Transferring NHS Trusts?

[MissJam]

Hello, just wondering if anyone has ever transferred from one NHS trust to another for work and by choice? There’s a couple of things I’d like to ask if anyone has any experience of this… thanks

Hello, NHS HR here. When you say transfer, what do you mean? I take it you don't mean a TUPE/service changed based transfer, do you mean just applying for a job at another hospital/trust and moving over? If so lots of people do that every day and normally it's a relatively smooth process (assuming you get the job of course). Feel free to ask your questions and I'll try and help (or there's lots of other NHS bods that hang around this board too)?

Hi! Thanks for the response. I’ve just got a bit of a dilemma really and wondered if anyone had gone through the same or knew of the process.

I have a great job with lovely people in the NHS which would have been my ‘forever’ job really if possible. Unfortunately, I may have to move home and it would be 100+ miles away from where I currently live and work.

I wondered if there was the option to go from my current Trust to the same position in the area I’d be moving to; does there have to be a vacant post available in order to do this or have I misunderstood what a transfer is?

I guess it could also be different policies for different Trusts?

Sorry if my post makes no sense I’m writing it in stages whilst wrestling with my climbing baby 😂 feel a bit out of control with my life at the moment and scared of the future

Hi, no your post makes sense now. So there isn't a formal transfer process or policy in the NHS, other big employers have something like this but not the NHS. This is because each trust is their own separate employer, outside of special circumstances such as training schemes which deliberately rotate you to different placements in different trusts, there needs to be a vacancy and you have to apply in order to move between trusts. There are protections written into the terms and conditions so if you move between trusts you don't lose your continuity of service which applies to thing like annual leave, and the new trust should hopefully match your current increment/salary but otherwise I'm afraid it's no different than if you work for Tesco and want a job in Sainsburys, you have to apply afresh and compete for the job each time (the only exceptions to this I can think of would be as I said training schemes or the few NHS organisations which work nationally e.g. NHS England, NHS Blood and Transplant, which have locations up and down the country and so you may be able to request to transfer internally or even work full remotely from home or be a mobile worker).

That being said if you work in an in demand role particularly nursing, AHP, some other clinical specialties you oughtn't to have a problem, get yourself on NHS jobs and see what's advertised, also do some research and call or email the relevant departments, they may have vacancies that are upcoming you'd be suitable for, most people are willing to talk and offer advice to an experienced and well qualified applicant from elsewhere in the NHS and sounds like you'd be in a great position to apply (most NHS departments love to employ people with existing NHS experience even in corporate roles). Some trusts with particularly bad staff shortages esp for nursing, HCA and other clinical staff run recruitment open days and if you showed up with good NHS experience on your CV you'd likely be offered a job on the spot so it's not all doom and gloom - what (roughly) do you do if you don't mind me asking?

@maxelly thank you your post has really helped me and explained a lot - very much appreciated. I work as a lab assistant in microbiology (Band 3) and love the job. I’ve also got experience working for NHSBSA which could also be an option to return there. I was hoping to never have another interview again (if I could help it 😂)

Hi All.

I need advice about moving from one NHS Trust to another. I love my job but will soon be moving from the north of England to the south. Once I've worked my notice period of 1 month do I have to start my new job straight away? Or can I have a few weeks off (for the move) without losing my continuous service? (I dnt have any annual leave left that I can take) I just don't want to end of losing my continuous service having worked for the NHS for 10 years now.

Thanks for any advice.

There's info on continuous service here:

https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-23759/en-us

Hello, from my experience, I had 3 weeks off before starting my new job and it meant my continuous service period restarted. Like you I relocated and needed the time to do that. I hadn’t been in the NHS for anywhere near as long as you had though and could afford to ‘lose’ that time. I hope everything with the move goes ok.

Thank you for yr reply. I'm trying to not lose my continuous service so not sure how to navigate this tricky situation.

Hi all,

In my current role as a rehab assistant sponsored by a trust, am I eligible to pursue opportunities at a different NHS trust? If the new trust is willing to provide sponsorship and I secure a position with them, is it possible to transfer from my current NHS trust to the new one?

Hi, I have applied for job in different nhs hospital and it's been 3 wks that I have applied for COS and still have not got it.Has anyone faced similar issues.I am starting to worry as my visa is about to expire.Shall I wait or shall I ask my previous employer to renew it and stick to my previous job?

Start your own thread.