Benefits
At NHS City and Hackney we are committed to recruiting and
retaining professional, well-motivated employees and maximising
their personal development. To help achieve this, we offer one of
the most comprehensive benefits packages around.
The trust offers a huge number and variety of benefits and staff
services which range from financial support and advice to a number
of different types of flexible working options. Because of the
nature of our diverse workforce, benefits and services are
available for all types of staff including mentoring schemes,
prayer rooms, stop smoking services, four flexible retirement
options and corporate discounts.
Our commitment to staff
At NHS City & Hackneywe realize that our staff are our most
valuable asset. We are committed to implementing and promoting good
personnel management practices to develop your ability to perform
at work and enhance the health services the Trust supplies.
Comprehensive recruitment practices are in place that
demonstrate equality, fairness, openness and consistency. These
ensure that when we have vacant posts the best applicant will get
the job. Departmental and corporate induction, and extensive
training enable our staff to develop new skills and competencies,
whilst well developed retention and workforce planning strategies
and staff benefits are designed to ensure staff want to remain at
the Trust.
Flexible
Working
NHS City & Hackney is committed to offering flexible, modern
employment practices recognising that you want to strike a sensible
balance between work and life outside work.
Staff - both male and female - can be called upon to juggle
caring responsibilities whether they are looking after children, or
caring for elderly relatives or other dependents. Others may simply
want to pursue leisure or educational interests alongside their
Trust employment.
To help achieve this balance, we offer a wide range of flexible
working arrangements including:
- Home working
- Job share and part time working
- Term-time working
- Compressed hours
- Career breaks
- Flexi-time and annualised hours
Healthy
Workplace
NHS City & Hackney is committed to providing you with a
range of policies and services to ensure that you remain both
physically and mentally healthy.
- The Trust is dedicated to supporting the health and well being
of staff. Stress management workshops are free for all staff as
well as a "Stop Smoking" service.
- OASIS, (the employee assistance programme) offers a range of
free services including counselling, career development and debt
management advice.
- The NHS City and Hackney Occupational Health Service supports
staff with health problems during employment, conducts workplace
assessments and offers flu vaccinations and immunisations.
- Employees are also encouraged to stay physically fit by joining
the Bicycle User Group and Walking and Running clubs, and by taking
advantage of the corporate discounts available at a number of local
gyms.
- To ensure staff feel safe in their working environment the
Trust operates a zero tolerance approach to violence and
harassment.
- A comprehensive Dignity at Work Policy is in action whilst
conflict resolution training has been made available to all
staff.
- To support staff during health visits in the community, a
Safety for Nurses Working Alone in the Community Policy is in
operation as is the Lone Worker policy which is currently under
review.
Flexible Retirement and Support for
Carers
The Trust is promoting a scheme for Flexible Retirement, as we
know our members of staff possess a wealth of knowledge and
experience which we don't want to lose. We're therefore thinking
more flexibly about the ways in which people work within the Trust,
so we can encourage them to consider staying longer whilst working
in a way which suits their personal circumstances.
Returning to work after retirement or staying at work for longer
keeps staff in contact with their team, preserves continuity of
patient care and allows them to either increase their pension
contributions or to top up their monthly pension with additional
income from part time work.
The flexible retirement initiative looks at the options of:
- Winding down (reducing your working hours within your current
role)
- Stepping down (decreasing your responsibilities)
- Retiring & returning
Winding down
Reducing your hours does not affect the rate at which you accrue
your pension entitlements, just the amount of time you accrue your
pension for. In other words, if you work 10 years full-time, you
will accrue 10 years' pension entitlements. If you then work a
further 2 years at half full-time, you would accrue a further 1
year of pension entitlement (while earning half the full-time
salary). On returning you would therefore receive 10 years plus 1
year, entitling you to 11 years' pension accrual.
Step Down
If your manager and the NHS Pensions Agency agree, the pension
you have already earned could be frozen. You would then start a
second pension based on your stepped down pay. When you finally
retire you would receive both pensions added together. The frozen
pension would be kept up to date with cost of living increases
during this period. This means that you could work 10 years
full-time as a G Grade and a further 2 years as an E Grade. On
retiring you would receive 10 years' G Grade pension plus 2 years'
E Grade pension.
