The College of Optometrists

I know things are very variable depending on the job role you have. But with optometrists are things generally looking bad. Does anyone have any idea where a part time optometrist who does low vision and paediatric refractions would stand with this new scale.

Probably band six. £22,328 - £30,274 (pro rata). If the current salary for the post lies within this range, it will be assimmilated (sp?) onto the next highest point on the new scale. For someone already in post, if the current salary is above this range, salary is protected for (i think) 5 years, after which it would drop to the maximum of the new payscale.

Hope that makes sense.

Lisa is correct I would expect Band 6 for the role you describe.

I would suggest looking at all the documentation on the AOP website Hospital optometry section for more detailed information.

The pay may be protected but as I understand it there will be no inflationary increases which have typically added between 3-3.5% a year. Work that out over 5 years and you'll be very wary about what you're signing up to. My whole department has rejected our banding

The pay is protected for five years, you get the normal 3.5% increase in the first year (that will be the year backdated to October 2004, when the A4C pay should have started) after that no pay rises, unless your pay matches your new pay band in which case at any point during the five years you will move onto the normal increases. Unfortunately as I understand it if your pay has not caught up by the end of five years you will have your pay reduced to the appropriate scale on the band!

I wish you luck with your review but unless the matching panels have made a huge mistake in your scores you are unlikely to be moved to a higher band.

When agenda for change first raised its head a few years ago, optometry could still make a good case for local recruitment and retention premia - not sure if anyone has gone down this route, or even how to go about it. The numbers of newly qualified optoms, and rapidly falling salaries will make it harder to argue the point, but many hospital posts are not suitable for NQ.