AfC Project Sites

The Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group (SPRIG) established four pilots in 2003 to test various aspects of the Agenda for Change pay and conditions system, as a complement to the 12 Early Implementation (EI) sites established in England.

The sites were:

• West Lothian Healthcare Division
• NHS Highland
• Golden Jubilee National Hospital
• NHS National Services Scotland

Each of the pilot sites offer different operational environments in which to test the new system: staff in both acute and primary care settings; staff in rural and remote areas; staff in an organisation new to the NHS system and; staff working in roles different to traditional existing health service jobs.

Findings of the Pilot Sites

As with the EI sites, the findings of the pilot sites were used to inform the UK-wide review of Agenda for Change which published it’s conclusions in August 2004. A joint statement was issued by the Shadow Executive of the NHS Staff Council on 11 August saying that, subject to agreement, Agenda for Change would be implemented from 1 December 2004 with an effective date of 1 October 2004, with the exception of the proposed arrangements for pay enhancements for staff working unsocial hours.

The agreement to hold back on introduction of the new unsocial hours provisions until 2006 makes it likely that some of the conclusions on costs and protection contained in the pilot site reports published will not apply when Agenda for Change is implemented in December. In particular, initial analysis of the implications of retaining existing unsocial hours arrangements until 2006 indicates that levels of pay protection for NHS staff will be lower than those indicated in the reports. This is because a high proportion of pay protection found in the pilot sites was attributable to the previous proposals on unsocial hours which the pilot sites were asked to test.

The Reports

There is a wealth of information in these reports which will help to inform and aid NHS Scotland’s preparations for bringing in the new system. Managers and staff across NHS Scotland will be able to learn from the experience of the pilot sites and the learning points contained in the reports as we move towards the proposed implementation of AfC in December.

Note: In order to protect the confidentiality of individual members of staff it is not possible to disseminate the full reports from West Lothian, NHS Highland, or the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. The following staff at pilot sites would be happy to respond to any queries about their individual reports:

NHS Lothian

Leanne Kenny

Tel: 01506-419-666

NHS National Services Scotland

Janine Emerson

Tel: 0131-275-6000

Golden Jubilee National Hospital

Lindsey Ferries

Tel: 0141-951-5039

NHS Highland

Hamish Johnston

Tel: 01463-704000

For further information regarding the Project sites please e-mail the AfC Team or call 0141 242 5851.