Hundreds of workers were owed thousands in back pay due to pension miscalculations
Following an unacceptable four year wait, Unite has been successful in pursuing and securing outstanding payments for hundreds of ex-Public Health England (PHE) staff who were transferred into NHS England in 2021.
When Public Health England (PHE) staff were compulsory transferred to NHS England (NHSE) in 2021, there was an increase in their pension contributions. At the time NHSE gave members an estimated monthly payment into their wages to ensure staff weren’t out of pocket.
This payment failed to take into consideration the potential difference in pension benefits over this period of time and additional calculations and back pay needed to be calculated and provided to staff. This was required for the period of October 2021 to March 2022 but, due to the McCloud judgement on public sector pensions, were still outstanding.
Due to organisational change and lack of accountability for this issue within NHSE, this back pay was not being progressed and had stalled for three years. The Unite rep at NHSE North West, Patrick Rankin, has been pursuing and escalating this issue for the last 12 months to ensure this payment was paid to members.
This week following hard work from Unite, hundreds of ex-PHE staff have received back payments ranging from £50-£2,500.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is a massive and long overdue win for our members who used to work for PHE. This proves that Unite and our reps will not just sit by and let injustice take place but will pursue these cases for years to make sure workers get the money they are rightfully owed."
Unite NHSE rep Patrick Rankin added: "It is disgraceful that it has taken so long for these workers to get the money they worked so hard for due to endless bureaucracy. But this also shows the power of a union and what happens when Unite works for its members. I'm delighted they will now get these payouts."