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Original poster

NHS Recruitment

131 replies

Babyroobs · 09/03/2022 12:35

Anyone else just feel like giving up with NHS recruitment ?
I understand things are busy right now but it just seems like things are dragging on unnecessarily.
It is impossible to contact anyone at HR for days on end. Emails go unanswered for weeks, I'm left in limbo not having a start date, or knowing what days of the week I will be working so can't plan anything. The endless forms to complete which don't work online and there is no contact to ring and ask anyone. The endless delays. I am seriously just thinking of giving up working for them altogether.

OP posts:
Tranquilitybaby · 16/03/2022 16:03

@Babyroobs

Just an update. I've been offered another job with a quick start, so have cancelled one of the NHS jobs, the one that has been particularly slow and made no contact with me for weeks. Feel like things will move quickly with a non Nhs job !!
Well done you. That’s great news. It’s only been a week for me and I’m already frustrated. I don’t want to accept the offer when I don’t even know exactly what I’m going to be paid but can’t get a reply from anyone I’ve contacted. The offer letter says I must reply in 21 working days or the offer will be withdrawn! Hmm
Starlightstarbright1 · 16/03/2022 20:41

@Babyroobs

Just an update. I've been offered another job with a quick start, so have cancelled one of the NHS jobs, the one that has been particularly slow and made no contact with me for weeks. Feel like things will move quickly with a non Nhs job !!
Congratulations. Good luck in the new job
Heartofglass12345 · 16/03/2022 21:08

I worked for the NHS in 2014, I got the job in august and started in December!!

Heartofglass12345 · 16/03/2022 21:09

Congratulations on the other job by the way Smile

Original poster
Babyroobs · 16/03/2022 21:17

@Heartofglass12345

I worked for the NHS in 2014, I got the job in august and started in December!!
Shocking isn't it. It's no wonder the NHS is struggling if posts are vacant for so long !
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jessy100 · 17/03/2022 10:23

Congrats babyroobs!

desperatehousewife21 · 17/03/2022 13:54

I’ve just received my occ health pre placement questionnaire email. 13 days from interview/ verbal offer to receive it.
I’ll sit and fill it out and send it back later today. If I can do things quickly my end hopefully it’ll help the whole process.

Original poster
Babyroobs · 17/03/2022 20:19

@jessy100

Congrats babyroobs!
Thank you. It's a 12 month contract I'm accepting so will probably be in the same position again next year unless the contract is extended !
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Ecosralayce · 21/03/2022 06:48

oh dont even get me started on HR process in the NHS!!
I applied for a job last May. was offered the job on slightly different (better) terms than advertised. Accepted job. sent all forms off 3 times because they kept loosing them. Offer finally confirmed in July so gave my 3 months notice.
Then told that I couldnt start on different (agreed) terms as it hadnt been advertised as such, so would need to be re-advertised and I would need to re-apply, but told not to worry as it would all be done before I started in Oct. I started as arranged in Oct (took weeks to get an agreed starting date) but despite doing the more senior role was started on the lower grade with lower salary as they still hadnt re-advertised. I complained endlessly etc. New grade finally advertised in Feb after months and months of endess delays, which I had to re-apply for, and being interviewed this week, although ive been doing the job since Oct. Finally last week got them to agree to backdate my pay to Oct
Also, in Jan they missed the deadline for sending off paperwork for my revalidation, then claimed they hadnt received the relevant new starter forms which I sent 3 times last June!
All along it has been impossible to communicate with HR, no response to emails, taking weeks to sort things out, weeks to get dates agreed, loosing forms etc.....
The whole thing has caused me so much stress tbh Im thinking of leaving.

Tranquilitybaby · 21/03/2022 07:38

Oh wow Eco, that not good. Did you get the forms really quickly to complete at first? I did so was hoping that because I did it wouldn’t take as long x

Ecosralayce · 21/03/2022 08:50

@Tranquilitybaby

Oh wow Eco, that not good. Did you get the forms really quickly to complete at first? I did so was hoping that because I did it wouldn’t take as long x
No! Nothing has happened quickly in the whole process. I had to chase to get the forms, then chaase once id sent them back...3 times because they lost them/needed them on a different sytem/couldnt access them etc... I do think this trust are espeecially bad tbh so hopefully yours wont be as bad. Chase everything up is my advice, dont leave it to them thinking they are getting on with it - theyre not!
desperatehousewife21 · 21/03/2022 09:30

I think it really depends on area and what your manager is like.
I got my conditonal offer last thur, 13 days after interview. Filled out all the forms and submitted on fri and my new manager also called me to check I’d received it and to tell me what would happen next so I feel like it is all in hand and also that my new manager is on the ball and probably chasing up HR to get it done which is good.

