The below information provides applicants with a simple breakdown of the process by which our Trust recruits to vacancies.
Our vacancies are published on our Trust website (yorkhospitals.nhs.uk) and the NHS Jobs Web Site (www.jobs.nhs.uk),
Anyone interested in applying for a vacancy should carefully read the advert, job description and person specification for the position to determine whether or not they are suitable for the role.
Applications are submitted to the Recruitment Department via NHS Jobs (paper applications can be provided if necessary, but we do not accept CVs).
Once the deadline for applications passes, the advert is removed from public view (NB. Some vacancies have a 'variable' deadline, meaning that they are closed to new applications when a certain number have been received). Any applications submitted for the position after this time are not accepted.
The recruitment department sends the applications that have been received to be reviewed locally by the Recruiting Manager. All applications are sent on to departments without the 'Personal details' or 'Monitoring information' sections.
Applications are reviewed against the job description and person specification to produce a shortlist.
Candidates are notified via e-mail whether or not they have been shortlisted
Successfully shortlisted candidates are invited to attend an interview, where their performance will be scored against criteria relating to the person specification for that vacancy. Some vacancies may require candidates to take a test or make a presentation.
The preferred candidate is made a conditional offer. Unsuccessful candidates are advised of the outcome of their interviews.
Pre-employment checks are carried out by the Recruitment Team. This will include checking professional registration (if required for the role), references, Right to Work, ID checks, Occupational Health checks and DBS checks (if required for the role)
On successful completion of the checks, an unconditional offer letter is sent to the successful candidate and a start date is agreed.
Click above for the table which sets out the pay spine for staff. In each instance, the figures shown are for a full-time member of staff, with the amount being adjusted pro-rata for those working less than 37.5 hours per week. Staff within the remit of the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body are covered by a separate pay spine. Please note that anyone joining our Trust who has not previously worked in the NHS will, by default, receive a salary commensurate with the first point of the relevant pay band.
Agenda for change 1 April 2022 This page contains the figures for the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) pay and allowances from 1 April 2022. The table below shows the values of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) pay points from 1 April 2022. Full details of the pay arrangements are available in the NHS terms and conditions of service handbook. Spine points are no longer used following the 2018 changes to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service, but for ease of reference the table below contains the previous spine point that corresponds to the new pay structure value. Additional guidance is available which describes how to read a pay journey from the pay scales.
Before completing an application form for one of our vacancies you should ensure that, as far as is reasonably possible, you have understood the role in which you are interested. You may find it useful to get in touch with the ‘contact for candidate enquiry’ listed in the advert. As a minimum, you should carefully consider the Job Description and Person Specification for the role. These documents are not only tools which enable us to objectively evaluate candidates in the selection process - they will also help you to decide if you are suitable for the role.
The Person Specification is of particular importance - this details the essential and desirable criteria (in terms of things like qualifications, skills, experience and personal attributes) required of a person working in this role.
Bear in mind that you will need to meet all of the essential criteria in order to be considered for the role, therefore, your application form must evidence that you meet all of these requirements (if you meet the desirable criteria, you should evidence these also).
The evidencing of some items is self-explanatory - e.g. if a particular qualification is required for the role and you possess the qualification, you should list it in the qualifications section of your form. In other areas, you will need to give examples which show how you meet the criterion. These examples can be anecdotal, and you can draw them from experiences at work, in extracurricular activities or from any other area of life.
Do not shy away from going into detail - while you know your own knowledge, experience and disposition, remember that the person reading your application does not, and any difficulty they have in drawing inferences from your application could lead to them discounting it.
In evidencing how you meet the criteria, you will demonstrate to the recruiting panel that you have an understanding of the role. You can also strengthen your application by providing some comments around the rationale for your application - have you explained your reasons for wanting the job? It always helps to set your supporting information in this kind of context.
While the process for completing an application form can be time-pressured, it is worth taking some time to prepare your supporting information by looking through the Person Specification and noting down examples that you can use on your application.
When providing details of referees, always consider who is best-placed to make a comment on your professional abilities. At least one of your referees should be your line manager or tutor from your most recent place of employment or study. Remember that as an organisation, we will not accept personal references (e.g. from friends or family members) and so these should not be included. Be sure that you notify your referees before applying so that they can be alert to a possible approach for a reference. If you do not have the detail, ask them for their email address so that a reference request can be transmitted to them electronically to save time.
Before you hit submit, remember that an application can benefit from a second pair of eyes, and so it is always worth having someone else look over your application (as a sense check) before you send it.
