TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

STAFF NURSES – PAY BAND 5

JOB BAND AND SALARY

These posts are graded Band 5, under the NHS Agenda for Change grading system. The salary
scales for this post is:

Band 5: Pay Points 1-8: £30,229; £30,229; £32,300; £32,300; £37,664; £37,664; £37,664;
£37,664;

Your salary will be credited monthly, in arrears, at 1/12th of the annual rate to an account at a
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bank/building society of your choice on the 27 of each month (or nearest Friday, if the 27 falls
at a weekend or on a Public Holiday).

HOURS OF WORK

The weekly full-time hours of duty for nursing posts, are 37 per week (exclusive of meal times).
These are full or part-time permanent posts, working a rotational contract, covering across a 7-
day rota in accordance with service requirements.

NHS Scotland is reducing their full time working week from 37.5 to 37 hours per week from
1 April 2024 but with no change in pay. This reduction will also be applied pro rata for part
time staff. This advert and any subsequent offer/contract of employment therefore reflects
the new working hours. However, as not all service areas will be able to adopt the 37 hour
working week immediately from 1 April 2024, you may be required to work up to an
additional 30 minutes per week for a temporary period for which you would be paid until
the service you are working in changes rosters or working patterns to accommodate the
new reduced working week. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the
Recruiting Board.

DRIVING POSTS

If you are required to drive to carry out the duties of your post, you must hold a current driving
licence. Additionally, should you use your own car then you should have comprehensive car
insurance, which includes business use when using own car for work purposes.

You will be expected to travel efficiently and effectively between various work locations
within Highland to meet the operational requirements of the Service.

REGISTRATION WITH THE NURSING & MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

It is essential that all qualified nursing staff employed by NHS Highland possess and maintain
current registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council for the entire period of their employment.

ANNUAL LEAVE AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

The leave year runs from 01 April to 31 March and your annual leave entitlement and public
holiday entitlement will be based on a proportion of the following:

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 Length of Service Annual leave entitlement and Public Holiday Allocation
On appointment 27 days + 8 public holidays
After 5 years service 29 days + 8 public holidays
After 10 years service 33 days + 8 public holidays

All the above entitlements are based on a working day of 7.5 hours and will be applied on a pro-
rata basis.

The 8 days to be designated as public holidays, either national or local will be agreed on an
annual basis.

All part-time workers will receive a pro-rata entitlement to public holidays compared to whole-time
hours.

MINIMUM NOTICE

The post-holder will be required to give and is entitled to receive a minimum of 4 week’s notice of
termination of employment, however, notice tendered may be in advance of this time.

SUPERANNUATION

Auto Enrolment

All employees, eligible to join the NHS must be automatically included in the scheme from the first
day of employment. Eligible employees will no longer be allowed to opt out of the scheme before
they take up employment. They must be enrolled in the first instance.

Those who are ineligible to join the scheme will be enrolled in NEST, again opt out can only occur
once in the scheme.

Further information can be found on the Pension Regulators website www.sppa.gov.uk

Part A - Officer members (including GP Practice Staff who are not practitioners)

From 1 April 2015 NHS pension scheme members will pay contributions at the rate in
column 3 based on their previous year’s whole time equivalent pensionable earnings
which fall in the relevant banding in column 2 of the table below.

Tier Whole time equivalent pensionable earnings contribution percentage

rate
1 Up to £15,828 5.2%
2 £15,829 to £21,601 5.8%
3 £21,602 to £27,089 7.3%
4 £27,090 to £49,967 9.5%
5 £49,968 to £71,337 12.7%
6 £71,338 to £111,376 13.7%
7 £111,377 and above 14.7%

Pensionable pay should be rounded down to the nearest pound.

The above contribution rates will be applicable for 4 years from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2019
however the earnings bands may be adjusted to reflect any national pay awards.

In general the amount you will pay will be based on your previous year’s earnings.

If you were employed part-time the amount is uprated to the whole time equivalent pay for that
post.
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If you change jobs during the current year or have a promotion or step down to a lower paid job
your contribution rate will be reset in line with your new pay band.

For more detailed information please see SPPA circular 2015/04 available on the SPPA website.

