NHS job withdrawn

[Bostonspice]

I applied for a job recently that advertised for 3 people for the same position. I had to undergo a 3hr test and interview. After a couple of weeks I’ve just received an email saying the job has been withdrawn and they’re no longer recruiting for this position.

I’ve received no feedback and as much as I would hope it has nothing to do with my disability, based on my past experience working in the NHS, this organisation has been the least accepting of it. I’ve recently learnt to stand up for myself as my work has always been excellent. I’m sure my disability can’t be the reason, but just wondered how to approach it, as whenever I’ve been involved as an NHS interviewer before, we’ve always had to get sign off and approval before posting a job advert, and I’m not sure why it’s suddenly been withdrawn.

it’s just very disappointing after spending so much time on the test and interview, to not have received feedback from the interview, even though I have emailed with the question.

That's very disappointing! NHS budgets can be a bit of a mystery sometimes - I've definitely known of a candidate being given a verbal offer only for it to be withdrawn when the funding suddenly fell through.

If you don't get a reply to your email, you could do a subject access request to get the interview notes: https://right.ly/our-views-and-opinions/find-out-why-you-werent-hired-sar-your-employer-for-their-interview-notes/

I work in the NHS and it’s not uncommon, in my experience, for a job to be withdrawn for purely bureaucratic reasons. It happened in my department last year where a role which desperately needed filling was withdrawn for reasons completely out of our control and now no longer exists in the organisation.

Not uncommon, we always hoped positions would be recruited/filled quickly before some bean counter saw it as an opportunity to quickly plug some budget hole. Was always a 50/50 chance.

Thank you everyone for all your advice and for the advice on interview notes. I think I might give that a go. Interestingly on trac it says unsuccessful today, rather than withdrawn. Is that standard too?

Yep, “post no longer exists” isn’t an option on Trac. You are successful, reserve, or rejected.

Capita managed to issue an offer letter to a candidate we had rejected last year. Like, two months later after the successful candidate had already started. Thank god the rejected candidate no longer wanted the post, and emailed me to say “erm, what’s going on?”

Honestly, NHS HR/recruitment is an absolute shambles.

We also have a hiring freeze in at the minute, and any jobs still in recruitment (so no offer letter issued) have been placed on indefinite hold. Including doctor and nurse recruitment. Just a nightmare.

It will be financial. The usual way of balancing the books is recruitment freeze or withdrawing posts because they’d have to pay redundancy to get rid of people already in post. Otherwise they’d have said nobody was suitable and re-advertised the post. You can keep an eye on whether it is re-advertised if you want to know.
I think it’s poor if they’ve left you hanging for 2 weeks with no feedback

What do crapita have to do with NHS recruitment?

Outsourced to them, in many trusts

So who owns them?

Is it cheaper than inhouse HR?

I assume so? They don’t exactly run the business case past us.

Here you go

What is Trac? I've always applied through NHS jobs

I can only assume that as with most schemes (and I use that word advisedly) the risk is public and profit private.

If recruitment does not work then it needs sorting out.

Trac is a recruitment software package, similar to sage in accountancy. Many nhs Trusts use it as I've written references unsung it, although my own Trust doesn't use it.

You apply for jobs through nhs jobs and the candidates won't know at the application stage. Used by recruitment and managers mainly I think

Thank you all so much for your help. It’s been really helpful.

So, after receiving no feedback from my interview above, I then got offered a job at another NHS Trust..yey! However despite all references being met, OH report approved, the job has now been withdrawn due to an internal restructure. Can they do this? My past experience within the NHS hasn’t been very disabled friendly, and my worst fear is as soon as they know I want a remove interview or have a disability that could be ‘difficult’ enough to make some reasonable adjustments I feel like they’re finding a reason. I couldn’t find anything on the internet about the 2 NHS trusts having restructures. I sincerely apologise for my sceptism, but can they withdraw an offer even though references etc were approved?