Retire & Return
To retire and return to work, you can either return on regular
hours under a normal contract, or you can place your name on a
register for recall when the department is understaffed. That way
you have the option of either working fixed hours every week or
month or of working on an ad hoc basis.
Support for Carers: Childcare
Having a child can be one of the most important and happy
moments of your life. However, it can also be a stressful and
worrying experience. During pregnancy the physical changes and
emotional ups and downs will be exhausting, whilst the birth may
bring more complications. You will have questions such as, "How
much leave am I entitled to?" "How do I go about finding the right
childcare?" "Am I entitled to any financial help?"
At NHS City and Hackney, we offer comprehensive support for
pregnant employees and new parents because we realize that becoming
a parent is a life-changing event. We offer substantial maternity
and paternity leave and pay, childcare discounts, information on
how to apply for financial benefits and much more.
For accessible childcare for all staff, the Trust has a
subsidised nursery offering flexible childcare provision to
accommodate shift work and extended opening hours including weekend
provision and bank holiday cover.
All parents in the Trust also have access to a Childcare
Development Manager, offering support and advice to employees. She
has also co-ordinated a range of discounted childcare options
across London and is in the process of introducing a child care
voucher scheme.
Finally all parents in the NHS can apply for "Working Families
Tax Credit" which is a benefit designed to encourage staff to
return to work and remain at the Trust.
We also have policies for Carer's leave for those of you with
elderly or disabled dependents.
NHS Pension Scheme
The NHS offers an excellent pension package and is widely
acknowledged as being one of the best in the country. Not only does
it have an excellent range of benefits, it is also transferable to
other public sector organisations.
An NHS pension will give you a tax free lump sum when you retire
plus life assurance, voluntary early retirement benefits, ill
health and various other benefits. The employee contribution rate
for most members of the pension scheme is 6% of pensionable pay
which is supplemented by 7% of pensionable pay by the employer.
Overall benefits are worth around 20% of pay. You can also make
Additional Voluntary Contributions to boost your benefits.
Information and advice is available from the Trust Pensions
Department and the NHS Pension Agency. Visit their web site at
http://www.nhspa.gov.uk/
- The Pension is based on a final salary scheme and provides a
tax free cash sum and also an inflation proof pension
- Employees contributions after tax relief are around 3.5% of
pay
- Employees make lower national insurance contributions
- The employer contributions is currently worth 14% of pay
- You get life assurance of two years pay whilst working
- You have a flexible retirement options when you reach 50 years
of age
- You can benefit from a range of individual and family benefits
including enhancements after two years pensionable service e.g. for
ill health or redundancy
Key Worker Housing
There's never been a better time to live in North East
London. The area is already benefiting from the massive
inward investment associated with the growth of a thriving
and vibrant capital city. With extensive transport networks,
City & Hackney offers unrivalled opportunities to enjoy
the arts, sport and leisure whilst major environmental improvements
increasingly serve to make the area a highly attractive place to
live.
If you are looking to buy you may be able to benefit from
government-funded schemes for NHS staff, which are run by local
Housing Associations. These schemes can help
staff plant their feet firmly on the property ladder whether
through part-buy or part-rent schemes.
The NHS also offers a helpline service, which is often able to
assist in finding larger family friendly accommodation
as well as providing a list of useful local contacts.
For more information on these exciting housing initiatives
please contact the Human Resources Department.
Tel: 020 7683 4254.
Useful links for further information
NHS housing:
http://www.housing.nhs.uk/
This site aims to help potential and existing NHS staff with their
accommodation needs in finding appropriate and affordable
housing.
Key Worker Living Initiative:
A government-led initiative to provide housing for "Key Workers".
Please check via this site to see if you are eligible to meet the
required criteria.http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/divisionhomepage/033554.hcsp
The Housing Corporation:
This organisation is responsible for the detailed funding
guidelines on Key Worker Living and for regulating the zone agents.
http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/resources/keyworkerliving.htm