NHS staff told: no extra cash for Royal Wedding Bank Holiday work, but day in lieu offered

Published: 14 April 2011
by TOM FOOT

HUNDREDS of hospital workers will not receive any extra pay for working over the royal wedding bank holiday.

Staff at University College London Hospital in Euston on duty on April 29 have been told they must work for the normal rate.

NHS staff get paid at least one-and-a-half times their normal hourly rate for working on a bank holiday.

The Royal Free, in Hampstead, and the Whittington, in Highgate, are using the same system.

Officer for health at trade union Unite Rachael Maskell said: “NHS staff will be saving lives, looking after the sick and prepared for emergencies while most of Britain will be taking a well-earned break or celebrating the royal wedding.

“Despite the dedication and the huge pressure on NHS staff, 

a significant number of NHS trusts are stubbornly refusing to pay bank holiday rates for working during the royal wedding.”

She added: “NHS trust chief executives on six-figure salaries are refusing to recognise the spirit of the occasion.”

Trusts across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are paying the bank holiday rates on the day of the royal wedding.

A spokesman for UCLH said staff who had been told to come into work would be given an extra day’s holiday in lieu, adding: “In line with guidance, staff required to work on the day will receive normal pay and will be able to take a day off in lieu.”