Wwyd help me chose between these jobs

[Justcanthackit]

I have to choose between 2 job.
1 is NHS, less money, shift work, good pension and sickness pay.
2 private sector, £4-5k more a year, office hours so no nights or weekends but pension isn’t great and no sick pay other than SSP.

Both obviously have pros and cons but I just can’t decide.

I think the key is how you feel about shift work.

I'm not an expert in these things but presume you would easily use up the (on face value) £4-£5k - which wouldn't be that much after tax (and potential student loan increase?) - by topping up your pension and paying into an insurance policy to cover your bills if you were ever taken ill or incapacitated by accident, so I don't think the money would be enough to make the decision.

I’d go for 2.

2 without an6
Y doubts

But it also depends on your age, and attitude to shift work. I'd personally hate it, and you can always top up your pension yourself.

In addition to the current salary, with one being 5K more at the moment, find out or ask each employer what their annual pay rise pattern has been in the past few years. Having worked in both public and private sector jobs, I would expect the private sector job to offer better prospects of payrises, so only 5K extra now might go up a lot faster in future.
Also having done shift work in the past, don't underestimate the toll shift work will take on you. Night shifts mess up your body clock. I found my sleep permanently disrupted and I put on weight because I was eating at unusual times.
A good pension is valuable. If you go for the other one, use some of the higher salary to top up your pension.
You could also use some of the higher salary for savings in case you need more than statutory sick pay.
Aside from those elements, think about the day to day of the job - which would you enjoy spending your time doing? All day, every day. Are you interested in pursuing promotion - which offers better chances of this? What about training and development opportunities? Flexible working options? Lots to consider.

NHS without a doubt. Job security, good pension, if you work shifts and work at night or weekends you will get shift allowance. Opportunities are endless within NHS too.

I would say it all depends on how you feel about shift work. I personally would not want that.
With the lower pay but better benefits, I think otherwise the jobs sound pretty equal.

I really wouldn't want to work shifts. Much prefer the standard working hours, even with some flexibility when needed. Do they pay overtime too?

I'd top up the pension in the private job and look into paying towards your own medical care, either through insurance or stashing some funds into an account for times you need a cash cushion - including sickness.

Does the new company have any additional benefits package at all?

Also look at Glassdoor online for reviews on what ex/employees think of the company. Good luck. 🌹

What are your circumstances, do you have children or other dependants? Reason I'm asking is find out what their parental leave is like (I don't mean maternity I mean the leave you're entitled to to look after kids/dependants, eg kid/elderly parent is sick). If the private sector offers SSP they might not offer good parental leave. I imagine NHS would be better.

If you are ok with shift work then I would choose NHS hands down. Once pension is factored in the pay isn't going to be different