This affects you if you’re an RCN member employed as a Band 2 Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) who has been carrying out Band 3 duties on or before 1 January 2025.

This agreement does not apply to Bank-only workers.

It’s important that you read the full detail of the agreement before you vote.

What we're asking you to vote on

We've pulled out some of the key points of the agreement offer below. To read the full detail and context, jump to the relevant section.

Validation process

Your health board will confirm with you whether you’re working at a Band 3 level or wish to remain at Band 2.

Corrective payment

This would:

• Represent arrears from 1 January 2025 until the date you are moved into the Band 3 role
• Be subject to tax and National Insurance
• Be pensionable, meaning deductions will be made from this payment, in respect of your contributions and your employer’s contributions, and will count towards your pension

Retrospective payment (before 2025)

This would:

• Be dependant on length of service and is capped at 5 years
• Be subject to tax and National Insurance
• Be non-pensionable, meaning no contributions will be deducted from you or your employer and it will not count towards your pension
• Be made within two pay cycles from the implementation date, unless you request to stagger the payment

This could:

• affect your benefits entitlement, so please consider this before voting

Other things to consider before you vote

• This offer may not fully compensate for all Band 3 duties carried out before January 2025.
• Some members may have performed Band 3 duties for a longer period than the retrospective payment represents.
• This is the final offer and no further negotiations will take place.
• If accepted by the majority of members, all affected HCSWs will be bound by the agreement.
• We believe nothing further can be achieved through negotiation and it is now time to consult you and your colleagues.

What happens next?

Members of all recognised trade unions (RCN, RCM, UNITE, UNISON) are being balloted. The agreement will only apply if the majority of trade union members accept the proposal. If not, we’ll seek further talks with NHS Employers.

Need more information before you vote? 

Get the full detail and context of the agreement below and find answers to common questions in our FAQs.

This text is taken directly from the collective agreement.

The HCSW or equivalent roles are an essential part of health care delivery, with postholders often being the staff who spend the most time with patients. These roles have evolved and expanded to take on more responsibilities, with individuals undertaking fundamental care roles, such as washing and dressing, assisting with mobility, assisting with feeding, basic observations and increasingly some clinical care, but without the pay and recognition for all the duties in the expanded role.

In August 2021, the UK Staff Council approved revised Job profiles and agreed updated guidance to clarify the difference between the roles of a Band 2 Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) and Band 3 Senior Health Care Support Worker (SHCSW). This clarified that Band 2 HCSWs mainly undertake personal care duties, while clinical care duties should be undertaken by a Band 3 SHCSW and other senior nursing colleagues.

These revised profiles apply with effect from 5 August 2021.

Many of these HCSWs (or equivalent) will carry out a level of clinical patient care that has historically been defined in local Band 2 job descriptions. However, since the national review of HCSW (or equivalent) job profiles in August 2021, it is now deemed that clinical care is the remit of Band 3 HCSW (or equivalent), whilst the Band 2 HSCW role is defined by personal care.

The new Job Evaluation Policy and Procedure sets out the requirements to review the work being undertaken by individuals, against their job description on a regular basis and not less than annually as part of the Performance and Development Review.

It is important that all employees are treated fairly and consistently, and we have a responsibility to ensure that staff have updated job descriptions which accurately reflective the work staff are being asked to do and either match against a National Profile or are evaluated under the Agenda for Change Job Evaluation Scheme.

NHS Wales employs in the region of 13,000 HCSWs with the over 60% at Band 2 level. The duties undertaken by all of these staff form an essential part of the care delivered to patients across NHS Wales.

In line with the new NHS Wales Job Evaluation Policy and Procedure, a revised set of NHS Wales Job Descriptions has been developed in partnership for the “in scope” nursing and maternity HCSWs. These job descriptions have been independently matched against the National Profiles issued in August 2021.

The full list, NHS Wales Job Descriptions and Validation Tool documents can be accessed on the NHS Wales Employers webpages.

This text is taken directly from the collective agreement. 

Recognising that the updated national profiles have been in place since 2021, and that whilst some organisations may have reviewed job descriptions and duties to ensure members of staff are working within their Job Description and band, it is important that there is a consistent and timely implementation of the new national NHS Wales Job Descriptions.

With this in mind, each employing organisation will follow the process set out below.

Balancing the time that has elapsed since the National profiles were issued, with the commitment to manage this once and well within organisations and across NHS Wales, this implementation will be timebound.

The expectation is that all staff currently employed in roles “In Scope” will have been assessed, re-banded as appropriate with effect from 1 January 2025 unless appointed after this date, and in receipt of the appropriate Recognition Payment by 31 July 2026.

Given the complexities of administration of banding backdating calculations required for everyone, agreement has been reached for arrears from 1 January 2025 to the date of assimilation to be calculated using a Corrective Payment percentage applied to basic pay, as set out below. This Corrective Payment will be subject to pension, tax and NI deductions.

