Petition · past parliament
Remove the ban on NHS staff undertaking agency shifts in NHS organisations.
Rejected
19 signatures
What the petition asks
From the 1st of April 2017, NHS staff will be banned from undertaking agency work within the NHS. Staff will be required to work through NHS staff banks which pay a lower hourly rate.
Staff have suffered from six years of crippling austerity driven pay restraint with pay increases capped at 1%.
Staff have suffered from six years of crippling austerity driven pay restraint with pay increases capped at 1%.
The Royal College of Nursing estimates that nurses have taken a 14% real terms pay cut since 2011.
This ban will further reduce staff morale and potentially impact on the retention of staff.
This is not about greedy NHS staff, this is about respecting staff that routinely go 'above and beyond'
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/ban-on-agency-shifts-at-other-trusts-comes-in-from-april/7016730.article
https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/news/nurses-pay-debate
This ban will further reduce staff morale and potentially impact on the retention of staff.
This is not about greedy NHS staff, this is about respecting staff that routinely go 'above and beyond'
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/ban-on-agency-shifts-at-other-trusts-comes-in-from-april/7016730.article
https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/news/nurses-pay-debate
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 27 Mar 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 3 Apr 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
19
Status
Rejected
Rejected
3 Apr 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.