Northampton and Kettering hospitals plan staff cost of living payment

An NHS hospital group is considering spending £1m on a one-off cost of living payment for thousands of staff.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, which runs Northampton and Kettering hospitals, wants to give £250 to staff at band three and below.

It means a net payment of about £170 to about 4,000 employees.

The group said it was looking at ways to support staff at a time of "unprecedented" challenges.

Directors at board meetings this week are recommended to approve a package of measures in a "sustainable staff financial wellbeing support offer".

As well as the one-off payment, other recommended measures are support for extreme hardship, such as foodbank referral, and a welfare hardship fund where staff could apply for a small cash sum to buy emergency essentials.

It said a "discreet" food bank referral service would enable staff to secure a voucher in working hours rather than needing to seek referral from a third-party agency.

Help to manage travel costs, including a one-year trial of a lift share app, and training and guidance for managers to normalise conversations about money and wellbeing are also being planned.

The report presented by chief people officer Paula Kirkpatrick, and prepared by head of health and wellbeing Dr Claire Hallas, said that "although everyone is impacted by the financial crisis in some way, we believe it is appropriate to target our support at those most likely to be in financial need".

It has therefore identified band three as the cut-off because salaries to the top of band three are below £25,000 - the average salary in the UK in 2021.

Ms Kirkpatrick said: "Both of our hospital trust boards are looking at a number of ways in which we can support our staff during this time of unprecedented cost of living challenges.

"We are particularly concerned about staff who may be proportionally more affected by the difficulties due to their lower earnings.

"We have already taken some actions to support staff wellbeing including free car parking, working with experts who can offer our staff financial advice, and we are working hard to be flexible, supportive and understanding as an employer.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said it "applauds" any organisation which put this kind of support in place for its staff but "the very fact that they feel they need to do this is a sad indictment of the current government's attitude towards the NHS and its employees".

East Midlands regional director, Teresa Budrey, said: "If ministers are serious about helping nursing staff they would give them a fair pay rise which recognises their skills and professionalism."

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We know NHS staff are struggling with cost of living pressures, and we have given over one million NHS staff a pay rise of at least £1,400 in line with the recommendations of the independent pay review body."

He added the new Energy Price Guarantee would save households money and said: "Frontline staff have access to 40 nationwide mental health and wellbeing hubs, backed by £45m in 2022/23, and we have commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan to recruit and retain more NHS staff."

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