Growing numbers of NHS staff are flogging their annual leave in a desperate bid to make ends meet.
Burnt-out staff at all levels are giving up precious down-time in return for pay as the cost of utility bills, fuel and food soars.
In a snap poll of 1,000 staff, 150 said they had sold holiday days – accepting payment instead of the time off – while 700 said they had worked extra shifts to get by.
If those figures were reflected across the NHS, thousands could be in the same boat.
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The shocking revelation heaps shame on the Government after its below-inflation pay award for NHS workers was described by unions as a “kick in the teeth” and yet another real-terms pay cut.
Registered nurse and GMB officer, Holly Turner said: “It’s outrageous that people are having to do this, especially with how high the NHS staff sickness rates are.
“The job is physically and emotionally gruelling and people need that time off. Morale is low and burnout is high.”
Buying and selling annual leave is not a new concept within the NHS.
Staff can apply to buy up to two weeks of extra annual leave and sell up to one week, Ms Turner said.
But unions say selling time off has gone from an occasional event to a “common issue”.
A newly-qualified nurse will be paid just under £100 for giving up a day of annual leave – before tax, said Ms Turner.
Overtime shifts are paid fortnightly too, so it “gets in the pocket quicker” – a sorry sign of how some staff are struggling to cope.
Ms Turner, 41, added: “People are doing it more and more. The members and NHS workers are telling us they do this all the time.
“What you’ve got is a group of workers who have faced over a decade of cuts to their pay – with some losing up to 20% in real terms – while their food, fuel and all of their bills and shopping is going up.”
The NHS is battling a mass exodus of staff since the peak of the pandemic. More than 27,000 resigned from July to September last year – a record number.
Ms Turner went on: “We’ve got to look at recruitment and retaining staff we’ve got. With poor pay, working conditions and having to trade in leave to boost income, it’s no surprise so many are leaving.”
The Royal College of Nursing has also received “concerning” reports of workers selling annual leave.
“That it is happening at all is the issue,” it said.
The RCN ’s Director for England, Patricia Marquis, told the Sunday Mirror: “We are concerned of reports that nursing staff are selling their annual leave to help with the cost of living crisis.
“It’s symptomatic of decades of real terms pay cuts and shows exactly why the pay awards from governments across the UK are wholly inadequate. Nursing staff need proper breaks from work, to help reduce stress and potential burnout, and the financial pressures being faced right now are a real threat to their health and wellbeing.”
Some of the lowest earners in the NHS, such as porters and cleaners, will get a 9.3% pay rise in pay awards announced by the Government last week.
Those within the Doctors and Dentists’ Remuneration Body (DDRB) remit will receive 4.5%. This does not include doctors and dentists in multi-year deals.
The average basic pay for nurses will increase by around £1,400.
Unions reacted angrily to the news, saying that this amounted to a real terms pay cut – with inflation running at 9.4%.
Employees can work extra days through an NHS staff bank, which offers temporary shifts, often at better rates because they cover weekends or nights.
News of healthcare workers putting in extra days comes as six NHS Trusts have set up food banks or developed food voucher schemes to help staff cope.
And last year two in every five nurses admitted to missing meals in order to feed their families or save money.
The RCN, meanwhile, has announced a ballot over strike action.
Ms Marquis added: “We know the public is behind us, with the latest polling showing 60% support action.
“They are joining us in saying enough is enough.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told the Sunday Mirror: “We are incredibly grateful to all our NHS staff for their tireless work in helping to tackle the Covid backlog, and we recognise the pressures caused by the rising cost of living.
“Over one million NHS staff under the remit of this year’s pay review – including nurses, paramedics and midwives – will receive a pay rise of at least £1,400 with lowest earners to receive up to 9.3%.
“This is on top of the £37billion package of support we have in place to help households with their bills.”
‘I’m exhausted... I don’t sleep or eat properly’
The cost of living crisis has given mental health nurse Pauline Brady no choice but to pick up bank shifts on her days off.
The single parent, 37, worked during her annual leave this month to cope with the soaring cost of bills, food and fuel.
Pauline said: “I’m exhausted. I don’t sleep properly, I don’t eat properly because I’m rushing about.”
Now on a £33,000 salary, Pauline, who works at an NHS trust in Scotland, said: “I stopped when I was promoted, but recently I’ve had to start picking up shifts again. The government is mistreating NHS staff.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson added it is “grateful” for employees’ efforts and that guidance “encourages staff to take all accumulated leave, where possible”.
‘It helps us deal with the financial anxiety’
A junior doctor who sold a week’s worth of annual leave last year plans to do so again as it “helps him deal with financial anxiety”.
Andrew Meyerson, an A&E medic, said: “Sometimes you desperately need a holiday. But we’re all incredibly stressed for money.
“I will pick up extra shifts in order to make ends meet. On my contract, with London rent and bills and supporting my partner, taking an extra three bank shifts every month helps us to not have the financial anxiety we all have at the end of the month. And that’s just for bills, we’re not even saving anything.”
The 40-year-old said the government’s pay award for NHS staff is “woefully insufficient” adding: “It shows callous disregard for all the hard work doctors and nurses did in this country during the pandemic and since.”
