Why am I being asked to vote?
You are being asked to vote on whether or not you accept the pay offer for NHS staff on Agenda For Change bands. UNISON is recommending that members vote to ACCEPT this pay offer. Voting will be open from April 15th until midday on 7th May.
How do I vote?
Voting is now open and will close at midday on 7th May. Eligible members will receive an email with their digital ballot paper.
What if I don’t get an email?
The emails will be issued on the 15th April. They may not all arrive in the morning so keep checking your in box throughout the day. Also check your spam/junk folder. If you do not receive and email you can still vote using this link.
You will need your UNISON membership number, name and date of birth to vote this way. You need to join UNISON before April 24th to participate in the ballot. New joiners will receive their voting link week commencing April 29th and will not be able to use the ballot links until then.
Please contact UNISON direct 0800 0857 857 or nhspay21@unison.co.uk if you need help.
What is the pay offer
- Bands 1-4: a flat uplift of £1,009
- Bands 5-7: a 4% uplift
- Bands 8a to 8c: a 2% uplift
- Bands 8d to 9: a flat uplift of £800
This means the majority of NHS workers would receive a pay rise of at least 4%. Pay would be backdated to December 2020. You can find more information on what this means for you here
How did this offer come about?
On the eve of our industrial action ballot last December the government announced a £500 payment for health and social care workers. UNISON then focused on bringing the government and employers back to the table to win a serious and substantial pay rise for health workers.
Following UNISON’s campaigning the government agreed that they would not wait for the Pay Review Body (PRB) to report and to start negotiations and that the deal would be backdated to December. Negotiations include all health trade unions and this offer reflects the differing priorities of those groups. Other unions would not support UNISON’s ask for a flat rate pay rise.
UNISON believes that this is the best offer that can be achieved through negotiation
UNISON is recommending ACCEPT because
- This offer is substantially higher than public sector pay deals achieved recently
- There can be no more negotiations until a new government is in place after the election in May.
- The new government will not be facing the pressure of an upcoming election
- Sustained and substantial industrial action would be required to bring the new government back to the table after the election.
Does this only apply to Scotland?
Yes this is an offer for NHS Agenda For Change staff in Scotland only.
Need to know more?
See below for a full list of frequently asked questions. If you would like further information please speak to your local steward or branch. You can also visit our campaigns page for more details.
Poster and Q&A for use on UNISON noticeboards etc