Only thing I’m a bit Hmm about is it says they have requested references from my current job, but I’ve been told not to hand my notice in until I get the unconditional offer, but my work are now going to know I’ve applied somewhere else so that’s a bit awkward. I understand having to do DBS/ ID checks but references should be requested after I’ve handed notice in.

AgentCarterRocks · 21/03/2022 09:39

Congratulations on getting multiple job offers, you're obviously coming across well in interviews.

In defence in NHS recruitment, I used to run the team in a local NHS trust, and got the time from verbal offer to "when can you start" down from over 60 days to an average of 28. We were clearing people in 10 days on occasion.

These teams do work hard. There are lots of moving parts with references, occ health appointments, DBS checks and so on. The work doesn't come down a production line, it's thousands of snippets of information to put together for hundreds of vacancies a year, collaborating with managers who are also running clinical services under extreme pressures and aren't always responsive to our queries.

It's an entirely thankless task and that's why I don't do it any more.

Whattodo1987 · 05/04/2022 13:43

How’s everyone getting on with the process? Anyone still waiting? I am!

Original poster
Babyroobs · 05/04/2022 18:06

@Whattodo1987

How’s everyone getting on with the process? Anyone still waiting? I am!
Still ploughing on but realistically it has taken so long that I will be starting a different full time job before I get anywhere with this bank work one ! Have done one session of mandatory training but each 2 hours training session is spread out weeks apart and I can't work a shift even until I have done them all !! One of the other part time jobs, I let them know weeks ago that I was no longer taking the job and still being sent welcome letters from the occupation health dept !
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Furcoatandnoknickerz · 08/04/2022 13:49

I have just been offered a bank band 2 Admin post. I have 45 years of work experience, worked at band 3 level in Nhs for many years, also been a shop manager of two shops, just wanting to slow down before retirement. Sent off all the required docs for ID checks etc, all going good……But! Now someone in HR has decided I must send my 45 year old CSE certificates, I have never ever been asked for these by any employer in my working life! I don’t even think I have them anymore, wouldn’t know where to look, probably ended up in my Dads house fire 20 years ago.
I have better qualifications which supersede school CSEs which they have copies of. Been told to ring up my old school and try and find them ……seriously? I’m just concerned they will retract the job offer because this ridiculous request. Surely, common sense will prevail?
I’m certainly not spending my time trying to chase them up if they even still exist.
Any thoughts from any HR people on here?

Original poster
Babyroobs · 08/04/2022 18:05

@Furcoatandnoknickerz

I have just been offered a bank band 2 Admin post. I have 45 years of work experience, worked at band 3 level in Nhs for many years, also been a shop manager of two shops, just wanting to slow down before retirement. Sent off all the required docs for ID checks etc, all going good……But! Now someone in HR has decided I must send my 45 year old CSE certificates, I have never ever been asked for these by any employer in my working life! I don’t even think I have them anymore, wouldn’t know where to look, probably ended up in my Dads house fire 20 years ago. I have better qualifications which supersede school CSEs which they have copies of. Been told to ring up my old school and try and find them ……seriously? I’m just concerned they will retract the job offer because this ridiculous request. Surely, common sense will prevail? I’m certainly not spending my time trying to chase them up if they even still exist. Any thoughts from any HR people on here?
I had to present my certificates in person recently.
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Furcoatandnoknickerz · 08/04/2022 20:38

@Babyroobs really? Is this a new thing? I have the more relevant NVQ and IT certificates which I have presented, but stuff from school, I’m 60 ! 😂😂 Hardly the same person as when I was 15! I get it for younger people half my age with GCSEs etc!

Whattodo1987 · 08/04/2022 22:05

Wow @Babyroobs - crazy isn’t it. Do you have to do the training before you get a confirmed unconditional offer or have you already had that? What role are you going for?

