Just over a week ago, the Trust launched the rota consultation. Since then, we have been listening closely to feedback from our members across all divisions.

Your voices have been heard loud and clear. Our membership have serious concerns, and we have taken them directly to the Trust.

On Wednesday, we met with some of the EMAS Executive Team and made it absolutely clear that staff concerns must be addressed. We discussed the following areas in depth:

• Ongoing concerns around Principle One, particularly the lack of detail, which continues to cause confusion.
• The need for one-to-one meetings for all staff with flexible working agreements to discuss individual arrangements.
• Dissatisfaction with changes to meal breaks on 12-hour shifts.
• Difficulties in balancing rota hours, affecting wellbeing and work-life balance.
• Concerns about the Guaranteed Leave Week (GLW), which many feel may build relief into rotas rather than improve leave management.
• Changes to FRV outputs and utilisation, and the operational impact these may have.
• Changes to UCA output resulting in loss of USH payments.
  • Contrary to Principle 4 of the Principles of Rostering Consultation Closure Document: “No rota will be designed with the intention to reduce unsocial hours payments”.
• Potential for other colleagues to suffer a loss of USH due to proposed changes.
  • Contrary to Principle 4 of the Principles of Rostering Consultation Closure Document: “No rota will be designed with the intention to reduce unsocial hours payments”.

We called for a pause in the consultation to allow proper discussion of these issues and co-production of solutions that genuinely work for staff and their health and wellbeing. The Trust did not agree to a pause at this stage, but we made clear that staff will not accept the consultation continuing in its current form and that ignoring these concerns risks further dissatisfaction and loss of trust.

Following our meeting:

The Trust has confirmed that while it does not currently see value in pausing the process, it will continue to review this position as discussions progress – recognising the seriousness of staff concerns. It has also committed to working with both unions to find common ground and to share our feedback with divisional teams to help improve communication across the service. Further talks are scheduled for 10th November, and we will continue to press for fair and workable solutions that reflect staff views.

Our Position

We, GMB and UNISON, have significant concerns about how this consultation has been conducted and the lack of clarity around key principles. Confidence among staff is being undermined.

Staff views lead the union stance. The consultation cannot continue unchanged, and we therefore reemphasise our call for a pause to allow genuine dialogue and joint development of workable solutions.

Our Commitment

We will continue to represent our members strongly and unapologetically. member concerns are our priority, and we will not compromise on ensuring they are fully addressed.
We remain ready to work collaboratively with the Trust, but this must be centrally led with genuine partnership working.

Our talks will continue in the coming days and weeks, with the next meeting scheduled for 10th November 2025.

GMB@EMAS and UNISON@EMAS are committed to achieving a rota model that works for staff and the service but staff will not accept the consultation in its current form until our concerns are fully addressed.