37-hour working week – Briefing 3

IMPORTANT UPDATE – ACTION REQUIRED

AGENDA FOR CHANGE: REDUCTION IN THE WORKING WEEK BRIEFING NO.3 22/8/24

CALCULATION OF HOURS FOR PART TIME STAFF ONLY – INTERIM APPROACH

The calculation of hours for part time staff was causing confusion and a view that staff were not receiving the correct pro rata reduction. The Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC) have reviewed this and have now issued further guidance on how the hours for part time staff should be calculated.  Annex E of PCS(AFC)2024/2 provides the details of the new interim arrangements.

Prior to implementation, it was recognised that there could be a small reduction in pay for some part-time staff as a result of the pro-rata reduction in the working week. To prevent this from occurring, it was agreed that all new part time hours should be rounded up to one decimal point. However, following implementation it became apparent that some staff were not receiving the full reduction in minutes they would be entitled to under a strict pro-rata calculation approach. NHS Trade Unions and Employers have been working collaboratively to identify a solution to this issue.

The following interim approach has now been agreed and will take effect from 1 September 2024:

• Pay – Pay will continue to be calculated according to the rounding up of part time hours to one decimal point approach currently in place. However,
• Hours Worked – Hours to be worked should now be calculated according to the formula contained in the above guidance (previous part-time hours divided by 37.5 and multiplied by 37) and rounded to the nearest minute. It is the result of this calculation which should be used for local rosters so that working patterns reflect the actual pro-rata reduction in the working week.

It is accepted that there will be a slight variation in what is recorded on different systems e.g. eESS, SSTS, e-Rostering, payroll etc.  This approach has been endorsed by the Scottish Government and Boards are implementing these arrangements under direction in order to ensure that the principle of no detriment is maintained, and that all AFC staff receive the full benefit of the reduced working week.

To address any detriment for part time staff in the period from 1 April 2024 (the date on which the reduced working week was introduced) up to and including 31 August 2024, the following will apply:

• For the period when the part-time staff member is in receipt of the Transitional Allowance, any difference between working hours recorded for pay purposes and the full pro-rata reduction in minutes to which they are entitled will be accumulated as Time off in Lieu (TOIL).
• For the period after the part-time staff member has reduced to their new working hours but before the application of this agreement, any difference between working hours recorded for pay purposes and the pro rata reduction in minutes to which they are entitled will be accumulated as TOIL.

Refer to the worked example for more details on how this should be applied in practice – https://www.stac.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/Worked-Example-For-Website.pdf

Further Guidance

Further guidance is available on HR online at the following link – Latest Updates – NHS Lanarkshire HR. In particular, the FAQ document has been updated with some additional questions around part time staff and the calculation of their hours.

For any general queries or any queries in relation to eESS or eRostering, raise a query via https://nhsnss.service-now.com/

Useful links:

Reduced Working Week for Part-Time Staff | Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee

Worked-Example-For-Website.pdf (scot.nhs.uk)

Annual leave calculator | NHS Workforce Policies