Ambulance workers given a backdated pay rise are being told to pay much of it back thanks to a pensions blunder.
Staff were awarded a raise earlier this year following months of wrangling between unions and the Department of Health. The pay increase was given to workers despite unions rejecting the offer as failing to address ‘pay parity’ with NHS workers in Britain.
NHS personnel got the extra money in their February pay packets, however it is understood a number of people have now been told they must pay money back thanks to a miscalculation of their pension contributions.
Staff received letters from the Health and Social Care Board’s Business Services Organisation in recent days admitting the error and telling workers they need to make monthly repayments to settle the difference between what they have actually paid and what they should have paid into their pensions.
Belfast Live reported in January Nurses in NI could be left out of pocket despite getting a pay rise that this situation was going to arise.
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In one letter, sent to some Northern Ireland Ambulance Service staff in recent days, a worker is told that an “assessment of your pensionable earnings” has been carried out and “we are sorry to inform you that our payroll data shows that your pension contribution rate was incorrectly calculated in February”. This, the BSO says, “means you have underpaid pension contributions”.
Nurses in NI could be left out of pocket despite getting a pay rise
Staff are being told, according to sources, that the backpay they got is too much because they have not paid enough in pension contributions to match the raise, so they owe the Department money. Sources say part of the problem is that Ambulance staff’s unsocialable hours allowance was not taken into account when calculating pension contributions.
One source added that workers could face a double-hit if the raise also pushes them into a higher pension bracket.
A number of staff have been told they are to pay the money back at a rate of £25 a month, however it is understood some people are having to repay the money at a higher rate. Staff have been told they owe a range of amounts from around £200 to £900.
One NIAS source said people in the Service are “livid”.
The source added: “Everybody got told there’s a pay rise coming and it’s going to be backdated so they’re thinking, ‘this is great’. Then we get the extra money, but a few days later we get told ‘oh sorry, you have to pay it back’. It’s one thing after another with the BSO.
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“This is the pay rise the unions rejected, but the Department insisted on giving us. So to have this happen, it’s just really gutting. There’s a lot of unhappy people about. A lot of ones in the Ambulance Service have got these letters.”
There have been a number if issues in the past with people being under-paid due to BSO errors.
A Department of Health spokesperson: “The pension scheme is a very important workplace benefit and we are required to ensure all employee contributions are up to date and at the right level. Any outstanding balances will be repaid in monthly instalments during the next financial year.”
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