Working patterns
Being qualified as a radiographer there are a variety of working patterns involved. The working hours are 35 hours every week that radiographers work. The radiographers work shift patterns, out of hours and can be on call. They also can be working part time and job sharing. The radiographers can arrange flexible working hours which mean they have greater arrangements in their working arrangements.
Maternity Pay
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Women Radiographers receive maternity pay which is paid to the mother to take time off work before and after the birth of the baby. Maternity pay is paid by the employer of the employee. The employee has to at least be employed by the employer for 26 weeks in the 15th week before the baby being born to gain the maternity pay. The female has to earn £90 a week at least. It is paid for up to 39 weeks but is paid for the 1st six weeks at 90% of their average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks they receive the standard rate which is £117.16. The Employee’s employer will pay SMP to them in the same way and at the same time as normal wages.
Sick pay
Statutory Sick Pay is paid to employees who are unable to work because of their sickness. This is paid by the employer of the employee for up to a maximum of 28 weeks. However it isn’t just paid to a specific illness but it is an equal right given to every employee and they are paid the (SSP). To gain the statutory sick pay they employee must have worked for the employer for a day to gain the Statutory sick pay. If the person becomes ill on the first day of being employed they still can claim the sick pay. Every employer has different statutory sick pay terms of the contract for example; the employee might not receive sick pay due to the employer not providing this. The statutory sick pay is £75.40 a week.
If a Radiographer is ill and takes time off work, it all depends on the contract of employment meaning it could be a case of not receiving statutory sick pay. For example a company named Jennie Reeves radiographers Agency entitles employees to Statutory Sick Pay in fact all Government entitlements. ()
If the person is pregnant and has an illness at the start of the 4 weeks before the baby is due, SSP will stop and SMP will start automatically or maternity allowance. The employee is entitled to Occupational Sick pay scheme however the employer has their sick pay scheme which is more than the statutory sick pay. The employer might have different policy for payment
Retirement
Pension payments made to a retired person is either made by the government or by a former employer. There are three key types of pension schemes: A state Pension, A Personal Pension and a Company occupational Pension. The person can get state pension at a certain age and currently that age for men is; 65 and for women; 60. This will gradually increase for women and the age will be 65 by 2020. There is a certain age that affects women who can get state pension due to their date of birth. Women who are born between 6th of April 1950 and 5th April 1955 will get the state pension between the age of 60 and 65. However women who are born on or after April 6th 1955 and before 6th 1959 will have a state pension age at the age of 65. Gradually the age will increase from having a state pension at 65 to having it at 68 between 2024 and 2046.
Personal pension are suitable if the person is employed and not in company pension scheme. Some people who don’t work may set up a personal pension who has put aside money for retirement. With a personal pension, you pay a regular amount, usually every month, or a lump sum to the pension provider who will invest it on your behalf. The fund is usually run by financial organisations such as building societies, banks, insurance companies, and unit trusts.
Company pensions are fixed by the employers of the employees. The employer contributes towards the employee’s pension. There may also be payments to a spouse, civil partner or dependant when you die. The employer makes a contribution on their behalf however they have to pay them regularly payments from their salary.
When the radiographer retires at a certain age he/she receives a pension scheme that will pay them a regular income for life.
Benefits the radiographer receives
Retirement – Employees are vested in the retirement plan after completion of 5 years with 1,000 hrs. Radiographers are entitled to Liability, Life and Short/long term Insurance. They also get seven paid holidays.
Job Security
A radiographer will find that their job has a much higher job security that have a temporary contract. Most graduates will go and work in the NHS, (94% work for the NHS as their first job). )
Radiographers who have a permanent contract find they have a higher security because they can’t go jobless unless they decide to quit their job. Graduates will find straight after graduating will be guaranteed a job due to the high demand in radiographers in the UK. 82% in 2008 found a job straight after graduating () which indicates it won’t be hard finding a job at the age of 25 however 30 and over will find it hard due to responsibilities at home.
Anti discriminatory practice
Anti discriminatory practice/ legislation commands employers not to discriminate on the basis of people sex, race or disability when recruiting workers or in working conditions. Organisations in the public sector that are big are more likely to avoid discrimination against people in the public. For example a Peugeot company is a big organisation that is the leading car manufacturer in the industry. They have to avoid discrimination against any customer otherwise this could cause their business to loose their good position on the car market.
