Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that one of the NHS’s biggest problems is that it’s almost impossible to sack anyone?

109 replies

SnugShaker · 26/07/2025 16:25

I know the NHS is under huge pressure and that many staff work incredibly hard. But from what I’ve seen and heard, one major issue is that it’s extremely difficult to dismiss underperforming employees. Unlike in the private sector, where people who don’t pull their weight are usually let go, the NHS seems to have layers of bureaucracy that protect staff, even when they’re not competent.

I’ve heard of people who do the bare minimum (or less) staying in their jobs for years, making life harder for colleagues who have to pick up the slack. Surely this impacts patient care and efficiency? AIBU to think that making it easier to remove underperforming staff would improve things? Or is there a good reason for the system being the way it is?

OP posts:
LakesDad · 28/07/2025 18:42

I worked in the NHS as a GP for 13 years and yes, you are spot on....but true that all public services in the UK suffers from the same issue, whether that is civil service, teachers or local authority..

OneAmberFinch · 28/07/2025 18:50

ponyprincess · 27/07/2025 13:00

This is just a civil service trope. There are lazy people everywhere. People in the NHS are actually under a lot of pressure. Have to reapply for thier own jobs etc.

Edited

It can simultaneously be true that a selection/review process can be extremely onerous and also not reliably select for quality/performance. (In fact in my experience in the private sector they are loosely negatively correlated.)

neverbeenskiing · 28/07/2025 18:51

KassandraOfSparta · 26/07/2025 18:48

All public sector employers are the same. Nobody ever gets sacked, they just get shunted around different departments. If it ever looks like a manager has the guts to take them on and go down a disciplinary route they just go off sick. On full pay, for years.

It's a joke.

I work in the public sector and we've sacked 2 members of staff in the last 6 months.

I've worked in the public sector for 20 years and have never worked with anyone who went off sick "for years". The longest I've known was a woman who took a year off when she had cancer. She got full pay for 6 months, then half pay for 6 months. I've never worked anywhere where it was possible to be off sick on full pay for longer than 6 months.

I think OP raises some valid points but the sweeping generalisations on this thread are ridiculous.

ponyprincess · 29/07/2025 16:38

OneAmberFinch · 28/07/2025 18:50

It can simultaneously be true that a selection/review process can be extremely onerous and also not reliably select for quality/performance. (In fact in my experience in the private sector they are loosely negatively correlated.)

Show quote history

I was reacting to the specific criticism of NHS - you seem to agree this can happen anywhere which was my point

KiwiFall · 29/07/2025 17:27

AlphaApple · 26/07/2025 19:00

I have read multiple threads on this site of women who don’t have enough work to fill a day let alone a week, and almost invariably they work for the NHS or the MOD.

Definitely not the case in our department. We’re run off our feet.

OneAmberFinch · 29/07/2025 17:49

ponyprincess · 29/07/2025 16:38

I was reacting to the specific criticism of NHS - you seem to agree this can happen anywhere which was my point

Show quote history

Sure, there are some terrible private sector gigs out there, and HR teams which don't have a clue about hiring, etc. I just mean, as a general principle, you can't use "but they are very stressed and have to jump through thousands of hoops every day" to imply "therefore, they are extremely highly skilled and well-qualified and producing amazing productive work". In my experience those kinds of people actively avoid places that have those kinds of hoops.

ponyprincess · 30/07/2025 11:23

OneAmberFinch · 29/07/2025 17:49

Sure, there are some terrible private sector gigs out there, and HR teams which don't have a clue about hiring, etc. I just mean, as a general principle, you can't use "but they are very stressed and have to jump through thousands of hoops every day" to imply "therefore, they are extremely highly skilled and well-qualified and producing amazing productive work". In my experience those kinds of people actively avoid places that have those kinds of hoops.

Show quote history

Yes I think we agree in general.

Still it is very demoralising to have to re apply for your own job.

I think there is little thought given to the mental health of NHS workers (and probably other professionals like teachers etc) who are expected to be 'on' all the time

ponyprincess · 30/07/2025 11:30

And the re applying is across the board- so maybe a way of firing as the OP wants, but also very alienating to the very dedicated people who are also part of the NHS

ponyprincess · 30/07/2025 18:06

RosyDaysAhead · 28/07/2025 18:24

I work for an nhs trust. We employ a lot of graduates /under 25’s. (I’m in my mid 40’s). What I have noticed is that many of the younger staff whip their phones out at every available moment…. Waiting for a meeting to begin - facebooks/snapchat scrolling commences, a lull in work - phone out. The older generation would look for something quick to get done before the meeting begins - their mobile phones in handbags or lockers. We have so many staff that under perform and could be let go following a performance review if it were a private sector employment.

Also in 20+ years of working for more than one NhS trust I have only ever seen one person sacked, and one manager asked to take early retirement. I did witness a locum being let go with immediate effect when he flipped out and held a colleague to the wall by her throat. Sordid affairs, one colleague had a camera in the female lockers - he was given a managed move and a slap on the wrists. I’m also acutely aware that there are people who have slept their way to the top - and sit there on huge salaries entirely awful at their job. It is probably one of the most corrupt employers - apparently the police is similar.

Very sad- this has not been my experience at all

New posts on this thread. Refresh page