings are being used in London and Scotland than elsewhere in the country.
Under AfC, all staff will have annual development reviews against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework
(KSF). Normal pay progression is one point a year, but pay progression at specified 'gateway' points in each pay band will depend on how the individual matches the KSF outline for their post. Progression onto a different band has become very difficult, as the post would need to have changed substantially in order to be re-graded (even if the person in the post has developed and become more experienced or taken on more responsibilities this would not be seen as a good enough reason to re-band a post).
The NHS Whitley system has essentially been unaltered since its inception, although there have been some changes. Nevertheless, it has been heavily criticised for decades. These criticisms centred on its structure, complexity, over centralisation, lack of flexibility and equal value.
Negotiations on a new system began in February 1999 when the Agenda for Change White Paper was published. It aimed to address the issues of the Whitley system and highlighted the need for a change of pay, career structures and terms and conditions of employment within the NHS. It stated that any new pay system must deliver equal pay for work of equal value.
A number of organisations were involved in the discussions and negotiations including:
After five years of negotiations Agenda for Change was implemented.
Agenda for Change pay bands starting 1 April 2010, for the period of 2010/11. Pay for nurses on each of the bands is as follows, with extra allowances for London
, being on call and leading:
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
(NHS) grading and pay system for all NHS staff, with the exception of doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
s and some senior managers
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
. It covers more than 1 million people and harmonises their pay scales and career progression arrangements across traditionally separate pay groups, in the most radical change since the NHS was founded.
It was agreed 1 December 2004, by unions, employers and government, but it is not yet fully implemented nationwide. Although most NHS employees in England and Wales have been transferred to the new system and received their back-pay, Scotland has been slower to implement the system because Scotland has taken a more robust approach to the implementation. All the signatory organisations have agreed to implement it through a partnership approach.
AfC assimilates staff to a new salary according to an evaluation of their job weight under an NHS Job Evaluation Scheme. There are nine new numbered Pay Bands
Pay Bands
A Pay band is sometimes used in salaried organizations to define the level of compensation given for certain jobs.Pay Bands is a part of an organized salary compensation plan, program or system...
subdivided into points, similar to the old alphabetic Whitley Council 'grades' pay scales. A set of national job profiles has been agreed to assist in the process of matching posts to pay bands. All staff will either be matched to a national job profile, or their job will be evaluated locally. In theory, AfC is designed to evaluate the job rather than the person in it, and to ensure equity between similar posts in different areas. In reality it has been implemented differently in different places, and some posts have been graded very differently to similar jobs elsewhere, despite the supposedly tighter definitions. Around 5% of staff have appealed their gradings, but again the appeals process varies from site to site. Current indications suggest that lower bandings are being used in London and Scotland than elsewhere in the country.
Under AfC, all staff will have annual development reviews against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework
Knowledge and Skills Framework
The Knowledge and Skills Framework is a competence framework to support personal development and career progression within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It applies to all staff except board members, doctors and dentists, as they did not come under the Agenda for Change Pay...
(KSF). Normal pay progression is one point a year, but pay progression at specified 'gateway' points in each pay band will depend on how the individual matches the KSF outline for their post. Progression onto a different band has become very difficult, as the post would need to have changed substantially in order to be re-graded (even if the person in the post has developed and become more experienced or taken on more responsibilities this would not be seen as a good enough reason to re-band a post).
History
When the NHS was established in 1948, it adopted the Whitley industrial relations system, which was used in the civil service and local government. The system stemmed from work done by J S Whitley in 1916 and provided a framework for pay, terms and conditions.The NHS Whitley system has essentially been unaltered since its inception, although there have been some changes. Nevertheless, it has been heavily criticised for decades. These criticisms centred on its structure, complexity, over centralisation, lack of flexibility and equal value.
Negotiations on a new system began in February 1999 when the Agenda for Change White Paper was published. It aimed to address the issues of the Whitley system and highlighted the need for a change of pay, career structures and terms and conditions of employment within the NHS. It stated that any new pay system must deliver equal pay for work of equal value.
A number of organisations were involved in the discussions and negotiations including:
- The four health departments of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- NHS Employers - which represents NHS employers
- Twenty trade unions and representative bodies
After five years of negotiations Agenda for Change was implemented.
Bands
- Administration, catering, domestic, portering
- Administration, catering, clinical support worker, patient transport, pharmacy assistant
- Microbiology assistant, secretary, security, emergency care support workers, occupational therapy assistants, physiotherapy assistants, speech therapy assistants
- Mortuary, radiography or occupational therapy assistant, office manager, medical secretary, operating department practitioner (during training or entry level), assistant psychologists, nursing auxiliaries and nursery nurses, ambulance practitioners, physiotherapy assistants, speech therapy assistants
- Nurse & midwife (old D and E grades), dental technician (entry level), Diagnostic/Therapeutic Radiographers, dietician, occupational therapist, paramedic, emergency medical technician, senior pharmacy technician, physiotherapist, assistant psychologists (higher grade), Clinical Physiologists, operating department practitioner (qualified), Speech & Language Therapists (newly qualified)
- Junior Sister/ specialist senior staff nurse, Senior II Radiographer (diagnostic/therapeutic) Art therapist, specialist dental technician, paramedic practitioner, emergency nurse/care practitioner, health visitor, nurse specialist, trainee clinical psychologist, pharmacist, Senior Clinical Physiologists, Senior Physiotherapist, Senior Occupational Therapist. Physician Assistant
- Senior sister, Senior Radiographer (diagnostic/therapeutic team leader), Chief dental technician, management - clinical & administrative, qualified psychologist,specialist pharmacist, Chief Clinical Physiologists, Senior Physiotherapist, Senior Occupational Therapist
- Advanced pharmacists, nurse & midwife consultants, Superintendent Radiographers (diagnostic/therapeutic), higher management, psychologists, senior therapists (divided into 4 bands - a, b, c, d), Senior Chief Clinical Physiologists, Senior Physician Assistant
- Consultant Psychologists who run large services, Chief Pharmacists managing large/multiple departments
Agenda for Change pay bands starting 1 April 2010, for the period of 2010/11. Pay for nurses on each of the bands is as follows, with extra allowances for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, being on call and leading:
- Band 1: £13,653 - £14,364
- Band 2: £13,653 - £16,753
- Band 3: £15,610 - £18,577
- Band 4: £18,152 - £21,798
- Band 5: £21,173 - £27,534
- Band 6: £25,472 - £34,189
- Band 7: £30,460 - £40,157
- Band 8a: £38,851 - £46,621
- Band 8b: £45,254 - £55,945
- Band 8c: £54,454 - £67,134
- Band 8d: £65,270 - £80,810
- Band 9: £77,079 - £97,478