Pay Consultation
This years pay review body recommendation has been announced at 3.6%, and although this is slightly higher than expected, it is still below other public sector offers and will not correct the issue our members have in the lowest agenda for change bandings of being pennies above the minimum wage.
The UNISON Health Service Group Executive is meeting next week to discuss the pay review bodies outcome, more information will go out to members after this meeting.
Flexible Working
The Government has implemented changes to the Flexible Working legislation to further support our members. The changes which are now in force mean that all employees from day 1 of employment are entitled to apply and the member does not have to give a reason for the application.
The application cannot just be dismissed but a meeting held and if the original flexible working application cannot be accommodated, then a discussion as to what can. The Trust in partnership with trade unions has updated the policy which supports the ethos of the starting point of looking at how the Trust can accommodate your request rather than why it can’t.
AMPDS to Pathways in EOC
EOC is currently transferring from the AMPDS dispatch system to the Pathways system, this will support better integration of service between IUC and EOC as both will now on the same operating system.
Change is always a stressful time and any members within EOC that need support or have highlighted issues with the changes please contact your local rep as soon as possible.
This change also has knock on effects for other areas, not just EOC, but also on the road. Members will have seen the Trust notice highlighting changes to the end of shift agreement. Staff side was involved in these discussions and agreed that some temporary changes could be made whilst the transition from one to the other took place as a safety net.
Some of the wording in the agreement will change to match the Pathways wording but UNISON is keen to ensure that once embedded the same principles apply to the EOS agreement.
Pensions
From 1 April 2025, some minor and positive changes have been introduced to the England and Wales NHS Pension Scheme regulations.
The way pension contribution tiers are updated has changed. Now the tiers are updated on 1 April in line with CPI from September the year before (it was 1.7% in September 2024). They will be adjusted again in line with the NHS pay award once this is known if the award is higher than 1.7%.
There is a change that clarifies the pensioning of additional hours (overtime) for part time staff.
Employers must contact members of the scheme if they have not treated additional hours worked by part-time staff up to WTE as pensionable. In any such cases, members should be given a choice on whether to pension their additional hours, and have up to 1 July 2026 to make their decision.
There is clarification on calculating member contributions where pay reduces during a period of absence. Members may be owed a refund of overpaid pension contributions going back to 1 October 2022 if their employer had based their contribution rates on their full pay rather than their actual reduced pensionable pay (for example half pay during long term sickness).
This change will not affect the build-up of pension benefits.
Finally, a change will be made to the scheme so that members who go straight from full pay to zero pay, will continue to accrue pension benefits, meaning their benefits will continue to be based on their pensionable pay from directly before the members went onto unpaid leave.
PTS Eligibility Criteria
There have been changes recently to the patient eligibility criteria for Patient Transport, this will hopefully reduce cost for the PTS service by cutting down on unnecessary journeys and the use of Taxis.
With costing and finance in the spotlight for all NHS Trusts, a more structured approach to how our patient transport service is used should ensure that the incredible service provided by our PTS members is continued going forward as contract renewals are under the spotlight once again this year.
AAP to Paramedic
UNISON has, since its inception, had issues with the training rates paid to our members who progress from band 4 to the band 5 training rates to train up to paramedic.
Currently to progress we see our members taking a pay cut onto training rates, this is fundamentally wrong and acts to prevent others who wish to progress from applying, whilst effectively punishing those that do.
UNISON believes there must be a better way of supporting staff and helping them as they progress to ultimately not only benefit themselves but also the Trust and hope to sit down with the Trust to find a suitable alternative
UNISON Reps
UNISON has a great network of representatives within YAS, but we are always looking to increase our numbers. If you would like to support your colleagues in the workplace and be involved improving working lives at YAS, then being a UNISON steward or workplace contact is the way to go.
We can provide you with training and support and ensure you are fully equipped for the role.
For more information of how to get involved please email yas.unison@nhs.net
Branch Committee representatives for UNISON YAS Branch 2025/2026
After the Branch AGM last month, we are pleased to announce the Branch Committee representatives for UNISON YAS Branch 2025/2026.
| Position | Position Name |
|---|---|
| Branch Chair | Bryn Webster |
| Branch Secretary | Kev Fairfax |
| Treasurer | Diane Redmond |
| West Area Secretary | Diane Redmond |
| North and East Area Secretary | Scott Everitt |
| South Area Secretary | Tracy Leatherland |
| West Convenors | Sarah Brown, Lyndsay Hewitt-Brown |
| North and East Convenors | Gordon Slack, David Hinchcliffe, Callum McInnes |
| South Convenors | Simon Stead, Shaun Hobson |
| Health & Safety Convenors | Ian Lawrence, Maria Clarry, Mark Harrison |
| PTS Convenor | Eamon Murphy |
| EOC Convenor | Ryan Kellett |
| IUC Convenor | Sharon Clothier |
| Membership Secretary | Sharon Clothier |
| Equalities Lead | Ryan Kellett |