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HR Directors' Bulletin, Issue 94, 6 October 2004

  • Last modified date:
    26 November 2007

Alerts HR directors to publications, circulars and announcements from the Department of Health. It is e-mailed to HR Directors every fortnight, usually on Wednesdays.

Select a section

1. NHS Employers

(Gateway reference 3879)

The new employers organisation for the NHS will be launched on 31 October. 'NHS Employers' will take over responsibility from the Department of Health for much of the workforce agenda and will conduct national negotiations, represent employers' views and support employers through advice, guidance, information and networking, and promote the NHS as an employer of excellence. It will be represented by a 200-strong assembly, elected from across the NHS. An election process will begin this week to create the assembly and a policy board of 20 representatives.

Key to the success of the new organisation will rest on how well it engages with the full range of NHS organisations and professions. The Assembly will steer policy and provide representatives for panels, taskforces and projects. It will also act as the direct link between NHS Employers and the NHS by gathering local intelligence and views on workforce issues. Each SHA patch will have at least two HR director representatives - one from an acute trust and one from a PCT. HR Directors will be chosen by SHRINE networks. This is an important opportunity for HR and other directors to get involved in the new organisation. HR and other directors are urged to get involved in the assembly which will meet twice a year. The policy board members will be drawn from the Assembly and will be the key decision making body responsible for determining the strategic direction of the organisation and agreeing "NHS Employers" position on a range of national policy issues.

Information about the elections to the Assembly will be placed on the NHS Confederation's website from next week.

For further information please e mail:

2. European Commission publishes new proposals on the working time directive

(Gateway reference 3892)

On 22 September 2004, the European Commission published "on-call" proposals to revise the Working Time Directive (WTD). The proposals include:

  • time spent on call that is not actively worked would not be counted as working time, with compensatory rest granted within a maximum 72 hours.
  • Member States would be given the possibility to extend the reference period for calculating the 48-hour maximum working week to a year
  • tighter controls over the individual opt-out from the 48 hour week.

The UK will continue to work to improve the proposal on the opt out to safeguard individual choice and end the problem of abuses. Current interpretations of working time remain a legal requirement until any amendments to the WTD come into effect. The earliest that the directive could be amended is 2006.

The full text of the proposal is available at:

Further information regarding the working time directive can be found at:

3. Agenda for Change: Publication of Staff Booklet and Other Documentation

(Gateway reference 3538)

As indicated in Issue 91, a staff booklet "Agenda for Change: What will it mean for you? A guide for staff" will be published and available on the Agenda for Change web site, week commencing 11 October via the link below. A supply of the booklet will be sent to HR Directors in all NHS organisations, in most cases by 15 October. It will be important to distribute the staff booklet to all non-medical staff in order to fully inform staff of the changes, and HR Directors are asked to make the necessary arrangements for this to be done as soon as possible following receipt. An advance electronic copy of the staff booklet and a set of PowerPoint presentation slides for use at any staff events is being made available to HR Directors.

Copies of the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (NHS KSF) and the Development Review Process, and the NHS Job Evaluation Handbook - Second Edition will also be published and available on the DH web site, week commencing 11 October via the link below. Printed copies of these two documents for HR and Finance Directors, Communication and Payroll Leads, Staff Representatives Chairs and Secretaries will be sent to HR Directors in the next batch mailing distribution, 22 October. The final draft of the Agenda for Change - Proposed Agreement also remains available on the DH web site. The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook will be published as soon as possible.

For further information mailto:

4. Agenda for Change: Staff Side Involvement in Improving Working Lives (IWL), request for examples of good practice

(Gateway reference 3930)

Agenda for Change is based on constructive partnership working and requires an unprecedented level of involvement with staff at all levels and staff side representatives. Equally, and running on a similar timeline, staff side involvement in IWL is crucial. Releasing staff and staff side representatives to take part in Practice Plus is essential. It is particularly important that the teams undertaking the on-site validations of NHS organisations include an accredited staff side representative, to bring the staff side perspective into the validation process.

