BRIEFING RE: AGENDA FOR CHANGE
Introduction
-
Agenda for Change aims to harmonize pay and conditions
(terms of employment) as well as HR policy, across the
NHS. It has been introduced by the government as a way
of ensuring that the 1 million employees working in the
NHS are brought within a common framework.
The Role of RCSLT vs Amicus - MSF
(the Union)
- Many professional associations e.g. the Chartered
Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) are both a professional body
and a Union and the fees for membership reflect this dual
role.
- RCSLT is a professional association and as such is not
recognized by government as having a role or being able to
enter into formal negotiation on pay and conditions of
employment. The union, which has this role and represents
the speech and language therapy profession, is Amicus -
MSF.
- There has also been some confusion re: the role of the
RCSLT competency and the AHP multi-professional competency
projects in informing the job evaluation exercise. These
projects aim to support CPD and we hope that the
multi-professional project will support and inform the
re-registration process with the Health Professions Council
(HPC). They are not intended (and never have been) to
inform Agenda for Change -as these are professional tools
and we are not in a position to use them to inform pay and
conditions. The tools developed for Agenda for Change have
been led by the Unions and government.
- Although RCSLT cannot formally lobby government, we
need to ensure that the Union, through you as its members
(direct) as well as from us understand and take forward our
concerns re: implications for the profession.
-
To this end, RCSLT officers are in direct contact with
representatives in Amicus- MSF. The CEO for RCSLT is
also in contact with the lead officer for speech and
language therapy and aims to meet with her in February
to discuss issues raised by members of the profession
to RCSLT as well as to identify how RCSLT may be able
to work in partnership with the union to support the
profession. A key issue already raised has been concern
regarding the potential loss of ground gained as a
result of our win in the European Court with the equal
pay case and the fact that SLTs have only just settled
local grading. It is important that SLTs also lobby
their views at a local level.
Recent response from Amicus -
MSF
- The most recent information from Amicus - MSF (30
January 2003) is in the attached briefing. A response from
Amicus- MSF to a letter from a member is in the latest
Bulletin (February 2003) and Sarah Carpenter, the Amicus
lead for SLT has also said:
- Our national advisory committee will be making a
recommendation on 27 February, followed by meetings in
every trust and a postal ballot of members at the end of
March/beginning of April. We are also running regional
training days for our representatives.'
- RCSLT has been asked to steer SLTs who contact us re:
Agenda for Change to their local Amicus representative (who
will be kept fully briefed) for the latest information.
- We have also been informed that Sue Hastings in Amicus
is doing some work on how Agenda for Change and the legal
cases fit together. 'There will be apparently be a national
computer programme for evaluating those jobs that do not
slide across onto a standard benchmarked profile, so SLT
managers should not have to do too much local evaluation.
The key is getting the job descriptions right in the first
place - very similar to the regrading process.'
- RCSLT has heard that there is concern from the
profession regarding the potential loss of the top end of
band 4 as well as band 5. RCSLT will be writing formally to
Amicus- MSF to clarify this issue. We are also in the
process of setting up a meeting with Amicus and will use
this as an opportunity to lobby on behalf of the
profession.