Fair NHS role banding: why my nurse role deserves to be upgraded
Posted 27 September 2024 - 15:24
Specialist nurse claims his job is incorrectly graded as band 6 by his employer and claims there is inconsistency between organisations in how the role is banded
A specialist school nurse (SSN) says he feels sidelined and gaslighted over the banding of his role.
Nick Bernie claims some NHS employers are not following role evaluation guidance, and that his job should be upgraded from band 6 role to 7.
Variations in Agenda for Change banding for the same role
He discovered through through Freedom of Information requests what he believes is banding inconsistency. While his employer NHS Lothian and some others in Scotland pitch the job at band 6, NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries & Galloway and NHS Forth Valley grade it as band 7.
‘I have been trying to get our job properly evaluated for over two years, but have been met with nothing but obstruction and, frankly, what feels like considerable gaslighting,’ Mr Bernie says. ‘It has been exhausting, I’ve tried all the formal routes to no effect.
‘We are required to have a master’s-level qualification, which should earn you 196 points in a job evaluation score. But health boards refuse to follow the guidance, or don’t understand it, and come up with different bands for the same job.’
According to the job evaluation guidance, staff are deemed to be at ‘level 7’ in knowledge, training and experience if they have carried out postgraduate training, study or short courses at master’s level or above. Mr Bernie has a postgraduate diploma in specialist community public health nursing – an SSN role requirement – but claims his employer ‘under-scores’ the role with 156 points, leaving him 40 points short of band 7.
Master’s degree requirement for band 7 disputed
NHS Lothian nursing director Alison MacDonald told Mr Bernie in response to his information request that SSNs must have a master’s degree in order to reach level 7 knowledge, training and experience in the role evaluation.
Mr Bernie disputes this. ‘If you look at the handbook guidance, that is just not true,’ he says. ‘A postgraduate diploma is a master’s-level course. The university confirmed this.
‘All band 7 health visitors have postgraduate diplomas, with few doing the full master’s degree. It’s not just about the money. I want the process to be fair for school nurses throughout Scotland.’
NHS health boards evaluate roles in absence of standardisation
NHS Scotland said health boards should work together for consistency in job evaluation and local dispute arrangements exist.
Ms MacDonald told Nursing Standard each board is responsible for its own job evaluations and banding. She said: ‘In the absence of national standardisation, similar roles may be banded differently, often reflecting job description variations. If a staff member is dissatisfied, they can discuss with their line manager and there are formal routes.’
Mr Bernie describes his union’s support as lacklustre. He says the RCN told him it could support his role re-evaluation, but not a retrospective claim because of the time period involved.
RCN Scotland director of employment relations Norman Provan said: ‘While we do not comment on individual cases, we do know nursing has evolved, but job descriptions and pay haven’t kept up. We encourage members who think they’re not being paid fairly to review and update their job description, taking into account their knowledge and qualifications, skills and competencies and level of experience, and ask for it to be evaluated.’
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