Hundreds of former Public Health England (PHE) workers have secured outstanding back payments due to pension miscalculations.
When PHE staff were compulsorily transferred to NHS England (NHSE) in 2021, they saw a pension contribution increase. NHSE then gave them an estimated monthly payment into their wages to ensure they were not out of pocket.
However, according to employees, the payment failed to take into consideration the potential difference in pension benefits for the period of October 2021 to March 2022, and additional calculations and back pay needed to be calculated and provided. Due to the McCloud judgement on public sector pensions, this was still outstanding.
Following organisational change within NHSE, the back pay did not progress for three years. Trade union Unite, which represents the workers, has pursued the issue for the last 12 months to ensure they received the payment.
After four years, the outstanding payments for the hundreds of affected staff have been secured, with payments ranging from £50 to £2,500.
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “This is a massive and long overdue win for our members who used to work for PHE. This proves that Unite and our reps will not just sit by and let injustice take place but will pursue these cases for years to make sure workers get the money they are rightfully owed.”
Patrick Rankin, NHSE representative at Unite, added: “It is disgraceful that it has taken so long for these workers to get the money they worked so hard for due to endless bureaucracy. I’m delighted they will now get these payouts.”
NHSE was contacted for comment prior to publication.
