view of Liverpool

Working with Us

A career with us

There has never been a better time to consider living and working in Cheshire and Merseyside. The region supports 33 organisations and with services being modernised and expanded there are many career opportunities available to you if you have specialist healthcare skills and experience.

Pay and conditions

As NHS employers, organisations within the region offer:

  • A minimum 5 weeks annual leave increasing with length of service.
  • Paid sick leave
  • Occupational Health and Counselling Services
  • A range of other employment benefits, such as flexible careers, flexible retirement, training and development opportunities, staff discounts, childcare and carer support.

Healthcare

Healthcare for you and your family is available through the local NHS services including GP surgeries, dentists, pharmacists, opticians and hospitals. For more information visit www.nhs.uk.

Working for Us

The Trust is committed to improving the working lives of its staff and strives to provide a supportive, family-friendly working environment. The trust also offers a wide range of services such as support and advice around maternity, paternity and adoption leave, accessing and paying for childcare, carers’ rights, staff benefits and general information and support around achieving a work-life balance. For further information please contact the Working Families Advisory Service on 0151 285 4680.

Facilities

  • Staff Support Networks (BME, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, Disabled Staff)
  • FADE Library Service
  • Showers
  • Staff Lottery

Cycle to Work

The trust has introduced a salary sacrifice scheme for the purchase of cycles for staff. This supports the government initiative of encouraging staff to cycle to work. Salary sacrifice will enable staff to purchase cycles and cycle safety equipment through their salary without paying income tax or national insurance. For further information on how to join the scheme, please contact the Working Families Advisory Service 0151 285 4680.

Childcare Vouchers

Childcare vouchers are exempt from tax and National Insurance (NI) up to the value of £243 per month. They are a mechanism to supporting parents/carers to pay for childcare costs. The exact amount you can save depend on how much tax and NI you currently pay- it may be possible for you to save up to £904 per year if you are a basic tax payer and up to £1,1195 per year if you are a higher rate pay tax payer. For further information and details on how to join the scheme, please contact Working Families Advisory Service 0151 285-4680.

The NHS Pension Scheme

All employees, regardless of whether they are full ore part-time, are eligible to join the NHS Pension Scheme. The main provisions of the scheme are outlined in the explanatory leaflet provided by the Pensions Agency. For further information on pensions, please visit www.nhspa.gov.uk

Occupational Health Services

The Occupational Health Department provides a health and welfare service for all Provider Services Staff.

Staff Counselling Service

Provider Services also seeks to ensure that staff are supported during their employment within the Trust. The Staff Counselling Service is a free, confidential and available to all staff. It gives staff a chance to talk to a trained Counsellor about personal issues, problems at home or work.

Flexible working options

There are a variety of flexible working options available depending on the needs of the service that you work within and individual needs, please refer to the flexible working policy for further guidance, please visit nww.liverpoolhrservices.nhs.uk

Volunteering in the NHS

Volunteering offers a range of opportunities for personal development such as encouraging leadership, drive, determination, and communication skills. The NHS as a leading public sector employer recognises and supports this scheme.

Further information on flexible working options can be found on the NHS careers website www.nhscareers.nhs.uk

Training and professional development The Learning and Development Bureau is committed to providing high earning solutions, and opportunities to support the development of the Primary Care workforce of Liverpool; in the achievement of knowledge, skills and competencies to deliver the Governments vision outlined in the NHS plan (2000). Our aim is to promote "life-long learning" and our motivation is to become an effective learning organisation that provides Information, Advice and Guidance to enable staff to deliver excellence in primary care.

The NHS is totally committed to lifelong learning and continuous professional development (CPD) for its entire staff. There are a variety of definitions of CPD across the professions but it is usually taken to mean learning activities which update existing skills. CPD requirements are identified on the basis of the needs of individuals, within the context of the needs of the organisation and patients.

In the NHS, CPD is determined through appraisal with a personal development plan agreed between an individual and their manager, with the commitment of the necessary time and resources. A key development in ensuring that health professionals maintain their competence is the move among the regulatory bodies to develop CPD strategies for the revalidation or re-certification of their members.

Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF)

All roles within the NHS will go through the Knowledge and Skills Framework process which is designed to:

  • Identify the knowledge and skills that individuals need to apply in their post
  • Help guide the development of individuals
  • Provide a fair and objective framework on which to base the review and development of all staff
  • Provide the basis of pay progression in the service

Appraisals

All staff undergo annual appraisals in the NHS. The national appraisal scheme is designed for staff to set up constructive communication with their line managers to reflect on their work and identify their development needs, resulting in the production of a Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Also, the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) process is used in development reviews with managers working with individual members of staff to plan their training and development needs and review their work.

For doctors and GPs, the appraisal process provides a structured system for recording progress towards the revalidation process. For General Medical Council revalidation, a consultant on the medical register must complete an appraisal.

Induction and adaptation

All new NHS recruits will undertake a comprehensive induction course to help them prepare for their new roles. Induction programmes will provide information about the NHS as a whole, as well as about the specific employing Trust, and will help new employees gain an understanding of their role within the wider healthcare structure.

Healthcare professionals such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists that have been recruited from overseas will also undertake a period of adaptation to prepare them for their new roles.

Adaptation is required by statute. It will include protected learning time and, where appropriate, a period of supervised practice for between 3-9 months depending on qualifications and experience.

Nurses recruited from the EEA do not need to undertake adaptation but need to follow a comprehensive induction programme developed by the employing organisation.

For applicants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), proficiency in English language needs to be demonstrated via one of the recognised English language testing systems such as IELTS www.ielts.org.