The trust last week unveiled proposals to cut holiday pay enhancement by over 4%, dropping from 16% to just 12.04%. The RCN says the move potentially breaches an important legal precedent and directly penalises nursing staff.
The trust has also introduced an 8.5% increase in staff car parking charges and is about to change its car parking contract to Parking Eye, which RCN claims could make onsite parking for staff 'more difficult and result in a system of prohibitive fines'.
Roaqah Shaher, RCN representative and nurse at the trust, said: ‘Nursing staff are being financially pushed to the edge by their own employer. These are the same staff who worked tirelessly throughout the Covid pandemic and went onto tackle the enormous care backlog afterwards.
‘They continue to care for their patients 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Instead of recognition and thanks from the trust, however, they're being hit with pay cuts, extra charges and the threat of parking fines. Unsurprisingly nursing staff feel angry, let down and incredibly demoralised.'
According to the recent Flowers legal ruling, holiday pay must reflect "normal pay"—including regular overtime, weekend work and enhancements. The cut to 12.04% proposed by the trust is widely used for casual or zero-hours workers, not for core NHS staff with regular contractual patterns and responsibilities.
Sarah Hughes, senior RCN officer, said: ‘The trust has a clear legal and moral obligation to pay their staff correctly and in accordance with the agreed rate of pay.
‘Cutting holiday pay will hit frontline nursing and support staff, many of whom already struggle making ends meet whilst the cost of living continues to skyrocket. It is fundamentally wrong.'
The RCN also condemned the trust's failure to consult properly with staff-side trade unions, accusing the employer of unilaterally imposing unfair, unsound, and controversial decisions.
Hughes added: ‘This isn't partnership working at all — this is management from behind closed doors. The trust seems entirely focused on balancing the books - rather than supporting the very staff who run the hospital for the people of Teesside.'
The RCN is campaigning to reverse the trust's recent decisions on pay and parking and is calling on the public and local leaders for their support.
In response, a spokesperson for University Hospitals Tees, said: ‘From 1 May 2025 University Hospitals Tees will be reducing holiday enhancements for overtime pay from 16% to the statutory requirement of 12.07%, in line with other trusts across the region.
‘Voluntary overtime payments will remain the same, but the percentage paid on top of this to cover annual leave accrued while working overtime will be reduced to 12.07%. This percentage is calculated based on the statutory working time regulations entitlement of 28 days per year including back holidays.
'Current financial pressures mean we have to make some difficult decisions and we can no longer justify having higher holiday enhancements for overtime than our neighbouring trusts.
'We are sympathetic to the financial challenges our staff face, which is why we are introducing a pay-related parking tariff for our colleagues with reduced rates for Band 2 and Band 3 staff.
'We are happy to engage with staff side colleagues to look at solutions for car parking and have asked them to work with their members and advise us of what assurances they would like us to consider.'
