Policy and Procedure for the Engagement of Temporary Workers
Version
3
Name of responsible (ratifying)
committee
HR Policy Group
Date ratified
01.04.2014
Document Manager (job title)
Head of Employee Resourcing
Date issued
10.06.14
Review date
09.06.16
Electronic location
HR Policies
Related Procedural Documents
Policy and Protocol on Pre Employment Checks,
Recruitment and Selection Policy, Recruitment and
Selection of Consultant Medical Staff Policy, Trust
Protocol and Procedure for Statutory Registration of
Professional Staff, Trust Policy and Protocol for
Annual Leave and Planned Absences, Trust
Management of Attendance Policy, Trust Policy and
Protocol for Induction, Trust Policy and Protocol for
Flexible Working
Key Words (to aid with searching)
Agency; Bank; Government Procurement Service;
Temporary Staff; worker
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CONTENTS
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE....................................................................................................... 3
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 5
2. PURPOSE ................................................................................................................................... 5
3. SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................ 5
4. DEFINITIONS .............................................................................................................................. 5
5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES .............................................................................................. 6
6. PROCESS ................................................................................................................................... 7
7. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................... 12
8. REFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION .......................................................... 12
9. MONITORING COMPLIANCE WITH, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF, PROCEDURAL
DOCUMENTS ............................................................................................................................ 13
9.8 All bookings made by the temporary staffing team are recorded. ............................................... 14
9.9 To ensure compliance with the above, a quarterly random audit will be undertaken by the
Transactional Manager.............................................................................................................. 14
9.10The results of all audits will be reported quarterly, by exception, to the Senior Leaders Forum
and any required action will be taken by the Director of Organisational Development and HR.
This may include: ....................................................................................................................... 14
 Direct action to improve auditing process ................................................................................... 14
 Changes to policy / procedures .................................................................................................. 14
9.11A quarterly workforce report will be provided to the Trust Board by the Director of
Organisational Development and HR. ........................................................................................ 14
Appendices:
APPENDIX A: Locum/Agency Request Procedure: For Staff other than Nurses Mon to Fri 08.30hrs
17.00hrs
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QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
For quick reference the guide below is a summary of actions required. This does not negate the
need for the document author and others involved in the process to be aware of and follow the
detail of this policy.
1. The Trust acknowledges that from time to time, services may experience staffing
difficulties and in order to maintain service provision, may need to secure temporary
staffing arrangements.
2. This policy applies to all temporary, agency, bank and locum workers engaged by the
Trust.
3. All bookings for temporary staff, other than nursing and midwifery staff, must be made via
the Temporary Staffing Team.
4. All recruitment must be in line with the Trust’s Recruitment and Selection Policies and the
Pre Employment and Ongoing Employment Checks Policy.
5. Where there is an exceptional business need to use a non-Office of Government
Commerce (OGC) agency for non-nursing staff prior authorisation must be sought from
an Executive Director.
6. If NHS Professionals cannot fill a shift from either NHS Professionals Staff or a
Government Procurement Service (formally Buying Solutions) Agency staff member and it
is considered an essential requirement for the shift to be filled prior authorisation must be
sought from the Director of Nursing or appointed Deputy directly.
7. Flow chart summarising process to be followed below:
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Authorisation Process for Workforce Expenditure Controls
Requirement for Temporary Staffing Identified
YES
Can existing staff change shifts? (no extra payments required to them or others)
NO
Are staff available from other areas within the Trust? Check with GMs/HoN etc
YES
NO
Completion of Temporary Vacancy Starters Form and send to General Manager
For all temporary use: overtime, excess hours, WLIs, Agency, Bank etc
Send to relevant Executive Director for authorisation as below.
Duty Director to approve out of hours
Julie Dawes
Director of Nursing
Simon Holmes
Medical Director
All Nursing &
Midwifery Staff
All Medical and
Dental staff
Cherry West
Chief Operating
Officer
All Professional &
Technical, PAMs,
Scientific excl ICT
Tim Powell
Director of
Workforce and OD
All Management,
Admin, Estates,
Ancillary & ICT
Temporary Staffing Starters Form (as above) to be to be sent to
Temporary Staffing team
Booking via
NHSP Electronic
Booking system
Junior
Doctors
Internal
Fill
All other Medical &
Dental Staff
NO
YES
Completion of
Weekly variance
reports for
Nursing
Workforce
Committee
Temp staffing
forecasting
Junior Doctor Locum
Cover Arrangements
Booking
Process for
Agency
Locums only
Booking
Process
for all
other staff
Submit Retrospective
claim form to SBS with
Authorisation
Completion of Weekly Exception Reports by Midday Monday for previous week
G:\HR - Workforce Intelligence\Weekly Exception Reports 201213
Attendance at workforce review meetings
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the Trust provides clear, consistent
information and procedures for the engagement and use of temporary, agency and
consultancy staff.
2. PURPOSE
2.1
The Trust acknowledges that from time to time, services may experience staffing difficulties
and in order to maintain service provision and ensure the safety of patients and staff, may
need to secure temporary staffing arrangements.
2.2
Due consideration should be given to viable alternative options before temporary staff are
engaged.
2.3
The policy is intended to:

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
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Minimise agency and temporary costs ensuring value for money
Improve monitoring systems
Ensure that the health, safety and welfare of service users is not compromised by
ensuring appropriate pre-engagement safeguarding checks (such as DBS [formally
CRB], ID checks)
Ensure that the Trust is compliant with current employment law.
3. SCOPE
3.1
This policy applies to all temporary, agency and locum/bank workers engaged by the Trust.
3.2 This policy should be read in conjunction with the Recruitment and Selection Policy, the
Recruitment and Selection of Consultant Medical Staff Policy and the Policy and Protocol on
Pre-Employment and Employment Checks.
3.3 This policy does not apply to self employed contractors or companies. Where a Clinical
Service Centre wishes to engage the services of a self employed individual or a company
they must refer to the appropriate procurement process.
3.4 In the event of an epidemic infection outbreak, flu pandemic or major incident, the Trust
recognises that it may not be possible to adhere to all aspects of this document. In such
circumstances, staff should take advice from their manager and all possible action must be
taken to maintain ongoing patient and staff safety.
4. DEFINITIONS
Agency staff – temporary or interim staff provided through an external organisation for an
agreed rate, where the contract of employment lies with the providing company rather than
the end user.
Locum/Bank staff – staff registered to provide work on an ad hoc basis, with no obligation
for regular work. Administered by the Trust, these staff are workers and not employees.
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Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) - The DBS was established under the Protection
of Freedoms Act 2012 and merges the functions previously carried out by the Criminal
Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
Government Procurement Service – (GPS) formally known as Buying Solutions.
Government Procurement Service is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office. Their overall
priority is to provide procurement savings for the UK public sector as a whole and specifically to
deliver centralised procurement for central government departments.
Self Employed Consultants - these are individuals or a company who are brought in to
deliver a particular piece of work or project. They are contracted to provide services on an
agreed daily rate which is payable on the presentation of an invoice. They are neither
workers nor employees.
OGC - Office of Government Commerce (OGC)
Substantive – staff employed by the organisation on an ongoing contract of employment,
usually referred to as permanent staff.
Temporary staff – staff employed by the Trust on a fixed contract of employment for an
event or period that is of limited duration. Their employment is on NHS terms and
conditions of employment and their service can be counted for continuity of
employment.
5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
5.1
Appointing Manager








