Pay award 2021/22 - interaction with transitional sick pay
Due to the delay of the 2021/22 pay award, some staff who were previously below the £18,160 threshold are now no longer entitled to receive enhancements during periods of non-Covid sickness absence.
The government recently announced a 3 per cent pay award for staff covered by the NHS Pay Review Body, backdated to 1 April 2021. The Electronic Staff Record (ESR) has implemented the pay award from 1 September 2021, and this will include the functionality to pay the backpay through to 1 April 2021.
This pay award takes all staff above the earnings threshold of £18,160 set out in paragraph 14.4 (England) of the NHS terms and conditions (NHS TCS) handbook.
‘14.4 For staff…who were employed under the terms of this handbook as at 30 June 2018, and have a basic salary of £18,160 or less…
Pay during sickness absence is calculated on the basis of what the individual would have received had they been at work. It will include regularly paid supplements, including any recruitment and retention premia, payments for work outside normal hours and high cost area supplements…’
The delayed 2021/22 pay award announcement and subsequent implementation to the terms and conditions has meant that some staff who were previously below the £18,160 threshold are now no longer entitled to receive enhancements during periods of non-Covid sickness absence.
There will, however, be a small number of staff who have received enhancements as part of any non-Covid related sickness absence pay during the period 1 April to 31 August. In the September ‘retro’ pay run, ESR will automatically correct any sick pay overpayments made during this period.
The policy intention of pay going above the £18,160 threshold was to harmonise sick pay arrangements across staff employed under the NHS terms and conditions of service (Agenda for Change).
In this instance, trusts are encouraged to:
- consider and review the impacts on staff members who will be affected by this default ESR correction; and
- consider if the option to make a manual payroll intervention to prevent overpayments being recovered for any non-Covid sick pay for affected staff between 1 April 2021 and 31 August 2021, is appropriate.
Employers would need to fund any local interventions from their existing allocations.
From the 1 September 2021, the pay award has been implemented within ESR. This means that no staff, except some ambulance staff still on Annex 5, will be entitled to receive their enhanced pay whilst off sick unless they meet the second criteria set out in the NHS TCS handbook, that of the absence being a work-related injury (see 14.4 (England), second bullet point).
Employer action required
- Identify any staff affected who:
- have been in post on or before 30 June 2018, and have had a basic salary below £18,160 prior to the 3 per cent pay award; and
- have had any period of normal sickness absence (i.e., not in receipt of COVID-19 sick pay) between 1 April 2021 and 31 August 2021.
- To determine the action required for any affected staff. In this instance trusts have the option to manually intervene to ensure that ESR does not deduct any arrears for these periods of absence in the September ‘retro’ run. Further information can be found in the retro pay section of ESR user manual.
- Where the employer chooses to allow ESR to reclaim any overpayment, they should contact the affected staff members to discuss and explain the individual impacts.
