UNISON has warned that the NHS risks losing thousands of low-paid staff to the private sector unless wages increase significantly.
According to a new report, major names on the high street, including supermarkets, coffee shops and logistics firms, are among those promoting wages that exceed the lowest hourly rates in the NHS.
For example, Morrisons is offering a minimum of £10 an hour compared with £9.49 for a hospital porter or catering assistant, and Amazon’s basic rate is £11.10 for some permanent staff, according to the research commissioned from analysts Incomes Data Research (IDR).
UNISON also states that ‘golden hellos’ worth £1,500, overtime supplements of an extra £2 an hour and staff discounts are among incentives offered by private firms that are proving increasingly attractive to demoralised health workers.
The report warns that improvements to basic pay in the private sector represent ‘a much greater recruitment and retention challenge to the NHS than previously’. UNISON says an exodus of even more workers to the private sector would be disastrous for the health service. The NHS has an ongoing staffing crisis, soaring patient waits and is struggling to reduce the backlog of procedures and treatments cancelled during the pandemic.
NHS staff should be getting their 2022 pay rise at the end of this week, but government delays mean a frustrating wait until later in the summer. UNISON is calling for an above-inflation pay rise, the real living wage of £9.90/£11.05 an hour as the minimum rate across the NHS, and other urgent measures to retain staff.
Sara Gorton, UNISON head of health, said: “It’s clear big-name employers who compete with the NHS for staff are acting fast. The health service can’t function without cleaners, porters, healthcare assistants and other low-paid workers. But no one would blame them for taking jobs with employers willing to pay better rates.
“The chancellor’s spring statement was silent on public sector pay. But the staffing crisis will deepen unless the government acts swiftly with a real pay rise that leaves inflation in the shade. Workers will then have no choice but to go after better rates on the high street as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. That doesn’t bode well for patient care.”
