Staff at Wakefield’s Pinderfields and Dewsbury and District hospitals win thousands of pounds worth of back pay
Healthcare assistants at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust have voted to accept an offer of back pay to compensate for tasks carried out above their pay grade.
The trust runs Pinderfields Hospital, in Wakefield, Pontefract Hospital, and Dewsbury and District Hospital.
The healthcare assistants had been employed on band two of the NHS Agenda for Change salary scale, but have for years undertaken clinical duties, which fall under the higher band three, Unison said.
A negotiating committee of healthcare workers was set up last year to talk directly with the trust, which resulted in all band two staff carrying out clinical duties being moved up to band three earlier this year.
An offer of back pay compensation to August 2021 was initially made by the hospital trust, which staff voted to reject.
Under the new deal, hundreds of band two staff will now receive back pay from August 2020.
The trust has also confirmed no healthcare assistants will need to move departments as part of their rebanding.
Unison Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Sarah Brummitt said: “It’s been fantastic to see the healthcare assistants negotiate directly with managers and secure such a significant outcome.
“Not only have the staff achieved a better agreement over back pay, they’ve also received confirmation that nobody will be required to change departments when they’re moved up a band.
“Everyone is delighted that the trust has listened to the committee, and it’s been possible to reach such a good outcome.”
Band two duties are considered to be “personal care” and include tasks such as feeding, bathing and helping patients use the toilet.
Band three tasks are classed as “patient observations and clinical care”.
These include monitoring heart rates and blood pressure, taking blood samples, wound observation and urine analysis.
In a joint comment, Phillip Marshall, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development and Talib Yaseen, Chief Nursing Officer, at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “Our healthcare assistants are an important and integral part of our team at Mid Yorkshire, providing vital care to patients in our hospitals and community settings.
“We’re pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement on the period of backpay through our negotiations with the committee.”