Pay. It’s a topic that’s never far from our thoughts, especially given the proliferation of salary surveys that seem to pop up on an almost monthly basis. How much you’re paid – and whether it’s enough – is an emotive subject too, prompting plenty of debate. When it comes to practice manager salaries, the picture…

The Equality Act 2010 is legislation to stop all forms of discrimination and yet, despite this, there is still a gender pay gap in the UK – a large gap between the hourly pay received by men and women who do the same job. In fact section 78 of the Equality Act has meant that,…

By Robert Campbell  This is the third ‘blog’ in a series looking at the pay and conditions ‘enjoyed’ by GP Practice Staff. In particular, this ‘blog’ will discuss sick pay, statutory and employers. As an ‘employer’ a GP Practice must pay Statutory Sick Pay to staff but it is not required to continue to pay normal…

By Robert Campbell In 2015, the minimum wage was just £3.87 at 18 – but £6.70 at 21. Is an age-based system right? It makes assumptions about younger people and their circumstances – or abilities… The recent Living Wage also uses age, applying only to those over 25. Currently £7.20 per hour – or 12p per…

By Robert Campbell The issue of annual leave in the NHS, I have discovered, is far from straightforward. Whilst the UK Government stipulates a standard 28 days annual leave regardless of length of service, the system in the NHS is convoluted to say the least. Here is a summary of what the Royal College of…

Robert Campbell When I first started work in the NHS I was 16 years old and my take home pay for my first month at work was £23. I gave my mother £10 and bought a corduroy jacket. I started on the Clerical grade and over the next 25 years of my career, I progressed…

Grading Systems There is no consistent approach to the grading of general practice staff posts. Despite the advent, from 2005 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay system some practices still use the old NHS Whitley Council grading system. The Whitley system though is probably around 10% lower than the Agenda system. And of course…