I’ve got as far as DBS check being counter signed. I’ve sent several messages via TRAC asking how much longer it might take, but no one ever replies to my queries. I’m losing interest now. It’s been 6 weeks, can’t imagine waiting months like others have. I want this role but wondering will I just end up being as slow with dealing with the work, due to relying on other departments. That’d drive me crazy as I like to work efficiently.

Original poster
Babyroobs · 08/04/2022 23:38

@Whattodo1987

Wow *@Babyroobs* - crazy isn’t it. Do you have to do the training before you get a confirmed unconditional offer or have you already had that? What role are you going for?

I’ve got as far as DBS check being counter signed. I’ve sent several messages via TRAC asking how much longer it might take, but no one ever replies to my queries. I’m losing interest now. It’s been 6 weeks, can’t imagine waiting months like others have. I want this role but wondering will I just end up being as slow with dealing with the work, due to relying on other departments. That’d drive me crazy as I like to work efficiently.

I was offered two NHS jobs, a bank HCA one and another part time 2.5 days a week job. The 2.5 day a week one has been thoroughly crap, the HR forgot about me for weeks until I chased up with the line manager, but even then things were so slow I eventually accepted another non NHS role who were looking for someone quickly. So over a month ago I informed the HR for the 2.5 day job that I was no longer taking it. Then yesterday I received an email from someone else, a co-ordinator for the team asking what she could do to speed things up for me ! I said I had turned down the job over a month ago but it seems no-one let her know so she was still expecting me to be starting soon. It's madness. The other one is a part time bank health care assistant job, which has also been hugely slow, huge amounts of paperwork, lots of mandatory training which has to be done before I can do a shift which is fair enough but it took a wait of a month even for the first session and then there are four others spread out over another two weeks before i can even work one shift. I have 35 years experience as a qualified nurse. So I went for the first training session this week, they wanted to see my whole file - certificates, passport, driving licence, bank statements, council tax bill. The HR were thoroughly rude. Everyone else on the training confirmed it had been a nightmare for them too, another person had waited months to start also. This bank job I thought would be quick but it has taken so long now that I have been offered a full time job and likely wont be able to do any bank work.
OP posts:
Original poster
Babyroobs · 08/04/2022 23:41

Sorry I should have said I had to wait another month to have even the first mandatory training session after all initial ID checks / DBS check had been done. I thought a bank job would be relatively quick, but no, it has been at least 2.5 months now since I was offered the job, and likely still not ready to start for another two weeks.

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Original poster
Babyroobs · 08/04/2022 23:43

@Whattodo1987

Wow *@Babyroobs* - crazy isn’t it. Do you have to do the training before you get a confirmed unconditional offer or have you already had that? What role are you going for?

I’ve got as far as DBS check being counter signed. I’ve sent several messages via TRAC asking how much longer it might take, but no one ever replies to my queries. I’m losing interest now. It’s been 6 weeks, can’t imagine waiting months like others have. I want this role but wondering will I just end up being as slow with dealing with the work, due to relying on other departments. That’d drive me crazy as I like to work efficiently.

TRAC seem to be thoroughly useless. On my TRAC account there is still no outcome from interviews six weeks ago. One place did not even let me know I had not got the job, I found out when I saw the post advertised again ! TRAC had not been updated and still showing that i ahve an interview.
OP posts:
desperatehousewife21 · 09/04/2022 07:30

@Whattodo1987 I’m at the same place. They’ve received and accepted my reference, so my current manager now knows I’m leaving.
Then nothing was progressing so I emailed my new manager to ask what the status was so they chased recruitment, then suddenly my ID checks were complete and my convictions are ‘awaiting countersigning’ but from googling that means they haven’t even been sent to dbs yet Hmm so feel like I’m going to be waiting a while sigh

Keep us updated here at least we can share the pain of waiting!

ZealAndArdour · 09/04/2022 07:32

NHS recruitment is so slow. If you’re offered a job in spring I wouldn’t expect to start until late summer.

Whattodo1987 · 09/04/2022 08:12

It’s the lack of communication on TRAC from anyone that’s frustrating me. A week later I’ll get an email sent from a different person each time, none of it answering my questions, but chasing something I’ve either already sent them or something that I’ve already let them know is the wrong form. Does bode well doing the actual job in my mind, if it’s this frustrating before I even start.