| The Tele has been contacted by a number of secretaries, typists and clerical staff who claim they are effectively earning less than they did a year ago.
The salary of every Scottish health worker, except doctors, is being reviewed as part of Agenda for Change, the standardisation of pay practices to ensure people doing the same job receive the same reward.
One secretary says she took home £16 less this month than she did in March, apparently due to the abolition of a “proficiency allowance” under Agenda for Change. She claimed the first they knew of the “downgrading” was in a letter sent out last Thursday — four days before payday.
But NHS Tayside insisted today no-one has incurred a pay decrease, adding all salaries are protected for three years.
The board management last month decided to press ahead with the regrading without waiting for national guidance. There was a backlog at the national unit responsible for commenting on the consistency of local grading and to avoid further delay NHS Tayside moved to re-grade 2000 or so “unassimilated” staff.
Employee Director Margaret Harper had said the move would lead to staff inequality.
The board admitted that in “a small number of cases” there was the possibility a member of staff could be over-graded, but insisted any over-payments would be clawed back at the same rate they were made.
However, no mention was made of the situation facing those shouldering — in the short-term at least — what was an effective downgrading.
One example given to the Tele saw a secretary take home £970 in March, then £954 this month. The basic salary for April was more than the previous month, but minus the proficiency payment.
A source said the affected salaries may be liable to change once the national consistency checks take place, but argued, meantime, they were living off less.
“We were all asked to submit descriptions of our own jobs and that seems to be what’s behind this,” said the secretary. “They have taken away the proficiency allowance to bring everyone into line.
“That doesn’t take into account the qualifications we have. We have to know medical terms for example. Others, like porters and cleaners, just do their jobs and go home.” |
