Evaluating the impact of a new pay system on nurses in the UK
Evaluating the impact of a new pay system on nurses in the UK
Aims and objectives:? This study examines the impact of implementing a new pay system (Agenda for Change) on nursing staff in the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This new pay system covered approximately 400,000 nursing staff. Its objectives were to improve the delivery of patient care as well as staff recruitment, retention and motivation.
Background:? The new system aimed to provide a simplified approach to pay determination, with a more systematic use of agreed job descriptions and job evaluation to ‘price’ individual jobs, linked to a new career development framework.
Design:? Secondary analysis of survey data.
Methods:? Analysis of results of large-scale surveys of members of the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom (RCN) to assess the response of nurses to questions about the implementation process itself and their attitude to pay levels.
Results:? The results demonstrated that there was some positive change after implementation of Agenda for Change in 2006, mainly some time after implementation, and that the process of implementation itself raised expectations that were not fully met for all nurses.
Conclusions:? There were clear indications of differential impact and reported experiences, with some categories of nurse being less satisfied with the process of implementation. The overall message is that a national pay system has strengths and weaknesses compared to the local systems used in other countries and that these benefits can only be maximised by effective communication, adequate funding and consistent management of the system.
Relevance to clinical practice:? How nurses’ pay is determined and delivered can be a major satisfier and incentive to nurses if the process is well managed and can be a factor in supporting clinical practice, performance and innovation. This study highlights that a large-scale national exercise to reform the pay system for nurses is a major undertaking, carries risk and will take significant time to implement effectively.
nurses, nurses' labour markets, nurses' pay, nursing, workforce
50-59
Buchan, James
6629fec3-18ff-484c-8b5f-258b63e934c8
Ball, Jane
85ac7d7a-b21e-42fd-858b-78d263c559c1
January 2011
Buchan, James
6629fec3-18ff-484c-8b5f-258b63e934c8
Ball, Jane
85ac7d7a-b21e-42fd-858b-78d263c559c1
Abstract
Aims and objectives:? This study examines the impact of implementing a new pay system (Agenda for Change) on nursing staff in the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This new pay system covered approximately 400,000 nursing staff. Its objectives were to improve the delivery of patient care as well as staff recruitment, retention and motivation.
Background:? The new system aimed to provide a simplified approach to pay determination, with a more systematic use of agreed job descriptions and job evaluation to ‘price’ individual jobs, linked to a new career development framework.
Design:? Secondary analysis of survey data.
Methods:? Analysis of results of large-scale surveys of members of the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom (RCN) to assess the response of nurses to questions about the implementation process itself and their attitude to pay levels.
Results:? The results demonstrated that there was some positive change after implementation of Agenda for Change in 2006, mainly some time after implementation, and that the process of implementation itself raised expectations that were not fully met for all nurses.
Conclusions:? There were clear indications of differential impact and reported experiences, with some categories of nurse being less satisfied with the process of implementation. The overall message is that a national pay system has strengths and weaknesses compared to the local systems used in other countries and that these benefits can only be maximised by effective communication, adequate funding and consistent management of the system.
Relevance to clinical practice:? How nurses’ pay is determined and delivered can be a major satisfier and incentive to nurses if the process is well managed and can be a factor in supporting clinical practice, performance and innovation. This study highlights that a large-scale national exercise to reform the pay system for nurses is a major undertaking, carries risk and will take significant time to implement effectively.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 20 January 2010
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 October 2010
Published date: January 2011
Keywords:
nurses, nurses' labour markets, nurses' pay, nursing, workforce
Organisations:
Faculty of Health Sciences
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 389791
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/389791
ISSN: 0962-1067
PURE UUID: a39e0d33-3816-44b0-a1bb-537d41b84881
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Date deposited: 15 Mar 2016 12:08
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:51
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Contributors
Author:
James Buchan
Author:
Jane Ball
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