NHS fixed term contracts

[Torturedsoul]

Does anyone have any experience with fixed terms contracts within NHS and likelihood of getting a permanent role once your foot is in the door?

I understand this role may not have any room for manoeuvre at the end of term but was wondering if once in it is easier to stay within the trust.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

In my specialty it is often a way of getting money for new nurses - post doing a project for 1-2 years.

At the end of it hopefully you have shown project is invaluable and created a successful business case for a permanent job.

If not, then hopefully the rest of the team like you which puts you at an advantage for any permanent posts - and a lot can happen in 2 years so there may well be a vacancy.

Thanks for your input. It's only a contract until August 2024 so not a huge amount of time to get settled in and then make a really good impression and impact. It's in radiology as an assistant rather than a nursing role.

We offer fixed term contracts when we don't know if we'll have funding long term. Where we can and where someone does a good job, we always try to keep them.

Agree with @WhisperingHi. Usually the service very much want the job to be permanent but haven't secured the recurring funding. I find that if the fixed term person proves themselves to be a reliable & valuable member of the team (which is the case most of the time) they'll find the money to make the post permanent. It just might mean pinching the funding from another job that they can't fill.

Thanks everyone. Looks like it's worth putting in an application then.

It's a good way to demonstrate your capability and put you in a good position to apply for other roles if this one is time limited eg this could be something like maternity cover.

Also a way for you to test out the job and employer without feeling like you are committed. Ie there may be aspects about these that means you don't want to continue working for them even if they offer you a permanent position.