Two skilled and committed maternity support workers (MSW) from the north of England with over 25 years of experience between them have successfully challenged their pay band and won their case with the support of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
Working with other MSWs, they have also succeeded in securing seven years’ back pay to 2018, which the RCM has described as a ‘fair and decent’ outcome for its hardworking members.
The MSWs both of whom are also RCM Workplace Representatives were employed at band 2 and had witnessed their Health Care Assistants (HCAs) colleagues in the same band get an uplift to band 3 with backpay. In July 2023 it was agreed by their employer that the same would be afforded to them, however without the backpay they were entitled to.
Jenny Brown, the RCM’s Regional Officer for North of England who supported the MSWs with their formal grievance, said:
“What was crucial to this case was to secure evidence that our members were performing duties above their job description. Their day-to-day duties which they recorded themselves with strong examples proved that they were working beyond their job description to meet the needs of the maternity service. We also argued for pay parity with their HCA colleagues and submitted a formal collective grievance to the Trust. Initially our claim was rejected, which we appealed in November and finally, after an onerous process, in February our members received the good news they had been waiting for.”
The RCM has also repeatedly called for robust changes to the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme which it says needs urgent review and investment. Why? Because job evaluation underpins the entire Agenda for Change pay structure and ensures equal pay for work of equal value. Every job description that is created for Agenda for Change staff must go through a process of either job matching or job evaluation, says the RCM.
The RCM has a range of resources to help members, Activists and branches with job evaluation including its RCM job evaluation toolkit. The toolkit contains all the information you need to better understand the job evaluation process and identify and challenge inappropriate banding
What advice does Jenny have for other MSWs or midwives who feel they need to challenge their pay band and undertake job matching and job evaluation?
“Firstly, if you are on a lower band, but feel you should be on a higher band make sure you have an up-to-date job description and that you have evidence of any duties you may have performed that are of a higher band. The majority of MSW roles can also be matched with other NHS Job Profiles, in this case it was with HCAs, but clinical support workers at Band 2 and 3 as well as a band 4 maternity care assistants can all be matched with MSW jobs. The job matching process assigns a pay band to a job, the evidence that this exercise has taken place is the job matching analysis. If you are unsure, speak to your local rep or RCM Regional Officer who can advise and support, you further.”
For more information on how the RCM can support you with job evaluation in your workplace in available here.
