HSE staff plan delayed due to concerns over pay expectations

The introduction of a new human resource strategy for the HSE's 100,000 health service staff has been delayed, in part, by concerns in the Department of Health that it could raise expectations of higher pay or bonuses.

The HSE’s human resources department earlier this year developed a draft strategy for the next three years dealing with areas such as training, leadership and workforce planning. One element said the HSE would look at how it paid and rewarded its staff: “We will review financial and non-financial reward systems within the restrictions of public pay policy to ensure we reward staff for a good job done.”

It also proposed the development of “a job evaluation system” to sit on top of the existing pay structure so “jobs of equal value are rewarded appropriately”.

In June, shortly before the strategy was scheduled to be published, the department’s national HR unit submitted observations in which it described some elements of the draft strategy as “misleading”.

‘Insufficient consultation’

It said there was insufficient consultation with the department and the plan was “too aspirational due to the lack of detail regarding how it will be implemented”. It said more detail on associated costs and staffing should have been included, “and a business case should have been made to this Department and the

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

in advance of the strategy’s launch”.

The department urged the HSE to reconsider announcing the strategy as planned and expressed regret that it had already been printed.

The HSE this weekend denied copies of the strategy had been printed.

The department questioned what precisely was being envisaged by the HSE in its commitment to look at how it paid and rewarded staff.

‘Misleading’

“It is misleading to staff to suggest that there is any scope to manoeuvre here in light of current pay policy . . . [The departments] would have to sanction any reward system.”

The Department of Health said more detail was needed on “any proposed reward scheme” before it could be considered and that it was “unlikely the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform would be receptive to any such reward scheme”.

The Department of Health also raised concerns about the proposed job evaluation scheme that would sit on top of existing HSE pay structures. It said the language was misleading and could lead to unrealistic expectations of upgrading of posts.

It said: “The Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will have to be satisfied that any job evaluation system that is introduced does not lead to a process of grade drift and higher pay costs within the health service.”

On foot of the Department of Health concerns, HSE director general Tony O'Brien told his human resources department he was concerned the risks of publishing the report at the time outweighed the benefits.

The HSE said this weekend the outgoing human resources national director had completed “a people strategy” prior to his departure. It said: “The new HR national director is in the process of developing a people strategy implementation plan in order that both documents can be published in the near future.”