Policy Title: Changes to the Way in Which Staff Are Paid During Periods of Annual Leave
Department: DIRECTOR-GENERAL HEALTH and Chief Executive NHS Scotland
Group: Health Workforce Directorate
Division: Workforce Employment and Retention
Branch: Workforce Rewards
| Aims of the Policy |
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| What is the purpose of the policy (or the changes made to the policy)? | Certain hours worked by certain NHS staff formerly attracted a financial premium in lieu of paid annual leave. This practice is not in line with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) which, amongst other things, seeks to ensure that staff receive a statutory amount of paid time away from work for rest and recuperation and, to this end, provides that staff should receive an allowance of annual leave paid “as if at work” for all hours worked rather than a financial premium.
The practice of paying a premium was therefore discontinued from 30 September 2008 and a new system through which staff receive paid annual leave for the specified hours was put in place from 1 October 2008.
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| Who is affected by the policy or who is intended to benefit from the proposed policy and how? | The EWTD legislation covers all NHSScotland employees but, in practice, those affected by this particular change in practice all come within the remit of the Agenda for Change pay and terms and conditions system which covers nearly all non-medical staff in the service. There are three specific groups affected. These are:
1. Full time substantive staff who work unsocial hours, contracted overtime or are paid an on-call allowance.
2. Part time substantive staff who work unsocial hours, contracted overtime or are paid an on-call allowance or who undertake regular additional basic hours.
3. “As and when required” workers.
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| How has the policy been, or will be put into practice, and who is or will be responsible for delivering it? | The policy was announced to the service in NHS Circular PCS(AFC)2008/12 which gave a direction to NHS employers on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary to make this change. The circular was accompanied by additional Q&A guidance. These documents explained the policy in detail and the circular asked each NHS employer to ensure that systems were in place to ensure full compliance with the new provisions. |
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| How does the policy fit into the Scottish Executive's wider or related policy initiatives? | This change of policy brings NHSScotland’s employment practices in line with European legislation. |
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| Have the resources for the policy been allocated? | No |
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