5.2
Temporary Staffing Team



5.3
Ensure plans are in place to reduce the need for temporary staff i.e. workforce
plans, robust annual leave and absence management systems in place (See Trust
Policy and Protocol for Annual Leave and Planned Absences and Trust
Management of Attendance Policy)
Ensure any temporary workers receive a local induction (see Trust Policy and
Protocol for Induction).
Monitor the performance of temporary workers and deal with concerns
appropriately.
Ensure appropriate approvals have been gained prior to making a booking i.e.
management team, Workforce Strategy Committee/Executive Director.
Make all bookings via the Temporary Staffing Team.
Verify and authorise electronic timesheets in line with Agency/Trust protocols.
Ensure leaving process is appropriately managed, ensuring equipment and ID are
returned, exit report completed (if appropriate) and ICT accesses are revoked.
Ensure temporary staffing usage is reported within weekly exception report
documents.
Ensure all requests are dealt with in line with this policy.
Ensure all workers have the necessary checks undertaken to ensure compliance
with the Policy and Protocol on Pre-Employment and Employment Checks.
Liaise with the agency when the performance of a worker is unsatisfactory or
concerns have been raised.
Employee/Worker
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

5.4
Adhere to the Trust Policy and Procedures.
Submit appropriate time sheets within appropriate timescales.
Executive Director



Provide approval to use specialist agencies for Consultancy or specialist roles.
Provide approval to use non GPS agencies.
Provide approval all requests for temporary staff.
6. PROCESS
6.1
Temporary staff should only be engaged as a last resort after considering other staffing
alternatives. Temporary staff should never be used as an ongoing staffing solution.
Service developments should be appropriately costed and resourced without relying on
temporary staffing to implement.
6.2
If a manager is experiencing difficulties in recruiting to permanent positions they should
work with HR to seek recruitment advice and/or review the needs of the service.
6.3
Temporary staff should not automatically be booked to cover annual leave, short-term sick
leave or study leave. This leave should be managed to ensure adequate cover from existing
staff. Please refer to the Annual Leave and Planned Absences Policy for further
information.
6.4
There should be a justifiable service reason for requesting a temporary member of staff
which includes:




6.5
Prior to deciding whether there is a need to book a temporary member of staff, individual
managers should:



6.6
When there is a vacant post with funding available and the work cannot be covered
from within the existing workforce
When the service will be at risk, including patient safety, or targets for delivery are
compromised
An unexpected increase in the volume of work (i.e. due to a flu crisis or heat-wave)
When there are adverse effects on the health and safety of staff.
Review rosters, including considering flexible working options to enable existing
staff to cover the shifts and offering additional work to part-time staff (at standard
hourly rate)
Consider whether the work can be reallocated/delayed
Offer additional hours and time off in lieu to full-time staff without compromising
working time regulations
If in exceptional circumstances a member of staff is authorised to work overtime, a
timesheet needs to be completed and signed by the staff member and authorised by
a designated signatory
Further alternative methods of filling staffing needs could include:





Secondment
Re-working procedures or processes to save time and staffing needs
Utilisation of staff from other areas within the Clinical Service Centre/Trust on a
temporary basis
Job share or role splitting
Short fixed-term contracts.
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Refer to the Trust Policy and Protocol for Flexible Working for further information.
6.7
When replacement hours are considered essential a number of issues must be addressed
prior to engaging the appropriate level of cover:





Which band of staff is needed for the cover?
If there is a vacant slot, do the hours need to be provided at the same band?
Do all of the vacant hours need to be filled?
Will the budget cover the costs?
Has senior manager approval been sought where the budget will not cover the
replacement costs?
If the booking is for any other reason and for over one month then WSC approval has to be
sought by the department.
6.8
6.9
All requests for Locum/Bank Staff must be completed on a temporary vacancy starters
form. These can be found on the Trust intranet under HR Forms. Once completed the
forms are sent electronically to temporarystaffing.department@porthosp.nhs.uk.

Only one form should be used per position to be filled.

All yellow cells must be completed. Incomplete forms will be returned to the
manager to complete prior to being actioned.

All requests must be approved by an authorised representative from the Clinical
Service Centre Management Team. The completed form should be forwarded to
the appropriate Executive Director for approval and then to the Temporary Staffing
Team along with the completed request form. Forms without approval will not be
processed.

If the requirement is for longer than one month the post must be submitted to the
Workforce Strategy Committee (WSC) for approval.

