Job evaluation and equal pay
Equal pay has been a statutory entitlement since 1970, when the Equal Pay Act came into force. A primary aim of the introduction of AfC was to address the pay inequality which had become apparent over time, by ensuring that pay in the NHS was consistent with the requirements of equal pay law. To ensure that equal pay for work of equal value was delivered as part of the AfC reforms, the pay system was underpinned by a Job Evaluation Scheme (JES).
In 2008, a legal challenge was brought which tested whether AfC was robust in terms of equal pay. Hartley and others vs Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and others claimed that AfC did not withhold a valid JES as thousands of predominantly male technical staff were placed in higher pay bands during its initial job evaluation process. The tribunal rejected these claims, finding that AfC and its national job evaluation scheme complies fully with anti-discrimination legislation.
This was, and still remains important for a number of reasons:
Why is the job evaluation practice still so important today?
In this podcast, Louise Chinnery, national officer for Unison and staff side co-chair of JEG, and Andrea Thomas, job evaluation lead for NHS Wales Employers and employer side co-chair of JEG, discuss the relevance of job evaluation practice in current times, highlighting considerations employers should take to mitigate the financial and legal risks associated with incorrect application and in anticipation of the publication of updated profiles for nursing and midwifery due in late Spring 2025.
You will also hear the co-chairs advice with regards to common misconceptions that have developed over the years regarding the application of the job evaluation scheme.
Other resources
Other podcast recordings on the pay education hub have covered the history of pay in the NHS including the positive benefits that were felt as a result of the introduction Agenda for Change and the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme. The drivers for these changes were to harmonise pay across occupational groups and move away from the complexity of the Whitley Council arrangements and deliver equal pay for work of equal value.
We have also developed a poster covering the dozen dos of effective job evaluation, to support employers with the successful application of the NHS job evaluation scheme, as well as featuring some of the common pitfalls to avoid.
Further information
The NHS JES provides an analytical methodology to measure the requirements and demands of jobs and has been legally tested. However, in order to avoid or defend equal pay issues, correct implementation of the scheme at local level is essential. In recent times there has been growing interest and attention placed on job evaluation particularly so when job evaluation national job matching profiles are updated.
The NHS Employers website has a dedicated job evaluation section which includes more information about its history and implementation. We have also developed an animation to explain more about the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme, which you can share in your organisations to help improve overall understanding of this national scheme.
