Women health workers in Scotland are to receive backdated public holidays they were wrongly denied while on maternity leave.
NHS
mums, including nurses, physiotherapists, cleaners, midwives, admin
workers and other staff, could receive up to seven days if they were in full time
posts. Women who have had more than one period of maternity leave since 2008
would be due backdated holidays for each period.
UNISON,
the public services union, took up the case after the NHS employees, were told
they could not accrue public holidays on top of their annual leave, while they
were off on maternity leave.
Willie
Duffy, the UNISON lead on the NHS, said that management conceded an argument
first raised and won by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde UNISON branch.
He
said: “As a result of UNISON’s efforts, potentially hundreds of women in the
NHS will be getting back some backdated annual leave that they were refused
previously.
“We knew that we were right to argue
this should apply Scotland wide. The employers have agreed we were correct and
agreed to implement it from April 2012. However, at first they would not
backdate this any further.
“I
am pleased that the employers side has now accepted that they made a mistake
which they are committed to fixing and will backdate it to April 2008.”
Notes
to editors:
- UNISON is Scotland’s
largest trade union representing 160,000 members working in the public
sector in Scotland.
- Health boards have been
told by the NHS Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (a body of
employers and unions) to implement the change from 1 April 2008.
- Women could be due up to seven days of public holidays, per period of maternity leave, depending on their post and whether they were working full-timeor part-time.
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