The Medical Director will approval any cover for Deanery training posts or where
cover is required to ensure that junior doctor rotas are 48 hour compliant.
Workforce Strategy Committee (WSC) approval does not need to be sought.
Once the booking is received the Temporary Staffing Team will look to see if there are any
internal workers available/suitable. If a candidate is matched, Temporary Staffing will
contact the locum/bank worker to assess their availability. If the locum/bank worker is
interested then their CV will be passed over to the departmental manager/lead consultant
for a telephone /face-to-face interview.
6.10 If there is no-one available/suitable from the bank then Temporary Staffing will liaise with
the GPS agencies (see flow chart – Appendix A).
6.11 If a post is advertised the recruitment will follow the Recruitment and Selection Policies of
the Trust and all pre-employment checks will be undertaken in line with the Policy and
Protocol on Pre-Employment and Employment Checks.
6.12
Management of Temporary Staff
6.12.1 It is essential that all temporary staff within the Trust receive an induction that is
appropriate to their role and planned length of engagement. This should include an
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orientation, information about local policies and procedures and introductions to relevant
colleagues. The Trust’s Vision and Values should be highlighted to first time workers.
6.12.2 Agency Medical Staff are required to undertake a one hour on-line induction programme
prior to commencing work. This is paid for by the Trust upon submission of the completed
certificate.
6.12.3 NHSP provide Mandatory Training, annual online training and bi-annual practical training
sessions (where applicable) in fire safety, manual handling, infection control, basic life
support, child protection, protection of vulnerable adults, data protection for all NHSP
staff. They should also receive a full local induction when the commence work.
6.12.4 Local managers are expected to plan what functions are to be undertaken and monitor
temporary staff performance while at the Trust.
6.12.5 Managers should raise concerns with regard to performance, notifying NHSP or
Temporary Staffing, where matters cannot be resolved or are of sufficient seriousness to
potentially prevent future use. Managers have a responsibility and duty of care to ensure
that concerns are raised and addressed where appropriate. It is not sufficient just to
release an unsatisfactory worker without explanation.
6.12.6 Where the Trust has reason to believe that Professional or other Codes of Conduct have
been breached, this will be reported to the relevant professional or other body by the line
manager, with support and advice from the Operational HR Team as required. Temporary
Staffing must be informed.
6.12.7 In cases where there is concern that the practitioner may be a danger to patients, the
Trust has an obligation to inform such other organisations including the private sector, of
any restriction on practice or exclusion and provide a summary of the reasons for it. The
line manager must inform Temporary Staffing who will contact the professional regulatory
body and the Medical Director/Nursing Director as appropriate. The Medical Director or
Director of Nursing will review the case and write to the Director of Public Health or
Medical Director of the Strategic Health Authority to consider the issue of an Alert Letter.
6.12.8 Alert Letters ensure that NHS bodies are made aware of staff who pose a risk to patients
or other staff because their conduct seriously compromises the effective functions of a
team, or local primary care services. They are intended to cover those situations where
an NHS employer considers that a member of their health care staff may pose a threat to
patients and may be working or seeking work elsewhere in a health or social care setting.
6.12.9 Where cases involve issues relating to children or vulnerable adults, an employee must
be referred to the ISA and the process in the Trust Policy for Allegations Against
Employees Where Children and Young People are Involved followed. The Operational
Human Resources team will provide further information on and assistance with the ISA
referral process and access to the appropriate referral forms. It should be noted as well
that all completed referrals must be signed by the Head of Human Resources prior to
being sent on to the ISA.
6.12.10 The leaving process must be appropriately managed, including ensuring the return of
equipment e.g. diaries, mobile phones, ID badge etc and the preparation of closing
reports and exit reports on completion of an assignment.
6.13
Temporary Agency Workers
6.13.1 The introduction of the Agency Workers Directive allows equal treatment to apply after a
temporary worker has been in a given job from day 1 of a 12 weeks qualifying period.
This means they must receive the treatment equal to those of substantive employees, for
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example equal access to training opportunities and notice of permanent vacancies i.e. via