Part B - Practitioners members

Tier Whole time equivalent pensionable earnings contribution percentage

rate
1 Up to £15,828 5.2%
2 £15,829 to £21,601 5.8%
3 £21,602 to £27,089 7.3%
4 £27,090 to £49,967 9.5%
5 £49,968 to £71,337 12.7%
6 £71,338 to £111,376 13.7%
7 £111,377 and above 14.7%

Pensionable earnings should be rounded down to the nearest pound.

The above contribution rates will be applicable for 4 years from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2019
however the earnings bands may be adjusted to reflect any national pay awards.

The contribution rates apply across both the old scheme (1995 and 2008 sections) and the new
2015 scheme

Practitioner members pay contributions at the rate in column 3 based on their total current year
practitioner earnings from all sources which falls into the relevant band in column 2.

There is a calculator on the SPPA website where you can see what these changes mean for you.
For more detailed information please see employers circular 2015/04 also available on the
website. If you have any enquiries about which contribution rate you are paying please contact
Practitioner Services Division of NHS National Services.

Changes to the NHS Pension Scheme from 1 April 2015 – for further information please visit
the SPPA website WWW.sppa.gov.uk or email: [email protected]

SICK PAY SCHEME

The Conditions of Service provide for operation of a scheme related to length of service. Staff
are required to keep their line manager informed of the likely duration of absence.

Dependant on your meeting the necessary criteria you may have entitlement to Statutory Sick
Pay or DSS Sickness Benefit. Staff do not need a medical certificate for the first 3 days of
sickness absence. For sickness absence of 4 to 7 days, a self-certificate (DSS form SC2) is
required. These are available from GP practices and line managers and the self-certificate must
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be returned to the line manager within 7 days of the first day of incapacity. From the 8 day of
sickness absence the member of staff should go to their General Practitioner for a medical
certificate, which should be sent to their line manager without delay. As the medical certificate
runs out, the member of staff should obtain another one if they remain unfit for work and again
send to their line manager.

If this sickness reporting procedure is not followed, then the staff member would be considered to
be ‘absent without leave’ and would therefore not receive any pay or sick pay for that period of
absence.

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MEDICAL FITNESS

All prospective members of staff are asked to submit a confidential health questionnaire to the
Occupational Health Service. On the basis of this, they may be passed fit, or an appointment for
further information or screening may be required. All entrants must be certified medically fit and
employment is conditional on such certification. All appointees are expected to comply with NHS
Highland’s Immunisation Policy.

Those posts classified as Exposure Prone Procedures appointments are dependent on

satisfactory proof of immunity or freedom from Hep B infection prior to appointment.

CONFIDENTIALITY

In the course of your duties you may have access to confidential material about patients,
members of staff or other health service business. On no account must information relating to
patients be divulged to anyone other than authorised persons - for example medical, nursing or
other professional staff, as appropriate, who are concerned directly with the care, diagnosis
and/or treatment of the patient. If you are in any doubt whatsoever as to the authority of a person
or body asking for information of this nature you must seek advice from your superior officer.
Similarly no information of a personal or confidential nature concerning individual members of
staff should be divulged to anyone without the proper authority having first been given. Failure to
observe this rule will be regarded by your employers as serious misconduct, which could result in
serious disciplinary action, including dismissal, being taken against you.

The unauthorised disclosure of official business under consideration by NHS Highland or one of
its Committees by an employee is also regarded as a breach of confidence and may lead to
disciplinary action.

DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND (PROTECTING VULNERABLE GROUPS – (PVG SCHEME)

Appointment to this post will be made subject to satisfactory screening by Disclosure Scotland.
This post is considered to require registration with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
Scheme as it involves substantial access to children and vulnerable adults. A PVG Scheme
Record will contain details of all convictions on record, whether spent or unspent. This means that
even minor convictions, no matter when they occurred will be included in the Scheme Record. It
may also contain non conviction information held locally by the police, where this is considered
relevant to the post.

Following the selection interview only the "successful" candidate will be subject to a check by
Disclosure Scotland to verify details previously supplied by him/her. Offers of appointment will be
made subject to satisfactory Disclosure Scotland screening.

Please note that NHS Highland will be responsible for payment of the required fee.

