GMB’s Pay Claim for 2024/25 was submitted to the Department of Health & Social Care on 6th February 2024. The pay claim was agreed by GMBs National NHS & Ambulance Committees after considering the results from GMB member surveys.
One of the pay claim asks was for:
Ambulance Retirement Age: An urgent review into the retirement age of ambulance service workers with a view to lowering the retirement age to 60, in line with other emergency service workers.
Below you will find a brief explanation as to why GMB has included this as a part of this year’s pay claim.
Why is this in the pay claim?
The ambulance service is the only ‘blue light’ emergency service that does not provide an earlier retirement age. GMB members (particularly those on the frontline) report that they are increasingly leaving the service before their normal retirement age due to the increased physical and mental strains associated with heavy lifting, the risk of assault, extended shift working, and other formal or informal demands. Current working arrangements mean that Paramedics and other ambulance workers are expected to endure these pressures until they are up to 68, depending on when they joined the service.
The lack of a structured route to early retirement is leading to a premature loss of skills and institutional knowledge (as many workers feel that a career change is the only way to achieve financial security in retirement). The new flexible working and retirement options are proving to be most difficult to access for ambulance workers due to the nature of your working patterns and conditions. Without any credible redeployment options, ambulance service workers are forced into jobs outside of the NHS – such as in GPs and colleges, where the working hours and conditions are more suitable.
There is a profound sense of injustice amongst GMB members employed in ambulance services against the different treatment between blue light services, and against the Government’s decision to raise the normal retirement age twice in ten years.
GMB is calling for an urgent review into the retirement age of ambulance workers. Ambulance workers should be able to retire at the age of 60, in line with other emergency service workers.
What else is in the pay claim?
- £1.50 per hour consolidated increase for all staff on Agenda for Change contracts (or RPI, whichever is greater)
- Restorative Pay: A commitment to restore lost earnings and conditions and a plan on how this will be achieved.
- Measures to ensure the NHS never falls below the Foundation Living Wage.
- Unsocial Hours Enhancements: All changes made under the 2018 pay settlement are reversed, including the application of Annex 5 for all ambulance service workers.
- Ambulance Retirement Age: An urgent review into the retirement age of ambulance service workers with a view to lowering the retirement age to 60, in line with other emergency service workers.
- Free NHS Car Parking: Restore funding for NHS trusts to provide parking at no cost for NHS workers.
- Immediate action to rectify Job Evaluation and Equal Pay issues.
- Safe Staffing Levels.
- Parity of Pay and payment of this year’s pay award to outsourced and contracted out staff.