Mark,
Just out of interest, as a ballpark figure how much does it cost to employ an agency/ bank tech compared with the in-house guys? When I was doing it (as it were) the company I worked for charged the Trust about 5 times my hourly rate.

Sounds like you all got a result there then, Mark.

New blood at Taunton at last!

@Bill: those days have long gone (if indeed they really existed at all). As far as I am aware, a few quid on top of the tech's hourly rate is the best they get away with these day.

My own reckoning, based upon actual rates I have seen these last few years, is that on a pro-rata basis, hiring an agency tech can actually be a cheaper proposition than a permanent post holder, if all costs (holidays, pensions etc., etc.) are factored in.

But don't forget that the agency route is not the only way to secure temporary techs for one-off or special tasks (such as clearing a PM back-log, or out-of-hours work in the operating theatres, for example). There are freelance techs about as well.

Geoff, we have an aging workforce and some have recently retired.
The agency guys are both very good and are eager to learn. They're well qualified but lacking in experience. That's not to say that they don't cut the mustard.

Agency rates appear to be expensive, but,like you've described, you have to compare like with like. A permanent member of staff's true costs are approximately 1.8 x their salary.

Biomedbill
Bank staff get the same pay, but they don't get the same holidays or sick pay entitlements.

Cheers
Mark