The Department of Health is interested in finding examples of good practice on IWL partnership and examples where agenda for change partnership processes have provided benefits in terms of progress on IWL, with a view to sharing this learning for use more widely across the NHS. Please send examples to:

Further information on staff side involvement, and contact details of SHA/WDC IWL Leads who can advise on Practice Plus training programmes can be found on the DH website:

5. National Recruitment Campaign Resource Pack 2004

(Gateway reference 3600)

On 2 August 2004, the Department of Health published a new NHS Careers Recruitment Resource Pack for HR managers and any staff engaged in recruitment or communications. The pack supports the 2004 recruitment campaign which is targeted at all staff groups and aims to help the NHS recruit new staff and attract returners. The resource pack contains the latest NHS Careers brochures and posters, a guide on running local recruitment initiatives and information on how to engage local media to promote the breadth of opportunities within your organisation.

The pack can be ordered, free of charge, via the NHS Careers website. Visit www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/adverts/campaign.html and input the username "nhscareers" and password "resources" when requested.

For further information please email:

6. NHS Leadership Qualities Framework - A Good Practice Guide

(Gateway reference 3757)

On 29 September 2004, following the successful implementation of the Leadership Qualities Framework (LQF) at 37 NHS pilot sites, the NHS Leadership Centre launched the Good Practice Guide, a free step-by-step handbook to help implement the LQF and develop the leadership skills of staff.

Recognising that effective leadership is important at all levels within the NHS; the LQF sets a standard for outstanding leadership and can be used as an ongoing assessment tool to help staff improve services. It underpins the drive to make the NHS more patient-centred, and one of the best health services in the world. For those who are responsible for leading teams in the NHS, the Good Practice Guide is a resource for mapping out the simple steps that will promote a culture of leadership within your health organisation. Because it is based on the practical experiences of LQF pilot sites, the Good Practice Guide contains case studies, lessons learned and advice, making it easy to adapt to your situation.

To download a copy of the Good Practice Guide logon to www.nhsleadershipqualities.nhs.uk. Limited hard copies are also available.

For further information contact Anne-Marie Archard at the NHS Leadership Centre.

7. NHS Staff Accommodation

(Gateway reference 3874)

The NHS National Accommodation Delivery Board needs to ensure that NHS employers are making accommodation an integral part of the package of benefits which are being offered to staff.

Benefits are that:

  • there are significant direct financial returns by reducing vacancies and agency costs.
  • by helping staff there is evidence of an improvement in the delivery of operational services and targets.

An update on the Key Worker Living programme for London, South and East of England is available at:

For other areas and for further information please contact John Yates, Housing Co-ordinator for the NHS, tel. 020 7972 1177.

8. Events

i. National Patient Safety Agency, Annual General Meeting - 13th October 2004

(Gateway reference 3906)

The National Patient Safety Agency will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 13 October 2004 at the NPSA offices, 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD from 10am to 12.00pm.

To register your interest in attending please call or email Kai Peters on 020 7927 9360 or kai.peters@npsa.nhs.uk as soon as possible. Please note that places are limited.

9. Communications

i. Calling Time - Issue 12, September 2004

(Gateway reference 3864)

Issue 12 of Calling time..., the MA's regular update on how the NHS is meeting the challenge of the WTD, is now available in both hard copy and electronic format. Calling time... is just one of the ways the MA is informing the NHS about work being done to support Trusts in meeting the challenge.

To order hard copies for circulation to managers, consultants, junior doctors and other interested staff, please email:

ii. Care Group Workforce Team, Update bulletin September 2004

(Gateway reference 3939)

10. Press Releases

All Department of Health press releases are published on the Department's web site under 'Publications and Statistics' and then the sub heading 'Press releases'. Below we include some that may be of HR interest.

£219 Million extra funding for drug treatment, 28 September 2004, press release 2004/0347.

NHS to recover an extra £150m in costs for personal injury cases. Government publishes draft regulation for consultation, 24th September 2004, press release 2004/0346.

Reid launches new NHS recruitment drive, 23 September 2004, press release 2004/0344.

National Programme for IT delivers new software to support quality patient care, 23 September 2004, press release 2004/0343.

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