• A multiplier of 8.75% for people with 2 or more years’ eligible service on 1 January 2025 will be applied, and
• A multiplier of 1.95% for people with less than 2 years’ eligible service will be applied.

Employers will be required to provide payroll with the information necessary for relevant staff to be:

• Assimilated to the appropriate grade step on Band 3 and incremental date on ESR
• Paid the appropriately calculated Corrective Payment
• Paid the confirmed Recognition Payment if eligible.

This information will be submitted to payroll with a six-week lead time, i.e. this will be '6 weeks prior to the 4th day of month in which payment will be made.'

Illustration example only: for payment in November 2025 the proforma would need to be completed in full and received by payroll by 25 September 2025.

Employers will commit to ensuring capacity is identified to undertake this work as efficiently as possible. In setting out the organisational timetable, the relevant payroll team must be consulted to ensure commitment to payment within a set timescale can be delivered. This consideration will be expected to be set out in organisational timetables to be submitted as detailed below.

Stage 1 – Planning and oversight

NHS Wales and organisational oversight

Welsh Partnership Forum Business Committee will confirm the composition of a tripartite Band 2/3 HCSW Implementation Oversight Group (IOG). (October 2025)

Each employing organisation will identify and confirm both an Employer Lead and Staff Side Lead for this implementation. (November 2025)

The role of these leads will be to oversee organisational level implementation and to provide the following to the HCSW IOG:

• An organisational timetable for implementation (it is recommended that this is undertaken on a speciality-by-speciality basis rather than a site/location basis to enable consistency checking of ratios and outcomes (see below) (January 2026)
• Bimonthly Highlight Reports against this timetable.

Stage 2 – Assessment

Organisational delivery

Using the agreed NHS Wales Validation Tool, Ward Managers or equivalent to undertake an assessment of staff undertaking roles “In Scope” to identify those who are competent and working at Band 2 or Band 3 level (fully or partially).

Using an agreed electronic template, Ward Managers or equivalent to confirm the output of the skills assessment for each of their staff “In Scope”. Where staff members have not been assessed at a Band 3 level, a clear, detailed explanation must be provided.

Once all assessments for the defined “speciality” have been submitted, a calibration/consistency check will be undertaken in partnership. The purpose of this is to reduce the risk of inconsistent application across sites etc. through interpretation or unconscious bias.

Employers will write (using an appropriate Letter Template) to those staff on Band 2, identified as working at Band 3 level to explain:

1. the level of pay that they will move to (bottom of Band 3 if less than 2 years’ experience, top of Band 3 if more than 2 years’ experience on 1 January 2025 (see iv. below).
2. the training pathway they may be required to follow to enable them to undertake the full duties of a Band 3.
3. their respective re-banding date will be 1 January 2025 and for Incremental credit date will be 1 January 2025 or as start date in Band 2 role if prior to 1 January 2025.
4. confirmation that Band 2 employees in receipt of unsocial working hours allowance (USH) will not suffer detriment as a result of this change. If no change to working pattern this will be in accordance with paragraph 2.12 of the Agenda for Change Handbook (Wales) or if there is a change, paragraph 6.21 will apply.
5. The amount of arrears due through application of the Corrective Payment detailed above.
6. The Recognition Payment due as detailed in Annex A.

If a member of staff who has not been offered a Band 3 role believes that they should have been, they will be able to appeal this assessment using the process set out in Appendix 1.

If Band 2 employees do not wish to be part of this process, they have the option to remain on a Band 2 without loss of any Recognition Payment entitlement. In these circumstances their manager may need to adjust their responsibilities to ensure they comply with the revised job profile.

To avoid any disruption to operational delivery and to take into account local circumstances, Boards will work in partnership to agree flex arrangements for any staff that do not wish to accept a Band 3 post. However, they would not be expected to move work area as a result of this unless they wish to.

Individuals who have been promoted from an “In Scope” Band 2 role to a Band 3 role within the 24 months prior to 1 January 2025 who can evidence that they were undertaking elements of the Band 3 role for 2 years prior to promotion, may be eligible for progression to the top pay point.

Stage 3 – Organisational assessment and approval of Recognition Payment

It is acknowledged that each employing organisation will be in different positions based on whether the Job Descriptions were reviewed, updated and matched in accordance with national TCs following the publication of the updated profiles in 2021, banding/skill mix reviews undertaken, grievances heard/resolved since 2021 etc.

As such, each organisation will be required to use the information gathered during the validation and re-banding processes (stage 1 and 2 above) to calculate the financial implications associated with the Recognition Payment.

This should be done to enable provision in financial plans for 2025/2026/2027 where possible and where this is not feasible, to confirm provision in the first quarter of 2026/2027.

It is acknowledged that due to this payment constituting a settlement, appropriate approval to pay this will be required according to organisation governance/schemes of reservation and delegation.

