Cambridge Weighting (Campaign for a NHS Cambridge High Cost Area Supplement)

Lead Officer: Sarah Gwynn

Pay round talks start for 2011 pay deal

July 2010

The NHS staff council is currently looking at proposals for the 2011 cost of living pay award, however given the current financial climate it is not expected that the High Cost of Living Supplement for Cambridge will be reviewed this year.

The Branch plans to look at the recruitment figures over the next 12 months as this is where we had previously had problems with the bid, as the employers could not show they had difficulty in recruiting because of housing/ renting costs.

Three Year Pay Deal proposed, but no HCAS included

April 2008

Despite all of Carole's hard work, including liasing with Addenbrooke's Hospital Management over recruitment and retention issues the 2008 pay talks have concluded with another defeat for our claim.

We were told as last year that there wasn't enough evidence of recruitment issues, which is dissapointing to say the least.

Branch activists will now review all our submissions and evidence collated over several years, and will no doubt be arranging member meetings in the near future to decide what we should do next.

Cambridge High Cost Area Supplement papers submitted

January 2008

The Joint application from UNISON Cambridge Health, and Addenbrooke's Hospital management (on behalf of the local NHS) has now been submitted to the the national Pay Review Body - and has been included as part of UNISON's national pay claim for the 2008 pay round.

Both the original 2005 HCAS claim, and the 2007 update can be found in the organising members section of our help files

2008 Pay round talks New submission made following the 2007 decision to defer

18th September 2007

The joint application from Unison Cambridge Health,and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is in the final stages of being prepared ready for the 2008 pay talks. This involved re-looking at the costs of housing, travel, food and services in Cambridge, and comparing them to other areas including London. Unison national negotiators will then include this in the 2008 talks for NHS pay.

High Cost Area Supplement 2008 Bid nearly complete

September 2007

Branch Officers are nearing completion on the bid details for the claim for a Cambridge High Cost Area Supplement (equivalent to London weighting). This will be jointly signed by Staff and Management leads at Addenbrooke's hospital before being submitted to the National Pay Review Body - which now covers talks for all staff in the NHS covered by Agenda for Change. The submission will be posted on the site with a short article in the coming weeks

High Cost Area Supplement Declined for 2007

April 2007

The National Pay Review Body has declined our joint application for a HCAS in Cambridge on the grounds of not enough information. Although this is a blow to our team who worked exceptionally hard on this - especially Carole Proctor (Admin & Clerical Lead officer) we haven't lost hope and are already working on resubmitting with new evidence for the 2008 pay talks.

The other piece of news was that the format that it was submitted in was so good, that the staffside will be using it as a template for all other submissions.

Carole, Martin and Head office will now be working on the 2008 submission alongside the local NHS organisations.

High Cost Area Supplement campaign goes national!

December 2006

NATIONAL bodies representing health staff are now taking up the case for Cambridge to receive the 'fringe London' level of High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) pay.

For the last six years, Cambridge Health UNISON has fought to end the injustice of the old Cost of Living Supplements (COLS), which were paid to nurses and other 'health professionals', but not to other staff. Since the arrival of Agenda for Change, these payments have continued to be made as a 'long-term Recruitment and Retention Premium' to existing staff, though they have been discontinued for new staff.

Last year, management and staff sides at Addenbrooke's joined together to make a case for funding to be provided to extend the 'fringe London' weighting allowance - now called HCAS - to Cambridge. This would amount to up to £1,300 a year extra, and would be payable to all staff.

The Staff Side of the national Staff Council supports our case, and has been making its case to the national Pay Review Body, which recommends to the government how much several groups of NHS staff should be paid. As we went to press, the Pay Review Body was considering its response. Watch this space!

Branch Motion to the 2006 National Health Conference

February 2006

High Cost Area Supplements: Step up the campaign!

CONFERENCE notes the provision in the Agenda for Change agreement for the areas where High Cost Area Supplements are paid to be extended beyond their current geographical limits.

Conference notes that there has been a rapid rise in the cost of living, and especially housing, in several areas, meaning that the take-home pay of workers in those areas is realistically worth less than that of those in areas with a lower cost of living.

Some local Unison branches have taken advantage of the new provisions in the AfC agreement to submit evidence supporting the extension of the High Cost Area Supplements to their areas, yet no moves whatsoever appear to have taken place on this issue in this year's pay settlement.

Conference is disturbed that despite repeated resolutions on this subject, no effort appears to have been made on the part of the union's national negotiators to include this matter in this year's pay claim; instead we have been told that this may be addressed next year. That will mean six years since the unfair and inequitable `Cost Of Living Supplements' were introduced, which we were told that Agenda for Change would do away with and replace with fair High Cost Area Supplements.

Conference instructs the union's national negotiators to give a high priority to ensuring that the issue of High Cost Area Supplements is addressed in the next pay round, and that branches are given full support and encouragement to submit claims where they believe they have the necessary evidence.

High Cost Area Claim: The Bid goes in

October 2005

Staff-side and management at Addenbrooke's have jointly made a bid to the national pay negotiating bodies, for a High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) to be paid in the Cambridge area.

The bid was based on evidence about the high cost of living around Cambridge collected from a wide variety of sources, and if it is agreed it would mean that all staff living and working in the Cambridge area would get it.

However, we have been told that it is highly unlikely to be included in the 2006-7 pay settlement, which is very disappointing. There is likely to be a review of such payments in the 2007-8 pay round, when the impact of Agenda for Change on pay rates has been fully assessed.

High Cost Area Supplements

February 2005

Some of you may recall the "Why are we Weighting?" campaign in 2001. Yes, it really was that long ago, and guess what, we are still waiting.

The issue here is the gross unfairness of the Cost of Living Supplement (COLS) being awarded to Nursing and Allied Health Professional Staff, and not to the rest of the staff, many of whom are, in fact, in lower paid jobs, and are therefore in more need of assistance.

Addenbrooke's Trust Board has always been in favour of the COLS being paid to all staff, and agree that the present system is inequitable and in need of reform. As with many things, however, financial constraints have prevented them from rectifying the situation.

With the advent of Agenda for Change and Partnership Working, the Addenbrooke's Trust Board, Management and Staff Sides are relaunching our campaign for equality in this issue, by means of an application for the South Cambridge Area to be considered for a Higher Cost Area Supplement, which would be payable to all staff. This would need to be funded centrally, so as not to impinge on the Trust's overburdened finances. A similar approach could well be taken in partnership with other employers covered by our Unison branch, if appropriate.

The rules that apply for Fringe High Cost Areas under the new Agenda for Change policy are:

5 percent of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £825 and a maximum payment of £1,430 per annum. Certainly better than a poke in the eye!

What can you do to help?

We need information to help our claim. This may be that you know people working for other organisations in Cambridge who already get cost of living allowance, information on house prices in the area, evidence of higher transport costs, fuel costs, or just shopping costs in this area. Any snippets you pick up from local papers, news broadcasts, or conversations with other workers in other areas could potentially help us.

Contact the UNISON office at Addenbrooke's Hospital or e-mail me directly at unison@addenbrookes.nhs.uk or carole.proctor@addenbrookes.nhs.uk if you have information you feel may help us.

Article added 2010-08-24 13:09:04