Hundreds of Leicester healthcare assistants start month-long strike over back pay

Healthcare workers at five hospitals across Leicester are on strike as they claim they're owed money from years of doing work above their pay grade.

The strike is running on every working day in August. Healthcare assistants said they were working as band two staff while routinely carrying out essential clinical tasks that would be appropriate for band three employees.

Healthcare assistants work under nurses and doctors and wash and look after patients, helping them move around, washing and dressing people, and serving meals.

They were moved from band two to band three in March and now argue they should be paid for the work they were already doing beforehand.

Healthcare Assistant Emily Prickett said: "One of the first things we get trained to do is observations on a patient. Since I walked in the building five years ago I've been doing them independently."

"I've been doing ECGs, taking cannulas out, cannulating and bleeding patients which again is a band three role."

Christine O'Leary has worked as a healthcare assistant for 18 years. She said: "At the moment I'm only just about earning enough to pay my bills.

"Having this backpay would mean I wouldn't have to do all these extra hours which I really shouldn't be doing to survive."

It comes as the junior doctors' strikes were brought to an end after the BMA accepted the government's offer of a 22% pay rise.

Unison says the amount of backpay offered by University Hospitals Leicester Trust goes back less than half the time of other trusts in the country.

In response, Richard Mitchell, Group Chief Executive at UHL/UHN, said: “Healthcare support workers are valued colleagues who make a vital contribution to the care we deliver to local people.

“We wanted to recognise the contribution of Band 2 healthcare support workers at the earliest opportunity, so proactively initiated a review and moved all colleagues undertaking duties above their job role to a Band 3 in April this year.

“We have consulted extensively with affected colleagues and trade unions over several months and after listening to all views, we are back dating pay to August 2021, the date at which the national clarification of the band 2 and band 3 job profiles was provided. In June, four trade unions confirmed they were willing to use the August 2021 backdate. We continue to engage openly with all parties, including Unison, as part of the re-banding exercise and to offer ongoing support to our healthcare support workers.

“There are strong plans in place to minimise disruption to services during Unison’s ongoing strike action, and patients should continue to attend appointments unless contacted directly.”

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