NIESR: Staffing crisis pushes NHS staff into agency working, new report reveal

21 Feb 2017 12:43 PM

Following recent revelations in the national press about the cost of agency working to the NHS, new NIESR research looks at the reasons why public sector employers continue to use agency staff, and conversely why employees continue to choose to work via agencies.

The report, commissioned by the Office of Manpower Economics, offers the most comprehensive analysis of agency working in the UK public sector to date, focusing particularly on the NHS and public sector schools.

The research shows that:

Report co-author, NIESR researcher Nathan Hudson-Sharp, said:

“Current rules around agency spending in the NHS seem to only address the symptoms of the problem. What they fail to do is tackle the underlining issue of demand continuing to outstrip supply. The future of agency working in the NHS would therefore seem to rest on implementing an approach that is much more comprehensive, and that would enable NHS employers to address underlining issues around staff shortages, training, workforce planning, recruitment and retention.”

Notes:

The Report is entitled “Use of Agency Workers in the Public Sector” and is available here.

The OME provides the secretariat to the public sector pay review bodies and has an interest in the costs of agency working to the public sector, in particular education and health.

For further queries or to arrange an interview with the authors of the report, please contact the NIESR Press Office: Luca Pieri on 020 7654 1931 / l.pieri@niesr.ac.uk  

NIESR aims to promote, through quantitative and qualitative research, a deeper understanding of the interaction of economic and social forces that affect people's lives, and the ways in which policies can improve them.

Further details of NIESR’s activities can be seen on http://www.niesr.ac.uk or by contacting enquiries@niesr.ac.uk Switchboard Telephone Number: +44 (0) 207 222 7665