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Agenda for Change review

Introduction

AfC-Review-Mar24

The Scottish government has agreed to implementation of the Agenda for Change review’s recommendations on reform of the NHS pay scheme.

The scope of the review was set out between the RCN, other health trade unions, professional bodies, NHS Employers and the Scottish Government.

The recommendations from the review relate to:

  • Protected time for statutory, mandatory and profession-specific learning
  • A review of band 5 nursing roles
  • A 30-minute reduction in the working week

Protected time for statutory, mandatory and profession-specific learning

Protected time for learning

From 1 April 2024, you are entitled to protected time for learning, however, it has taken longer to implement fully than the other aspect of the Agenda for Change review.

The required changes have now been made on the TURAS system to support full implementation from 1 April 2026.

You will be required to confirm, as part of your PDPR, that you have been able to complete your statutory and profession specific mandatory training within working hours. As part of the PDPR discussion your manager will be required to identify the appropriate protected learning time and agree this as part of the plan for the coming year.  NHS employers will be required to collate and monitor protected learning time recorded on TURAS and act where there is poor compliance.

 

PDP/appraisal systems will be updated to ensure that line managers make available learning time for each member of staff. 

You do not have to wait for your appraisal, however - raise protected learning time with your manager at the earliest opportunity to ensure you have time allocated.
This means that you will now be given time to complete all mandatory and statutory training.  As agreed under the Once for Scotland umbrella, the statutory and mandatory training will comprise nine modules:

 

  • Fire safety
  • Cyber security
  • Information governance
  • Moving and handling
  • Equality and diversity
  • Infection, prevention and control
  • Counter fraud
  • Prevention and management of violence and aggression
  • Child protection and adult support and protection

In addition, and critically important to those of you who are registered nurses, NHS boards will also be required to provide protected learning time for profession specific mandatory training, so that means protected time needs will be made available to support NMC revalidation. 

 
The time necessary to support revalidation is your right, as set out in the policy:

'In line with the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay agreement, staff should be allocated time during working hours to complete both statutory mandatory and profession specific mandatory training.'

As part of your PDPR meeting with your manager you should ensure that you identify time to complete your revalidation. Your manager may wish to focus on core mandatory training modules, however, it is vitally important to protect the time to meet professional requirements also. You should consider carefully when confirming you have had PLT, that this meets all of your learning needs including revalidation.

Review of band 5 nursing roles

Review-of-band-5-nursing-roles

Band 5 nursing staff will be contacted from 17 June 2024 by their employer and invited to apply for a review of their role. If successful in their application, they will receive backdated pay from back when it is agreed that they have been working beyond their job description, but no further back than 1 April 2023.

Visit our band 5 nursing roles review page for further information about the process and resources to assist in completing the application.

We're also running various in person and online sessions to support band 5 members who are taking part in the nursing roles review process.

Reduced Working Week

Reduced working week

From 1 April 2026 the standard working week for staff employed on Agenda for Change contracts will reduce to 36 hours as agreed in the 2023/24 pay settlement. For part-time staff this will mean a pro rata reduction.

This reduction will complete the agreement from the pay settlement in 2023-24 of an overall reduction in the working week by 1.5 hours.

Hourly rates of pay will increase in line with the reduction in hours, meaning that your pay will remain the same.

In line with the original agreement on the reduced working week, given the range of staff rota models means that no one solution will fit all circumstances, your employer will be planning the additional reduction on a local basis. .

To help you shape how the additional reduction in the working week will be introduced, use the key points (below) to raise and discuss with your manager and your colleagues.

 

Is the additional reduction in the working week being discussed in your team or workplace? If not, pick this up with your manager and your colleagues.
Is the reduced working week delivering a meaningful change to your work-life balance. You can make suggestions to your manager and colleagues to make sure the reduction works for you and your team. You are best placed to know how the reduction in the working week can be achieved.

If your hours are part-time and you feel you would like to maintain your original hours, speak to your line manager. Some employers have indicated they may have flexibility locally to accommodate such a request.  If this is agreed, then your total pay would increase.
 

Frequently asked questions

Find out more about what implementation of the Agenda for Change review recommendations will mean to you
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Page last updated - 06/01/2025

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