We’re caught in a trap. Mike Travis RCN Steward Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust Hospital

Junior Doctor’s Dispute

Origins of the ‘Flexible’ workforce Status of Bank Workers and Accountability 1.1 Bank workers registered on the bank are not contracted employees of the Trust. There is no obligation to offer work and no obligation on the bank worker to accept work via the Staff Bank. Nothing in this document constitutes a Contract of Employment. 1.2 Bank workers are overall accountable to the Staff Bank Manager, and whilst working are responsible to the manager of the area in which they are working.

Bank Work Used in the lat 80’s to control wage costs. The effect on the nursing workforce was to: Blur the boundary between casual and substantive contracts of employment Used by employees to breach the right to overtime payments Deprived bank workers from NHS pensions Hospitals banks now TUPE’d out to agencies to run and still open to challenge regarding breaching of overtime payments and blocking access to NHS pensions.

Mutually Agreed Severance Schemes Used to clear nurses out of employment prior to the introduction of Associate Practitioners. But limits to the use of AP’s in covering registered roles created a shortage of nurses plus a knock on effect of negatively influencing the commissioning of nurse training places.

Pension Changes Created a panic exit of nurses who were eligible for early retirement. Triggers: Did not want to work until 65, 66, or 67 plus. Threat to lump sum payment Increase in pension contributions increases financial costs on to employees

NHS Introduction of 12 Hour Shifts Appears to increase sickness rates Mixed shift working weeks 13 shifts a month- the rogue factor When the 13th shift was dropped-workforce became part time and an artificial shortage of nurses was created.

Austerity and Workplace Culture Employers fail to create an environment of valuing their nursing workforce Changes to local working agreements decrease pensionable pay National pay policy drives nurses morale and standards of living down.

Escaping the trap Is this just dealing with the symptom instead of tackling the underlying cause? How do we reinvigorate employment within the NHS? How do we give value to our workforce and regain their trust in their employee? How do we create clinical career pathways in order to retain our nurses? How do we recruit the ‘agency nurse’ workforce?

Escaping the trap Succession planning Address the role and influence of Directors of Nursing on Trust Boards and DoH Address the role and influence of Human Resource Management in relation to the workplace employee representative organisations, i.e. trade unions Review the use of Agenda for Change for creating a substantive nursing workforce.

Tallship Sailing is not about the sailing-its about developing teamwork