Agenda for Change
A set of national job profiles has been agreed to assist in the process of matching posts to pay bands.In theory, AfC is designed to evaluate the job rather than the person in it, and to ensure equity between similar posts in different areas.[citation needed] Under AfC, all staff have annual development reviews against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF).[5] When the NHS was established in 1948, it adopted the Whitley industrial relations system, which was used in the civil service and local government.[7] It aimed to address the issues of the Whitley system, and highlighted the need for a change of pay, career structures and terms and conditions of employment within the NHS.A number of organisations were involved in the discussions and negotiations including: Negotiations on the new pay system were concluded in November 2002, allowing full-scale testing of the new Agenda for Change pay system to begin at twelve "early implementer" sites in England in June 2003, with pilot sites in Scotland following.In response, the NHS Staff Council has developed a simplified KSF that gives employers more flexibility and can be tailored to meet local needs.