Retired NHS staff can return full time as limit lifted
A TWO-DAY working week limit for retired doctors returning to the NHS will be lifted under government plans to boost workforce capacity.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has set out proposals to amend NHS pension rules to keep experienced doctors in the NHS, and cut red tape preventing others returning from retirement.
During the pandemic, some pension tax rules for returnees were suspended to allow staff to retain pension benefits if they returned to the workforce. As many as 20,000 former staff returned to support the NHS during the height of the pandemic.
The current suspensions of tax rules have been extended to March 2023, but the Government has launched a consultation on implementing permanent reforms to the NHS pension scheme in late spring.
One change proposed includes the removal of limits on the hours recently retired staff are allowed work, giving them more control over their hours in the first full month back.
Under the “16-hour rule”, doctors can work only 16-hours per week – two full days – during the first full calendar month. It is hoped removing this barrier for retired staff considering returning to work could boost workforce capacity.
Other planned measures include a new partial retirement option for retirement-age staff who want more work flexibility, while continuing to access part of their pension and contributing to it.
Retired staff who return to work in the NHS would also be allowed to rejoin the pension scheme, making returning to the health service more attractive. The eight-week consultation follows the Government’s Plan for Patients, set out in September, that aimed to retain experienced NHS clinicians and help retirees return.
Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, said: “The NHS Pension Scheme is one of the best in the country, but it’s not working as it should for everyone.
“We need a system where our most experienced clinicians don’t feel they have to reduce their workload or take early retirement because of financial worries. I also want to make it easier for staff that want to return to work to support the NHS to be able to do so without penalties.” The Government believes the changes will help open up extra appointments for patients so they can be treated more quickly.
It comes as 7.1 million people wait to receive NHS treatment. The British Medical Association (BMA) said though the proposals included some of the immediate changes it had been calling for, they were “too little, too late”.
Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA pensions committee chairman, said: “Doctors will continue to incur sky-high and completely unexpected tax bills, simply by continuing to provide care for patients.”