19 November 2021

The CNWL Operations Board recently agreed to increase the hourly rate we offer to people taking part in involvement activities. This followed a period of consultation and discussion with patients, service users, carers and teams and a comprehensive benchmarking exercise to compare CNWL involvement rates to those of similar organisations. 

From 1 January 2022, we will offer the following rates:

  • For standard involvement work, like attending specific meetings, staff interview panels, quality improvement projects, contributing to the revision of documents and materials; the session fee offered will be £11.50 an hour. This rate is higher than the London Living Wage and the Trust has committed to always match or exceed this
  • For enhanced involvement work, such as facilitating or chairing meetings, chairing recruitment panels, designing or delivering training, presentations or leading a project; a session fee of £15 an hour will be offered. 

Our Recruitment and Payment Policy is being updated to reflect this. 

The rate being offered for each activity will be based on the task and the rate must always be made clear from the outset. Some Experts by Experience will be involved in a mixture of activities, some at the standard rate and some at the enhanced rate.

Anyone in receipt of benefits must take care to ensure the amount received does not exceed their permitted earnings or tax allowance. An individual is entitled to decline, or to ask for a lower session fee if they prefer, and teams should be supportive of this. Further advice can be sought from the Central Patient and Carer Involvement Team who can also signpost people to more bespoke advice if needed.

Throughout 2022, the Patient and Carer Involvement Team will work with CNWL Experts by Experience to make opportunities available for people to develop their involvement leadership skills, so people have the chance to get involved at a level that suits them. 

We are continually recruiting new people to the Involvement Register, to include a diverse range of expert views from across the whole population. Anyone interested can sign up on this webpage, or contact the Patient and Carer Involvement Team on: involvement.cnwl@nhs.net Tel: 020 3317 3735.

Please note:

This rate change does not apply to certain public consultations. It does not affect employees such as Peer Support Workers or Advanced Lived Experience Practitioners, who are managed within the same payment structure as all other staff groups.

For further information, please contact Lucy Palmer, Head of Patient and Carer Involvement on Lucy.Palmer7@nhs.net