Heroes cash in holiday to get by

NHS STAFF BATTLE COST OF LIVING

NHS staff are increasingly working days off and holidays to make extra cash as living costs skyrocket.

The shocking revelation comes after the Tory government this week announced a paltry pay rise for NHS workers that unions have dubbed a “kick in the teeth”.

NHS nurse and GMB union rep Holly Turner blasted: “It’s outrageous that people are having to do this - especially with how high the NHS staff sickness rates are.

“The job is physically and emotionally gruelling and people need that time off. Morale is low, burnout is high.”

Buying and selling annual leave is not new in the NHS. Staff can apply to buy up to two weeks of extra annual leave and sell up to one week. But unions say swapping down time for cash to make ends meet is ever more common. Ms Turner said a poll of 1,000

GMB members found 15 per cent had sold holiday back to their trust and 70 per cent had worked annual leave days.

She added: “People are doing it more and more. You’ve got workers who have faced over a decade of pay cuts - with some losing up to 20 per cent in real terms.”

The fallout of pandemic presures saw more than 27,000 staff, a record number, quit from July to September last year.

A 9.3% pay rise for some of the lowest earners in the NHS, such as porters and cleaners, was announced this week. Some Dentists and doctors will get 4.5 per cent.

Nurses’ basic pay will rise by around £1,400 but unions said this was a real terms cut. There is to be a ballot on industrial action.

The Department of Health and Social Care insisted: “We recognise pressures caused by the rising cost of living.

“Over a million NHS staff will receive at least £1,400 with lowest earners to receive up to 9.3%.”