Ok, so you get an R&R premium for n-years; then they take it away - what happens to your pension calculation? E.g. If you have 25 years service at £23299 (top of MTO3, no enhancement) and you move onto approximately £18,300 (top of AfC Band4) and they make up the difference with an R&R premium. What happens to the pension calcs then?
Subsequently they take away the R&R premium, say 5-years later, what is your pension calculation based on then? Does it affect all of the pensionable-period or only that after AfC is implemented? I guess there are over-50s out there, working in Medical Physics and EBME and the NHS generally, that may be forced to jump ship if this eventuality presents itself - or face losing out just before they retire later-on.
Try projecting your salary 5 years ahead, calculate your pension entitlement. Try recalculating it with 5 years of R&R at the lower rate, adding the benefits from previous service as in the scenario described. Hmm, not too much of a loss, eh? However; worst case the NHS could calculate the pension at the new lower salary after R&R is taken away, n-years after AfC. In the longer term you lose out, not just on the immediate loss of salary after n-years of R&R but your pension entitlement as well.
For a real shock; try it for an MTO4 (employed at a premium salary, during a period of really high demand - perhaps not a specialist) at the top of the grade, who may be regraded at top of band 4 for example - the maximum R&R of will apply (+30%) and the salary will still be less than what the MTO4 will have been earning previously. Plus later-on the R&R could be removed and then the ex MTO4 could be further "punished" by having the pension entitlement reduced further. What safeguards are there to prevent this scenario from occurring?
R&R premium may actually push those intending to stay in the NHS, until they retire, out of their jobs (the experienced and knowledegable ones in a position to train and support the younger trainees we want to come through the system), if R&R premiums are required there's a risk you could be significantly worse-off if you intend to retire after the R&R premia cease to apply. And don't say these "Oldies" will receive fantastic evaluations from AfC because it will depend on their job-description they have at the time of the evaluation i.e their current duties and responsibilities, not grade.
At the moment our trust is re-evaluating MTO4s and managers - this is unrelated to AfC, so we are told. Some will be "losers" in that they will have to be down-graded (with temporary, 5 year, pay-protection at current salary) at a lower grade than they're currently at. Come AfC how will the lesser-responsibilities (commensurate with the downgrade - to keep the unions happy) of the new MTO3 grade affect the downgraded MTO4's evaluation for AfC? How will the R&R premium be applied to a grade that has already had protection applied to it? e.g. if an MTO4 is downgraded to a MTO3, with pay protection for 5-years and then AfC comes along a year later and the salaries for the MTO3 job-description, that the MTO4 now has, are reduced - how will R&R be applied?
Just something for all of you (50-year olds+, especially) to think about. The potential knock-on effects of R&R need to be explored by the unions and members need to be protected. Anybody read anything or have any facts about this aspect of the R&R premium?
