Agencies fear overtime ban will hit NHS staffing

In response to your article of 24 March, I would like to comment that this ban on agencies being used is very worrying.

I work substantively for the NHS – and with the Trust’s internal staffing agency for overtime. I am always very hesitant to do [overtime] as the trust in Bristol I work for seems to do everything in its power to deny overtime payments, meaning it’s sometimes a constant struggle just to get paid for bank shifts.

My overtime wages got blocked last month, purely because my manager did a bit of paperwork incorrectly, something that should have been taken up with him as it didn't involve me in any way whatsoever. And the internal agency routinely blocks wages if the manager of the department the overtime was with hasn't informed the agency of the exact shifts worked. No, they do not contact the manager of the department to clarify what hours a worker worked, they just automatically block that worker’s wages for the whole month for no reason that the worker can actually do anything about.

So why should more members of NHS staff work for internal agencies, when these internal agencies offer no guarantee of payment – and routinely refuse payment?

J Frost

Contractors believe public sector unprepared for IR35 changes

In response to your article of 29 March, my business has been warning about this for ages, I find it unbelievably unprofessional of public sector HR, agencies and umbrella companies.

This applies to the NHS, schools and local authorities to name but a few.

We developed Cloud systems to handle this issue, and at a recent recruitment exhibition we were surprised at how few agencies were aware at all. Even the lectures on the subject were poorly attended.

Crichton E M Miller, chairman, Haul-It Nationwide