Job ad for band 6 deputy matron role leaves nurses ‘speechless’
Posted 02 July 2024 - 14:00
An NHS trust has been accused of attempting to employ ‘highly skilled nursing staff on the cheap’ as it advertises a leadership role at band 6
Nurses have expressed their frustration and exasperation after a job advert for an NHS matron was listed as a band 6 role.
Ad slammed as attempt to employ ‘highly skilled nursing staff on the cheap’
The advert for the deputy community matron role at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) states that the successful candidate would work as a case manager, and be involved in delivering service integration and care coordination to prevent hospital admissions.
The advertised job, which had a closing date of 27 June, has a salary between £35,393 and £42,618 pro rata, which includes the London weighting allowance.
Posting the band 6 job advert on X, formerly Twitter, nurse Charlotte said: ‘Another fine example of exploiting the job evaluation process to get highly skilled nursing staff on the cheap.
‘This should be a minimum of a 7; it could be creeping into 8a.’
She added: ‘Honestly, I've been left speechless. This is why nurses must get job evaluation training and be part of the process to advocate for the complexity of these skills. Too many times I find most staff on these panels are non-nurses.’
Matrons should be paid to reflect their clinical leadership role, says workforce expert
According to the NHS Employers job profile handbook nurses working as a ‘modern matron’ would expect to be an 8a on the Agenda for Change framework band, with duties expected to include ‘developing and implementing integrated care policies across primary and acute settings’.
NHS Employers told Nursing Standard that it was important to consider the job description and duties of a role rather than the name alone to determine the appropriate pay band.
But London South Bank University chair of healthcare and workforce modelling Alison Leary disagreed: ‘Matron is a clinical leadership position and should be paid to reflect that. We have seen matron posts advertised at a band 6, but this is too low,’ she said.
The criticism comes as the RCN reported that some NHS trusts are advertising nursing associate roles at bands 5 and 6.
Trust defends job’s banding
NELFT said that community matrons are typically employed at band 7, whereas a modern matron in a clinical setting will be banded higher as they oversee more complex clinical environments.
The trust added that the job had been created to provide an opportunity for clinical development to a band 7 and was allocated via its job matching protocol in line with the national NHS job evaluation scheme.
RCN England director Patricia Marquis said: ‘Advertising a role like this undervalues the whole nursing profession. When employers seek to hire nursing staff below the going rate, they are only creating more problems for their services.
‘Nursing staff deserve the pay that matches their years of experience, knowledge and skills. We encourage any nursing staff who feel they are not being paid fairly for the job they do to seek job re-evaluation with the RCN’s support.’
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