Discrimination in NHS performance pay

The NHS performance-related pay scheme for health visitors and community nurses discriminates against black staff, according to a report by the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA), the health section of industry and services union MSF.

A survey of 1,210 health visitors and community nurses found that black staff are nearly three times less likely to receive a pay rise under the discretionary points scheme introduced by the government in 1998 than white colleagues. The proportion of black community practitioners who gained discretionary points was 5% compared to 14% for white or Asian staff.

The reports says that "there is nothing in the regional, age, full-time status or grades of black staff to provide any explanation of this disproportionate impact." It adds that "unfortunately the Department of Health refused to monitor the statistics so our findings are the only available ones".

MSF's head of health Roger Kline said: "The whole discretionary points system is a very crude form of competency based pay, which has now been shown up as being riddled with racism".

The MSF and CPHVA, who originally voted against the introduction of the performance-related pay scheme, fearing favouritism, are sending the report to health secretary Alan Milburn and the Commission for Racial Equality.

What's the point? Discretionary points or discriminatory points is available from MSF health section, 40 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD, tel: 020 7939 7095 or email: [email protected]