UNION leaders have ruled out pursuing equal pay claims for a disparity that has resulted in nurses earning four times less than dentists for administering Covid vaccinations. 

Independent contractors can earn up to £750 for a 12.5 hour shift while NHS staff take home around £150 for the same work.

The situation is said to have created antagonism amongst NHS and private sector staff with accusations that those on higher rates have monopolised bookings.

Unison said changes had been made to ensure nurses had greater access to shifts following pressure.  However, the union said it had been advised by lawyers that equal pay cases would be technically problematic because of the comparator aspect and the fact there are multiple employers involved.

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Meanwhile, a decision to end a contract with pharmacists is said to have led to ongoing vaccinator shortages. Around 200 were registered in Glasgow.

NHS Lothian issued an alert yesterday appealing for staff to fill weekend shifts, writing: “We need a 100% fill rate across all the sites to keep on target”.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has also sent out texts this week requesting help to fill shifts.

One NHS vaccinator, who came out of retirement to assist with the programme, said there was frustration amongst workers that the pay issue had not been sufficiently addressed.

She said: “I wrote to the Scottish Government and they sent me the contract but they could not explain why people are being paid vastly different rates for the same job.

“We are six months into this programme and no one is addressing this scandalous waste of public money..

“My background is in management and we were heavily involved in Agenda for Change (the national pay system for all NHS staff) so I do know quite a bit about equal pay and work of equal value.

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“The role of Covid vaccinator is a new role within the NHS and any new job that is created should be assessed and evaluated against the 12 Agenda for Change factors, assigned a banding and then that is the pay for job regardless of whether you are a nurse of a GP.

“That’s the job you apply for, that’s the pay you get. Agenda for Change came about as a result of an equal pay case that was brought by a speech therapist whose comparators were clinical psychologists.

“That was back in the mid 1980s and it took until 1997 but the speech therapist won that case.

“It was Unite that took that forward on her behalf. 

“Dentists, optometrists and medical staff have all been , as it seems, erroneously given Independent Practitioner status and many staff have anecdotal evidence of dentists bragging about how much they have earned.”

The NHS worker claimed she had worked in Glasgow clinics where staff were stretched to capacity.

“I worked on Monday and there were nine or ten of us for 1000 patients. They  put out a text saying urgent health required and drafted people in from other places.

“I was at another community clinic the day Prince Philip died and there were eight or nine of us for around 300 patients.

“The only reason the pharmacists have stopped doing it is because they have been told that their contract has ended.”

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NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has said consistently that is has a large bank of staff and is not experiencing shortages.

Willie Duffy, Unison Scotland head of health, said: “Unison have considered whether employers are acting contrary to equal pay legislation and legal advice was that while it may be unfair there are technical issues why this was not a route to go down. 

“Unison raised the issue - of significantly different levels of pay between the NHS and private sector contractors - with Scottish Health Minister earlier in the year. 

“And we did see significant improvements with NHS staff being offered more shifts. However, Unison continue to closely monitor the situation.

“Unison has always been clear that private contractors should be used as a last resort to deliverer Scotland’s COVID vaccination programme. “

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “All staff employed to work on the programme are paid in accordance with nationally set terms and conditions and are working to agreed job roles, which come with specified rates of pay, and we value the contribution of everyone who has offered their services.”