HOSPITAL workers say their employers have taken the final straw after making them wait nearly a year for a promised pay rise.

More than 50 non-clinical staff hired by ISS Medical are preparing for more talks with the union Unison, after a promised pay rise is still yet to be paid.

Staff were expecting to receive a pay rise following an announcement by the Department for Health and Social Care that a three-year pay deal for NHS staff in England was going to be extended to staff on the Agenda for Change contracts, who are not directly employed by the NHS.

Employers could apply for a slice of the £800m set aside for the pay increase, which was awarded in 2017.

However, staff in Bishop Auckland have still not received their pay rise and say they are also concerned by plans to pay staff fortnightly – a transition which they say will mean they will receive no pay between April 18 to May 9.

In a statement, a staff spokesperson said workers were being offered an interest-free loan to cover the time without pay, but they had not received any clarity through a dedicated helpline.

The spokesperson said: “The fact that staff need to apply for an interest-free bridging loan on monies worked for, and also only getting two weeks’ wages after working for three weeks seems very strange.

“This has been dropped onto staff with no meetings to discuss it and no chance to ask these questions. Also, the helpline number is very confusing and no real help when asking the question about the week’s lost pay.

“Also the bridging loan is then taken back from the next four fortnightly wage packets, so will still leave some staff in hardship, with bills to pay.

“The general manager has not helped to clarify the situation and just keeps saying call the helpline, which a number of staff have, and they have all received different explanations, but no one has yet been able to explain where the lost week of pay is.”

The spokesman said staff believed the new pay structure was put in place to avoid a two-tier work force.

Unison regional organiser, Sheila Wilson, said staff at other hospitals had received their pay rise. She said: “This is a concern and we have raised it with bosses because other NHS workers have been in receipt of their pay award.”

Ms Wilson said the group was disappointed by the lack of action and would be raising it with ACAS – an independent conciliation service.

“It is the final straw,” she said.

An ISS spokesman said: “ISS is currently in discussion with the trust regarding the contract for services provided by ISS employees at Bishop Auckland Hospital. We hope to reach a satisfactory conclusion as soon as possible, at which point we will backdate the agreed uplift. At no point do we wish any of our employees to be adversely affected by this and we continue to encourage them to talk to their line managers or use the helpline for further clarity.”