Nurses 'penalised' by holiday pay cut plan - union
PA MediaNursing staff are being "pushed financially to the edge" by an NHS trust which has proposed cutting holiday pay after increasing staff parking costs, a union has said.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has criticised South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's plans to cut holiday pay enhancement from 16% to just over 12.0%, saying it "directly penalises nursing staff who already prop up the NHS with overtime and extra shifts".
In a "double blow" for staff, the RCN said the trust had also recently introduced an 8.5% increase in staff parking charges.
The trust said due to financial pressures it could "no longer justify" having higher holiday pay than other trusts.
Senior RCN officer Sarah Hughes said the proposed pay cuts could be a breach of the 2019 Flowers legal ruling which found holiday pay must reflect "normal pay", including regular overtime, weekend work and enhancements.
She added: "The trust has a clear legal and moral obligation to pay their staff correctly and in accordance with the agreed rate of pay.
"Cutting holiday pay will hit front-line nursing and support staff, many of whom already struggle making ends meet whilst the cost of living continues to skyrocket.
"It is fundamentally wrong."
'Incredibly demoralised'
The trust was also about to change its car parking contract which could "make onsite parking for staff more difficult" and result in "prohibitive fines", the RCN said.
The trust previously said car parking changes would improve safety and reduce delays when exiting.
Roaqah Shaher, RCN representative and a nurse at the trust, said: "These are the same staff who worked tirelessly throughout the Covid pandemic and went on to tackle the enormous care backlog afterwards.
"Unsurprisingly nursing staff feel angry, let down and incredibly demoralised."
The RCN and joint trades union have called on the trust to halt the proposed pay cuts, reverse the new car parking charges and parking contract change, and conduct a "full and transparent consultation" with union representatives.
It also called for a review of financial pressure on staff, saying many were already using food banks or taking on second jobs.
The trust said it was cutting its holiday pay rate "in line with other trusts across the region".
A spokesperson said: "Current financial pressures mean we have to make some difficult decisions and we can no longer justify having higher holiday enhancements for overtime than our neighbouring trusts.
"We are sympathetic to the financial challenges our staff face, which is why we are introducing a pay-related parking tariff to our colleagues with reduced rates for band 2 and band 3 staff.
"We are happy to engage with staff side colleagues to look at solutions for car parking and have asked them to work with their members and advise us of what assurances they would like us to consider."