Once approved, organisations will be expected to implement the Recognition Payment in accordance with Annex A.

More information can be found in appendices 1 and 2, and Annex A of the Draft Collective Agreement document.

In August 2021, the UK Staff Council approved revised job profiles and agreed updated guidance to clarify the difference between the roles of a Band 2 Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) and a Band 3 Senior Health Care Support Worker (SHCSW).  

NHS Wales is now implementing these changes consistently across all health boards, so that staff are fairly recognised and paid for the duties they actually carry out.

NHS Wales has updated national job descriptions for Bands 2 and 3 HCSWs (including nursing, maternity and theatre).

Band 3 HCSW Job titles will also be changed to Band 3 Nursing support assistant.

This agreement does not apply to Bank workers. 

Band 2: Mainly personal care duties (washing, dressing, feeding, mobility support).

Band 3: Includes personal care plus certain clinical care duties.

If you are currently a Band 2 but your duties meet Band 3 criteria, you may be rebanded.

In scope means that you were in one of the affected nursing, maternity or theatre HCSW roles in NHS Wales on 1 January 2025. If you are in scope, your role will be reviewed using a validation process.

First, your manager should ask to meet with you to complete the validation process. This is a checklist to identify if you are undertaking clinical care duties.

Employers will commit to ensuring capacity is identified to undertake this work as efficiently as possible. Each organisation will set a timetable for this work to be completed.

Will staff receive backdated pay?

There are 2 payments that are provided as part of the collective agreement. These are:

• A corrective payment which goes back to 1 January 2025
• A recognition payment for any Band 3 duties you may have carried out before 1 January 2025, going back to 2020

These recognition payments will be paid pro-rata to current contracted hours. A detailed Recognition Payment Rate Chart is set out at the end of the agreement.  

Due to the number of HCSWs across the health boards in Wales, the following calculation has been made to simplify the process.

This is a lump sum covering arrears from 1 January 2025 to the date your Band 3 pay starts.

• 8.75% of basic pay if you have 2+ years eligible service on 1 January 2025
• 1.95% of basic pay if you have less than 2 years eligible service. It is taxable, pensionable, and subject to National Insurance 

Once your role has been assessed, employers will be required to provide Payroll with the information necessary, so that you are: 

• Assimilated to the appropriate grade step on Band 3 and incremental date on ESR 
• Paid the appropriately calculated Corrective Payment 
• Paid the confirmed Recognition Payment if eligible. This information will be submitted to Payroll with a six-week lead time – this will be 16 weeks prior to the 4th day of month in which payment will be made.

Illustration example only: for payment in November 2025 the proforma would need to be completed in full and received by Payroll by the 25th September 2025.

All payments should be made by July 31, 2026 

Each health board is expected to complete the validation process of “in scope” roles as soon as possible. However, some health boards are further along than others. All health boards are expected to complete the process and make the recognition no later than 31 July 2026.

This is a separate, one-off payment for the Band 3 clinical duties you may have been doing before 1 January 2025.

It will be:

• Based on how long you’ve been in your assessed role
• Paid pro rata to contracted hours
• Not pensionable but subject to tax and National Insurance

A full payment rate table is available in Annex A

Yes. Staff may choose to remain at Band 2 and still receive the Recognition Payment, for band 3 duties that were carried out but future duties should be adjusted accordingly to match the updated Band 2 profile.

• Bank workers
• Those who left NHS Wales before 1 January, 2025
• Those who have moved into roles not in scope before 1 January, 2025

Your job will be rebanded and this will be backdated to January 1 2025. You’ll receive the corrective payment.

You will receive a recognition payment paid by the 31 July 2026,

If you had less than 2 years’ service on January 1st 2025, you will move to the bottom of Band 3.

If you had more than 2 years’ service on January 1st  2025, you will move to the top of band 3.

We’ve been negotiating this agreement for all Band 2 HCSWs in Wales and believe it’s the best and final offer.

It’s important to recognise that these payments may be worth more or less depending on your individual circumstances, and you should consider its impact on you before you accept or reject the agreement offer.

You can appeal within 10 days using the HCSW Banding Appeal Procedure outlined within the agreement, with support from us, your union.

If you were:

• promoted within 24 months of 1 January 2025 and
• can show evidence that you were performing Band 3 duties for 2 years before, you may be eligible for the top pay point progression.

They will be paid through payroll into your pay packet.

Some staff may choose to receive the recognition payments in instalments to help with benefits and tax planning.

All payments are subject to tax and National Insurance. 

You will get a formal letter telling you:

• Your new pay point (if rebanded)
• Any training requirements
• Your Corrective Payment amount
• Your Recognition Payment amount
• Details of appeal rights

An Implementation Oversight Group (IOG) will be formed to oversee the process. Each organisation will appoint an employer lead and a trade union lead.

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