Please also consider our Behavioural Framework when completing your application. The values are underpinned by a set of behaviours, again created by you. Behaviours are the practical application of our values - translating them into day-to-day actions. They say who we are and what we stand for. Click here for more information on our behavioural framework.
If you are invited to interview for a position (either paid or voluntary) with York & Scarborough Teaching HospitalsNHS Foundation Trust, you will be asked to complete and provide a number of items of documentation in order to allow us to complete our mandatory pre-employment checks. These checks are administered for all successful candidates and form an essential part of the recruitment process, allowing us to confirm the suitability of an applicant for a given position.
Any applicant who wishes their application to progress must be able to satisfy our pre-employment check standard. Problems completing pre-employment checks can delay candidates both in receiving offers of employment and taking up positions, and so it is important to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to enable the process to be completed without complication.
Please note that all information will be handled securely, and in accordance with the relevant legislation and codes of practice. Only applicants who have been made a conditional offer of employment will have DBS and Occupational Health checks undertaken. Unsuccessful applicants’ documentation will be securely destroyed after interview.
If you have any questions about the pre-employment checking process, please contact the Recruitment Team.
Identity checks require that we inspect a minimum of 3 items, allowing us to confirm your full name, date of birth, permanent full address and signature.Please note the following list is not exhaustive, if you are unable to bring the required documents or you have any queries regarding ID or right to work checks, please contact the recruitment team as soon as possible.
Acceptable photo identification documents include:
We are able to accept a number of items of address-related evidence, including the following (please note that the document must bear your full name):
British citizens must provide either a passport, or a full UK birth or adoption certificate in combination with an official document issued by a previous employer or government agency bearing the individual’s full name and permanent national insurance number (such as a P45, P60, payslip or letter from the HMRC - please note that a National Insurance (NI) number card is not in itself acceptable for this purpose).
For non-British citizens the requirements are dependent on your nationality and current immigration status. For further guidance, please visit the UK Border Agency Web Site.
Please note that, where you have consented to your referees being approached before interview, references will normally be requested as such. Please ensure that at least one of your referees can comment on your most recent period of employment or study (we would request that you provide your line manager as a referee to this end). References from friends or relatives will not be accepted.
We strongly recommend that you notify your referees of a possible approach when you apply, and/or are invited to interview for a position, to ensure that they are alert to a possible request for information. Where possible, we would also request that you provide your referees’ email addresses. This is to allow us to obtain written references in a timely manner, and to enable your application to progress should you be deemed appointable after interview.
If successful, you will receive a Work Health Assessment Form with your offer letter. This form will need to be completed to assess your medical fitness for the role, in line with the national Occupational Health check standard.
If your application has been shortlisted, you've cleared a very significant hurdle - you have the recruiting manager's interest. It's now time to give the next stage in the selection process your attention. Typically, the next step for shortlisted candidates will be to attend interview (some variations to this process may include an additional step which uses an exercise to determine who goes forward to interview, but this is rarely used other than for senior appointments).
It is quite normal for people to feel anxious about interviews, but a lot of that anxiety can be alleviated with careful preparation. The first thing to do is ensure that you absorb all of the information in the invitation.
In most cases, the information should be clear from the invitation, however, if you require any kind of clarification, don't be afraid to ring the recruiting department to obtain the information you need.
In the days and weeks leading up to interview, you have the opportunity to put yourself at an advantage by learning more about the role for which you have applied and its function within the recruiting department and wider organisation. You can then relate how you would be a good candidate for the role to your new found knowledge, which will prepare you well for some of the questions which will likely be asked of you at interview.
Report to the venue in good time, and where appropriate, notify staff of your arrival. While some nerves are good, you do not want to be overcome by fear, and so take some deep breaths and try and retain a sense of perspective as far as possible.
All of our interviews include a panel member from our in-house Effective and Legal Recruitment Course, and so you can be assured that the interview will be managed professionally. In the interview itself, try and make as much eye contact with the interviewers as possible. If you are struggling to control your nerves or feel put off by note-taking by the interview panel, pick a spot in the room that you can focus on when delivering your answers.
With your answers, make sure you give yourself sufficient time to reply to each question to the best of your ability. Do not feel that you have to rush your answers. If you do not fully understand a question, do not be afraid to ask the interviewer for clarification. Also, make sure that you ask any questions of the interview panel before the interview is concluded. If you follow the above steps, you can reassure yourself that you have done everything possible to show yourself to be the best candidate that you possibly can be.
