Leicester NHS staff worried over missing payments

About 200 staff at a Leicester hospital say they are concerned missing overtime payments are due to their NHS trust's troubled financial position.

Union Unison said 200 staff at the Leicester Royal Infirmary had not received pay for extra shifts and overtime this month.

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has an overspend of £7m, three months into the financial year.

In a statement, the trust said payments would be processed in a week's time.

"All staff have received their basic pay for June, but additional payments are dealt with separately, and a small number of those payments go through a supplementary run which occurs in the week following payday," the statement said.

'Conflicting information'

But Adrian Morgan, area organiser for Unison in Leicestershire, said staff had been told different things when querying the missing payments.

"A couple of people have phoned payroll and asked why they haven't got their enhanced payments and they were told the signature on the overtime sheet isn't legible or acceptable any more but these are from managers that have signed forms for years and years.

"It is very conflicting information," he said.

Mr Morgan said staff were beginning to suspect the trust was hanging on to payments "to try to garner some interest".

Staff are currently considering a vote of no confidence in the senior management team after Malcolm Lowe-Lauri, the trust's chief executive, e-mailed staff in June saying they might not be paid in July.

Staff were reassured this would not happen but managers confirmed a further £1m overspend for last month.

The trust needs to make savings of £158m over the next five years due to government spending cuts.