UNISON NEWS

                Pay update!

Pay Scale from April 2011

                                                   Pay Scale from April 2010

                                         Pay Scale from April 2009

                                         Pay Scale from April 2008

                                         Pay scale from April 2007

                                                   Pay Scale from 1 April 2006 

                                                    How KSF affects you  

                                    The Knowledge and Skills Framework

Agenda for Change is the name given to the new national NHS pay and terms and conditions system.

It will introduce new pay bands and harmonised terms and conditions for NHS workers.

The system has been negotiated by government health departments and UNISON, together with other health unions.

New tax year (09/10). The good and the bad

The 2009/10 tax year began on Monday, and it's all change. Bizarrely though, this year’s Budget is after the start of the tax year, so changes then may be backdated (last year's figures in brackets).

The boosts to income ...

·       Personal allowance UP! Every man, woman and child can now earn £6,475 (£6,035) before paying income tax. For those aged 65-74, it’s £9,490 (£9,030), and for over-75s, £9,640 (£9,180).

·       Basic rate tax threshold UP. You now pay 20% tax on the first £37,400 (£34,800) over the personal allowance, meaning under 65s hit the higher 40% rate at £43,875 (£40,835).

·       National insurance start point UP. You now need to earn £110 per week (£105), before paying for NI, usually 11%.

·       State pension UP. It's £95.25 (£90.70) a week for a single person.
·       Pension credit UP. The minimum guaranteed income's now £130 for single pensioners (£124.05), and £198.45 for couples (£189.35). See the State Pension guide.

·       New Health in Pregnancy Grant. All pregnant women will get a non-means-tested £190 in their 25th week. More in the Pregnancy Grant discussion.

·       Inheritance tax threshold UP. You can leave £325,000 (£312,000) tax-free. See the Inheritance Tax guide.

And the hits ...

·       Fiscal drag. This isn’t Alistair Darling in women’s clothes, it’s when increased allowances aren’t as generous as they seem. If wages and/or inflation increase by more than the allowances, effectively the government gets more tax revenue anyway, and the real value of the increase is less.

·       National insurance upper earnings UP.  You will pay 11% NI on earnings up to £43,888 a year (£40,040) and 1% above that.

·       ISA limits. No change. Yet again, the amount savable tax-free hasn’t increased with inflation or earnings. See the Top Cash ISAs guide.

·       Child Tax Credit family element. No change. Many families get this, and the freeze at £545 is an effective cut. Yet the means-tested element has increased to £2,235. See the Benefits Check-Up guide.

UNISON wins dental nurse fee deal

 UNISON achieved a major breakthrough in its campaign to win registration payments for all dental nurses when NHS Direct agreed to pay Band 4 dental nurses £38 towards the cost of their £96 annual registration fee to the General Dental Council.

The deal brings such nurses in line with the arrangements put in place for dental nurses on Band 5 or above through the multi-year pay deal, which was agreed following a ballot of members in 2008.

UNISON will be looking to build on this agreement with NHS Direct by pursuing payment of professional clinical registration allowances for the entire dental nurse workforce across the health service through negotiations at the NHS Staff Council.

Pathways to the Professions day - Social Work, Nursing and Education - 24th March

UNISONplus Health & Dental Plans

20%OFF The cost to add ANY

 

			Tax relief
			Tax relief on subscriptions for qualifying health professionals. If you are a member of UNISON and work in healthcare, you may be entitled to claim tax relief on your UNISON subscriptions. After a 12 year campaign, UNISON has reached agreement with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to bring us into line with members of other professional organisations like the Royal Colleges of Nursing, Midwives and Surgeons whose members are able to claim tax relief on their subscriptions This new agreement applies to members of the UNISON healthcare sectors below: Nursing sector Ambulance sector Voluntary sector Professional and Technical 'A' sector Professional and Technical 'B' sector Senior and General Manager sector If you are a member, or have been a member, of any of these sectors at any time since 6 April 2004, you can claim tax relief on 70% of your annual UNISON subscription. Members of the Administrative and Clerical and the Ancillary and Maintenance sectors do not qualify for this tax relief, but UNISON is seeking further talks with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs about these sectors. How to claim Download your claim form for annual subscription - Section 344 ITEPA 2003   25 April 2007 Claim form [PDF]   You may be eligible to claim tax relief on your UNISON subscriptions. To help you find out if you qualify we have compiled a series of 'frequently asked questions'. **Important** We recommend that you look at questions three and four to see if you can claim, then you are advised to read question five before you fill in the claim form.