At York & Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust we sometimes use values based Assessment Centres as part of the recruitment process for our senior positions.
We believe Assessment Centres are a valuable recruitment tool as they allow candidates to demonstrate behavioural skills which can be difficult to capture at interview alone.
As an organisation we believe that the behaviours and attitudes of a person are just as important as their skills, experience and knowledge. We have therefore developed our assessment centres to include a range of exercises which allow candidates to demonstrate their values and behavioural skills.
Our assessment centres are largely de-selective; this means candidates must pass the assessment elements to be offered a place at interview. All shortlisted candidates are invited to attend an assessment centre which shall take place usually 1 to 3 days prior to the formal interview.
Upon attending the assessment centre candidates shall participate in a range of exercises to assess their suitability for the role. Candidates may take part in one to three of the following exercises: a Group Exercise, a Written Exercise, a Scenario Exercise, a Presentation Exercise or a Discussion Exercise. These exercises will involve you working independently and as part of a group with candidates applying for the same, or a similar role.
All the exercise instructions will be provided to candidates on the day, there is nothing candidates need specifically to prepare for in advance.
If you will soon be joining us at an Assessment Centre, here are some useful tips for the day.
Prior to the day:
Please visit the Current Vacancies section of our Recruitment pages for details of all vacancies.
Please visit the NHS Careers website. This website has basic information about a variety of roles in the NHS and links to other sites.
You can submit applications for our positions via our Trust website or by clicking on the vacancies tab within our "Working Here" pages We have a guidance document advising prospective applicants on how to make most effective use of the Site.
You can apply for as many of our vacancies as you choose. Each application will be considered on its merits against the criteria for the vacancy in question, and so it is important to tailor each application to the role for which you are applying.
Our Trust is not the only NHS organisation recruiting to vacancies in the York area. Both NHS Professionals and NHS North Yorkshire and York advertise vacancies in our region. You can differentiate these vacancies from our own by observing the first 3 digits of the unique vacancy reference number. Only vacancies pre-fixed with ‘419’ are vacancies with our Trust.
York Hospital does not employ ambulance staff. However, if you contact the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, either via the website http://www.yas.nhs.uk/ or on 0845 122 0072, they should be able to assist.
We have a number of key policies within our Organisation that you can have a look at before joining the Trust such as Civility, Respect and Resolution policy which can be found here and Leave, Career Break and Sabbatical policy which can be found here.
Due to the popularity of many of our positions, including many administrative and clerical and support roles, a closing date is imposed when a sufficient number of applications are deemed to have been received. In these cases, applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
It is an applicant’s responsibility to ensure that their application reaches the Recruitment Office prior to the deadline, and in the event that a form arrives after the closing date/a deadline is missed, the application will not be accepted.
IT related questions can be answered by the NHS Jobs Helpdesk by submitting the form at the following link: http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/support_cand.html. They are staffed Monday to Friday, between 8.30am and 6.00pm and aim to provide an answer within 30 minutes of receiving your query.
Everyone who applies will be notified of the outcome of their application, whether you have been successfully shortlisted or not.
The application form asks for the names of two referees, who should ideally be the people who are best able to comment on your suitability in the post applied for. It is Trust policy that no offer of employment can be made without a reference from the most recent employer or place of study, and that two references have to be received before someone can commence in post. If you have not been employed before, you can give the name of a teacher/lecturer who knows you well enough to comment on your ability to do the job.
If you have no previous experience, have recently entered the country, or the company you worked for has closed down, a reference from a non-employer (e.g. your doctor, solicitor, former teacher) may be acceptable. References from friends or family will not be acceptable. Please note that references will only be sought if you are short-listed for interview and that referees will be asked for information on your sickness record over the past two years.
We operate a number of banks throughout the Trust, for more information please contact the temporary staffing team direct at: TemporaryStaffing.Service@YORK.NHS.UK
As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview anyone who declares that they have a disability, and meets the minimum criteria outlined in the relevant Person Specification. Employers who use the Disability Symbol have legal obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA).
The Access to Work programme is run by the Employment Service. It provides financial assistance towards any extra costs of employing disabled people. It is available to unemployed, employed and self-employed people and can apply to any job, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary.
To find out more about the programme and how to apply for support, contact your Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) through your local Jobcentre Plus. Tel: 0113 214 2345 - Text: 01132 271 4785 - Fax: 0113 214 2343