A Review Body in the United Kingdom is a government mechanism to replace

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

for certain groups of employees in the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

, for example doctors and nurses in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

. A Review Body makes independent recommendations on pay after considering evidence from the relevant parties (typically government, employers and unions), with cherished expectations that the Government will honour those recommendations and the unions will not pursue national

industrial action Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increa ...

Office of Manpower Economics

The Office of Manpower Economics (OME) is a non-statutory body set up to provide an independent

secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

for each of the eight pay review bodies. It is funded by the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prim ...

(BEIS).

Review bodies

The Review Body system started in 1960 for doctors and dentists after the publication of The Royal Commission on Doctor's and Dentist's Remuneration. As of 2005 there were six Review Bodies overseen by OME which together covered approximately 26% of the total 5.8 million employed in the UK public sector. *

Armed Forces' Pay Review Body The Armed Forces' Pay Review Body is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body (and a Review Body) established to review and recommend the pay and terms and conditions of employment of the British armed forces. It is funded by the Ministry of D ...

(ARPRB; covering 188,000 personnel) *

Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration The Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, also known as the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB), is a body established to set the pay of doctors and dentists in the National Health Service. The Review Body invites evidence ...

(DDRB; covering 168,000 personnel) *Nursing and Other Health Professions Review Body (covering 668,000 full-time equivalent staff); now the

NHS Pay Review Body A Review Body in the United Kingdom is a government mechanism to replace collective bargaining for certain groups of employees in the public sector, for example doctors and nurses in the National Health Service. A Review Body makes independent recom ...

(NHSPRB) *

Prison Service Pay Review Body A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

(PSPRB; covering 33,000 full-time equivalent staff) *

School Teachers' Review Body A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

(STRB; covering 468,000 full-time equivalent staff) *

Senior Salaries Review Body The Senior Salaries Review Body, established 1971 provides advice to the Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of stat ...

(SSRB; covering 6,000 personnel)SSRB 28th Report 2006, pages 7, 27 & 35 Additionally, the following bodies are now also overseen by the OME: *

Police Remuneration Review Body The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) is a United Kingdom Review Body that makes independent recommendations on pay and terms and conditions of employment of the police in England and Wales to the Government. It is funded by the Home Office, ...

(PRRB) *

National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Body National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

(NCARRB) Each Review Body is established as a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...

(NDPB) that is sponsored by the relevant department of the UK Government (e.g. the Armed Forces Pay Review Body is sponsored by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

). However, the review bodies do have their own secretariat provided by the Government in the OME. The existence of a Review Body does not necessarily block the practice of collective bargaining, but its recommendations are required before a negotiated bargain is implemented. A major harmonisation of NHS pay structure, the

Agenda for Change Agenda for Change (AfC) is the current National Health Service (NHS) grading and pay system for NHS staff, with the exception of doctors, dentists, apprentices and some senior managers. It covers more than 1 million people and harmonises their pay ...

, was provisionally agreed in 2003 by unions representing nurses and other health professions in the NHS, unions representing NHS staff not covered by a Review Body (e.g. office staff), NHS employers and government ''before'' the Nursing and Other Health Professions Review Body considered the issue: it recommended in favour of implementing the negotiated agreement.

External links

Office of Manpower Economics

Notes

Labor relations Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government