'It is
our aim to create not just
rewarding jobs but jobs
that reward'
Amicus comment in
Independent on Sunday SLT
Supplement, 29 July
2003
There have been massive
changes in recent years on
the pay front for speech
and language therapists
(SLTs) with more to come.
Most significantly, my own
union, Amicus MSF, won a
significant equal-value
claim on behalf of a number
of senior SLTs in the
European Court (see Kamini
Gadhok's column on the
opposite page for more
details). It was one of the
first acts of the new
government to order civil
servants to settle the
case. This brought many
benefits as it created a
career structure for newly
qualified SLTs to aspire to
and "back pay" of thousands
of pounds for many.
This case highlighted
inequalities in the NHS pay
system which resulted in
the national pay talks
known as Agenda for Change
on modernising the NHS pay
system. These talks have
been ongoing for four
years. They are
multi-faceted and complex
but the unions have finally
given the go-ahead to pilot
the proposals. These
include my own trust
Central Cheshire PCT.
Because of the
complexity of the
proposals, it is
understandable that a
layman could fail to
understand the implications
of Agenda for Change.
The key idea behind the
initiative is to deliver
equal pay for work of equal
value. To deliver this
objective, a bespoke job
evaluation scheme has been
produced by people working
within, or for, the NHS. It
is the most sophisticated
job evaluation scheme in
existence, necessarily so
because of the diversity of
tasks undertaken by NHS
staff.
We cannot state with any
certainty that any
profession will gain or
lose financially since the
results of the evaluation
will differ between and
within professions.
This is particularly
true in speech and language
therapy. The outcome of
Agenda for Change for SLTs
cannot be determined at the
moment as we are still very
much involved in shaping
the final outcome of the
evaluation process.
Of course, my union has
undertaken modelling work
on the proposals to date.
There are some concerns
that the gains made under
the equal value claim are
about to be reversed. I
have my own concerns in
this area. But creating
alarm at this moment is
premature and Amicus MSF is
working very closely with
the Royal College of Speech
and Language Therapy to
ensure that any "worst case
scenarios" do not take
place.
The problem of the focus
on the job evaluation
process has diverted
attention from proposals to
provide better support for
NHS staff to develop
professionally. A
competency framework known
as the Knowledge and Skills
Framework has been produced
which we believe gives NHS
staff a contractual right
to continuing professional
development. We believe
that this is the potential
"jewel in the crown" in the
Agenda for Change proposals
and, if implemented
properly, will help SLTs
and other health
professionals to take
control of their own
careers.
It is the objective of
my union to use this new
tool to create rewarding
jobs for SLTs while at the
same time creating jobs
that reward.
Jenni Kay is a
senior representative for
SLTs in Amicus and works at
Central Cheshire
PCT