Working outside the NHS
Nurses employed in the independent sector or in General Practice are not covered by Agenda for Change (AfC) as they are not employees of the NHS.
The RCN recognises that while AfC has been specifically negotiated for the NHS - there will be a very real impact on employers and nurses outside the NHS.
The current NHS pay arrangements exert a powerful influence over the terms and conditions employers outside the NHS offer to their staff. The RCN believes this will continue to be the case. Over time, we would increasingly expect aspects of AfC to be offered to nursing staff outside of the NHS.
The RCN is undertaking a number of activities to support pay parity:
- where the RCN has recognition agreements, we are actively in discussion with employers about AfC.
- the RCN is participating in conferences and workshops to help nurses and employers outside of the NHS fully understand the detail of AfC.
- the RCN is working with members in its professional forums to develop specific employment guidance for implementing AfC.
- the RCN has developed a one day training workshop tailored for use with independent sector employers.
Guidance
We are currently updating our guidance Agenda for change and nurses employed outside of the NHS that outlines the AfC proposals and draws some comparisons with the previous Whitley pay, grading and conditions package for nurses.