Despite giving us scones and cream to celebrate the jubilee whilst we worked the bank holidays, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust are implementing what is effectively a pay cut for staff who need to use a car and park at their place of work in order to carry out their role and work their 12.5 hour day and night shifts. 
Staff are being told that they must apply for a permit which will cost £50 a year and will be deducted from their wages. This is a kick in the teeth after all we have done throughout the pandemic on top of our lack of a ‘real terms’ pay rise in the last 12 years.
As we see the cost of living spiralling out of control, this will be an unnecessary extra burden for staff who dedicate their lives to providing care for others. 
Staff only qualify for a permit if they live more than 2 miles away from the hospital which means that during winter months many will be forced to walk to and from work in the dark often along unlit paths, as our hospital is not placed near the town centre. There are no train stations within walking distance and busses that coincide with shift patterns are few and far between. 
Residential areas surrounding the hospital will also be impacted as staff try to find off site parking. 
Please show support for those you clapped for throughout the pandemic by signing this petition. 

Many thanks.