For a radiographer in the NHS profession the employers must not discriminate against their sex, race and disability when they are going to an interview or whilst on duty. However they must not discriminate against their disability. For example if a qualified radiographer had applied for a job to work in the NHS, he/she has to have an interview even though he/she has a disability.
If the qualified radiographer had been rejected this would be classed as discrimination. Even though a disabled person had applied for a job the employer still has to interview the person for the job. If the radiographer is harassed about their sex or race they have the right to report back to their employers or managers. The managers are the most helpful due to having the power to settle any disputes that have occurred in the work area.
Under the Discrimination Disability Act, it is against the law for employers to discriminate against disabled people for a cause related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified.
Age discrimination laws ensure that the applicant is not denied a job, an equal chance of training or a promotion because of the person’s age. The law also protects the person/applicant/employee from harassment or unfair treatment because of their age.
Job Satisfaction
For a person to be satisfied in their job there are certain factors that contribute to this satisfaction. It is important to have job satisfaction because it can affect your job role hugely due to being happy with people around you. For example if the employee doesn’t like the position they are in this classed as not being satisfied with your job. There are eight factors to show job satisfaction of the person.
- Characteristics of clients
- Social Factors
- Level of responsibilities and significance
- Presence of stressors
- Personal Characteristics of workers
- Feedback
- Client outcomes
- Autonomy
Characteristics of clients
Radiographers have a job role of working with different people and many different client groups. Their job is to diagnose a problem by producing images of the patients body however the patient has to be calm and collective as some may be unfamiliar being x rayed by a big machine. The diagnostic radiographers will meet patients that are distressed and aggressive due to the situation they are in. for example a person can come into the hospital with a broken arm not knowing this. However after the patient has been x rayed and the patient finds out, the situation can get very emotional and a radiographer has to deal with this by comforting him/her. Diagnostic radiographer meets patients who are old and disabled.
Client Outcomes
Radiographers meet people with problems of not knowing what it is. However this is why patients come to the hospital to be diagnosed, when radiographers diagnose the patients are emotional but happy they know it is. However the radiographer will always be satisfied of the outcomes because it is their job to diagnose the patient’s problem. A therapy radiographer uses radiation to shrink a tumour to allow a surgeon to remove it. This will make the radiographer satisfied that the patient will be transferred to the operation theatre.
Social Factors
Job satisfaction contributes to social factors as this is about the radiographer being job satisfied. This is to what happens with the colleagues or the staff within the working area and how they treat each other. For example within the diagnostic area staff might not be treating a member of staff equally as everyone in the hospital due to him/her coming from Afghanistan etc. If staffs treat each other the same it can make a big difference to their everyday job role like that Afghanistan person won’t be job satisfied. This is known as a social factor. Staff meetings and parties can help and everyone can get to know each other better.
Level of responsibility and Significance
A radiographer has a great level of responsibility when patients are left in their hands. This is because a patient can come in with a hip fracture to be x rayed however the radiographer has to be very careful as the patient can be fragile and if the radiographers he/she can cause further damage to the patient. As mentioned above the radiographer meets different in different situations. However as part of their job and being qualified as this it can be a case of them enjoying having a high level of responsibility which is an addition of significance of the tasks performed.
Presence of stressors
At some stage radiographers can become very stressful as patients can be uncooperative and the stress is caused by inadequate pay, unnecessary exams, lack of staff, lack of respect and uncooperative or unsupportive radiologists. Lack of staff can become stressful and radiographers may find the job isn’t as job satisfying at times.
Personal characteristics of workers
Everyone’s characteristics are different which has an effect on the satisfaction of the radiographer as everyone wants different things in the work place. For example, the radiographer might want to be involved in different situations and experience something new. Some radiographers might enjoy doing the same things or tasks over again but some might get bored of this and want something else and different.
Autonomy
When a person has autonomy it is when they have control of their own situation such as a radiographer diagnosing a patient the radiographer is in control of how it is going to be done. However if the radiographer was unhappy about the problems at work therefore the radiographer will report back to their manager telling the problem they’re having. A radiographer has a good level of autonomy as they are in charge of the situation and how they are going to asses the patient due to the complicated technology they use.
