Nurses to reapply for jobs after 20% cut

Nursing graduates who worked in HSE hospitals last year as part of their final clinical placement will have to reapply for jobs they were contracted to do but that now come with a 20% salary reduction.

Last night the HSE moved to clarify a circular issued last December ordering any hospitals that had provided contracts of employment to 2012 graduates following on from their final clinical placement to immediately discontinue such contracts.

A spokeswoman for the HSE said the nurses would have been due to finish their clinical placement in December but in some cases, they may have been offered a short contract to remain on. It was these contracts that were being discontinued, she said. The spokeswoman conceded that it meant the nurses would have to reapply for posts for which they would be paid 20% less.