Mileage review needed urgently, says union

The union said nurses working in community settings, including home visiting, often used their own vehicles. But recent rises in fuel prices meant that mileage allowances in Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts did not cover their expenses. It urged employers to make additional payments to staff to make up the shortfall.

In AfC contracts the mileage allowance for motoring costs is 56p per mile for the first 3,500 miles and 20p for every additional mile. The rates are reviewed twice a year – in April and November – and a change can be triggered by a 20% increase or decrease in motoring or fuel costs over a 12-month average. The rates paid have not changed since 2014.

Motoring costs includes standing charges such as insurance and breakdown cover, and running costs such as replacement parts. The NHS Staff Council bases its reviews on the AA illustrative guides to motoring costs published every spring.

According to the RAC, average petrol prices at the pumps have increased from 144.17p on 1 November 2021 to 165.4p on 16 March this year. Diesel cost 147.9p on 1 November, but averaged 176.76 on 16 March.

Though the next review is due to take place next month, the RCN called for an immediate evaluation of the impact of the price rises on staff, as well as urgent payments to cover the out-of-pocket costs.

RCN national officer Brian Morton said: ‘There must be an urgent review of NHS mileage rates, alongside immediate additional payments, to address the dramatic increase in fuel prices. Some district and community nursing staff who rely on their cars to visit patients are telling us they are paying £100 more on petrol every month, putting an additional strain on their finances.

‘Faced with heavy workloads and real-terms pay cuts, they already have more than enough on the plate without this additional worry,’ he added.

The nursing union has been at the forefront of calls for significant pay rises in 2022/23. In evidence to the pay review body covering Agenda for Change contracts, it said nurses should get a pay rise 5% above inflation. When the evidence was submitted, the retail price index was 7.5%.

RCN members in all four parts of the UK voted in favour of industrial action in response to the 2021/22 awards, though participation levels were lower than the threshold needed to take action.

In its evidence, the Department of Health and Social Care urged pay restraint, insisting awards should be no more than 3%. Otherwise, funds would be taken away from other priorities, such as tackling backlogs, it said.