The Royal College of Nursing has joined multiple unions representing healthcare employees in the UK in advocating that the NHS pay review body give employees an above-average pay rise to avoid paying staff below minimum wage in the future.
Both the RCN and unions are warning that the current one percent public sector pay cap is not sufficient and sustainable, as it makes the profession less attractive and leads to workforce shortages and recruitment struggles at trusts.
Their joint submission to the body says that if the government continues under current pay plans, a cash injection of £280m will be required for ministers not to break their own rules regarding minimum wage.
The Professional Standards Authority is currently assessing whether the new nursing associate role requires regulation following requests by Government officials.
The PSA oversees the Nursing and Midwifery Council alongside other organisations, and was asked to carry out assessments over the new role and its scope of practice by the Department of Health.
Its analysis will involve an as-yet unrevealed new risk assessment approach developed by the body and will inform a ministerial decision about the regulation of nursing associates that will be made later in the year.
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2. CQC: Healthcare's Child Protection Against Sexual Abuse Provision Is 'Inadequate'
The Care Quality Commission has published a new report demanding healthcare services do more to protect against from possible sexual exploitation child sexual exploitation (CSE)
Joint inspections between multiple bodies - including the CQC, Ofsted, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary - resolved that services need to better recognise and act upon their safeguarding responsibilities regarding CSE.
Entitled 'Time to Listen,' the report argued that children were currently being seen by multiple uncoordinated frontline professionals, who, in certain cases, did not have the sufficient skills required to identifying sexual exploitation.
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Redundancy payments made to NHS staff will be cut substantially, according to new plans unveiled bv the Treasury last week.
The unveiled plans were part of a larger strategy to reduce £1.5bn currently spent on exit payments across the public sector, and though they will largely target the highest earners, those on middle financial rungs may also find themselves negatively affected.
Proposals within the plans include reducing the tariffs utilised to calculate redundancy payments from four to three week's pay for every full year of service, and lowering the maximum number of months salary used for redundancy pay from 24 to 15.
Attained audited status from the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation)
Ranked among the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 2015
Ranked among the UK's Best 100 Small Companies to Work For by the Sunday Times
Assessed and registered against the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Standard
Ranked in the UK's Best Workplaces Awards (Medium) 2016
Winners of the Best Back Office Support Team Award and Best People Development Business Award at the Institute of Recruitment Professionals Awards 2016.