SWISS - Scottish Workforce Information Standard System

DATA STATEMENT

The information that you have provided will be used for employment purposes and where
necessary to comply with legal obligations. The purpose of holding this information is for
administration i.e. employment and pay amendments, superannuation, workforce
management/planning and other personnel matters in relation to your employment. Any requests
for information outwith the above will only be processed with your consent (e.g. building society
mortgage applications etc.)

Your information will be held securely in a national database, which will be accessed at a local,
regional and national level to meet the requirements outlined above. Your manager may also
hold information within your department. There will be no unauthorised access.

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

To be aware of and comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and
to co-operate with others performing their statutory duties.

For those with managerial/supervisory responsibilities:

To be aware of and comply with the requirements of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it's
subordinate Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice to ensure compliance and safe working
practice.

ID BADGE POLICY

NHS Highland have a policy that all staff will be issued with and required to wear an ID badge at
all times when on duty. If your badge needs replacing for any reason, you are required to contact
the Personnel Department at Caithness General Hospital, Wick. All ID badges must be returned
when staff terminate their employment.

SMOKE FREE HIGHLANDS

Please be aware that smoking tobacco products or e-cigarettes is not allowed anywhere in NHS
Highland properties, vehicles or grounds. All staff who smoke can access information regarding
services provided by Occupational Health and locality based Stop Smoking Advisers for smoking
cessation support - for more information please visit www.smokefreehighland.co.uk.

All NHS Highland employees will have the same part to play when maintaining the Smokefree
Policy. It will be everyone’s role to enforce the policy by reminding people that NHS Highland
provides a smoke-free environment and that they cannot smoke anywhere inside it’s buildings or
in it’s grounds.

When selecting new staff NHS Highland does not discriminate against applicants who smoke but
applicants who accept an offer of employment will in doing so agree to observe and familiarise
themselves with NHS Highland's Smokefree policy.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN EMPLOYMENT

NHS Highland affirms that all employees should be afforded equal opportunities in employment,
in accordance with the Equal Opportunities Commission recommendations.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS FRAMEWORK (KSF)

To support personal development and career progression, there is a NHS Knowledge and Skills
Framework, which supports the process of annual development review and agreeing personal
development plans.

The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework helps staff develop their skills to the full in a particular
NHS post. It helps ensure better links between education, development and career and pay
progression for all NHS Staff.

The first gateway in each pay band will be after one year in post. The position of the second
gateway will vary between pay bands but will fall between the top three points of the payband.

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THE HIGHLAND CLINICAL RESEARCH FACILITY

The UHI Millennium Institute’s (UHI) Clinical Research Facility, is housed on the ground floor
within the Highland Diabetes Institute; phase III of the new Centre for Health Science building
adjacent to the Raigmore Hospital site, it opened in January 2009.

The Clinical Research Facility is a joint NHS/UHI initiative aiming to provide a high quality clinical
environment in which participants can take part in research programmes safely according to
ethically approved study protocols. It comprises a bedded clinical research unit in which patient
monitoring may be conducted on a day case or 24 hour basis. The facility has the capacity to be
used by departments or specialties within NHS Highland, UHI or other research institutions for
clinical research.

The facility is supported by the CRF Advisory Group and approved studies are reviewed by the
CRF User’s Group.

It is staffed by a small team comprising a dedicated manager, research nurses, research

pharmacist, part time pharmacy technician and administrative support under the leadership of a
part time CRF Director, Prof Sandra MacRury.

HEALTHY WORKING LIVES

Healthy Working Lives (formerly SHAW, Scotland’s Health at Work) is the national award
programme designed to encourage and reward employers in their efforts to improve the health
and well-being of their staff. Healthy Working Lives involves having policies and practices in
place which help employees be better informed to make healthy choices. It also involves
recognising that organisations themselves can have a direct impact on the health and well-being
of the individual members of staff.

Over the last few years, NHS Highland has placed the wellbeing of staff high on our list of
priorities and is committed and signed up to achieving the Healthy Working Lives Award.

Healthy Working Lives needs the support and involvement of staff. To find out where your
nearest contact for Healthy Working Lives is, contact Susan Birse on [email protected].

These Terms and Conditions of Employment forms part of your Contract of Employment
and are subject to ongoing review.

Jobtrain Ref: 189898

Our Ref: 015/24.25-ES22 24958/241101
21.06.24- AH

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