the intranet. The Trust is under no obligation to recruit agency workers to permanent
vacancies.
6.14
Options for Engaging Temporary Staff
6.14.1 Government Procurement Service
Due to the high cost of employing temporary staff GPS have negotiated terms of business
with certain private employment agencies that have proved their ability to meet NHS
requirements for obtaining and checking identity, health, qualifications, Disclosure and
Barring Service. These are known as GPS Approved Agencies.
The benefits of the GPS National Framework Agreement include: enhanced quality
standards and a range of quality assessed providers which have been audited by GPS to
ensure that their temporary workforce are compliant with all national guidelines for
occupational health and identification security, including validation of qualifications and
DBS checks. Other benefits include; competitive pricing with a simplified structure which
some flexibility with regards to hard to fill; discounts in relation to volume/einvoicing/length of placement; ready to use agreement with no need for separate tender
and NHS specific conditions.
Where temporary staff are required the Trust only uses GPS Approved Agencies.
These Agencies have proven their ability to meet the required standards. They operate
agreed rates for Agencies, by Agenda for Change Pay Band and charge no placement
fees, provided appropriate notice is given.
The Trust reserves the right to select an appropriate preferred agency from the National
Framework, this will be the only Agency from which Managers can obtain temporary staff.
Where there is an exceptional business need to use a non-GPS agency prior
authorisation must be sought from an Executive Director via Temporary Staffing.
Temporary Staffing will attempt to verify the non GPS Approved Agency staff member to
the same level as an GPS Approved Agency Staff Member, to meet the requirements of
the Recruitment and Selection Policies and the Policy and Protocol on Pre-Employment
and Employment Checks. This cannot be guaranteed and cannot be considered as
sufficient as using an GPS Approved Agency member.
6.14.2 NHS Professionals
The Trust has a standardised booking process for the use of temporary staff, up to
Agenda for Change Band 6 via NHS Professionals. The current contract with NHS
Professionals covers Nursing staff. Information about NHS Professionals can be found
on: www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk
Bookings for temporary staff should be made via the internet; only in emergency
situations or if less than 24 hours in advance bookings can be made by telephone. It is
important that managers adhere to internet bookings as efficiency savings are made
when bookings are made online, rather than by telephone.
Managers are to ensure that passwords and any other information that allows access to
NHS Professionals systems remain secure and are used only by nominated staff.
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If NHS Professionals cannot fill a shift from either NHS Professionals Staff or a GPS
Agency staff member and it is considered an essential requirement for the shift to be
filled, business need to use a non-GPS agency prior authorisation must be sought from
the Director of Nursing or appointed Deputy.
NHS Professionals will not book a staff member from a non-GPS agency.
Every time a Manager is given the authority to use a non-GPS agency member, following
approval they must complete a risk form which must include a copy of the timesheet of
the individual used and a PDF version of satisfactory checks undertaken. These checks
should be to the same level as to meet the requirements of the Recruitment and Selection
Policies and the Policy and Protocol on Pre-Employment and Employment Checks. As a
minimum the following must be checked: Verification of identity, Rights to Work in the UK,
registration checks and reference checks.
6.14.3 Consultancy and Specialist Temporary Staff
Where Departments or managers require a worker with specialist skills, at an Agenda for
Change Band 7 or above, external agencies may need to be employed to find an
appropriate individual. It is vital to the Trust that, wherever possible, Managers stay within
the GPS framework when engaging this type of staff.
Executive Director Level authorisation will be required for any post which requires the use
of a consultancy or specialist agency. If the role being covered is not pre-established, it
will still require a job description and job evaluation to be undertaken in order to establish
the correct pay band.
In order to ensure that managers are able to justify their choice of agency, and prove
value for money, evidence may be requested that comparisons had been drawn of at
least three separate providers before a temporary member of staff is engaged from a
consultancy.
Where the anticipated spend on specialist staff reaches or exceeds £20K, a tendering
process should be undertaken to ensure that the best possible value for money is being
achieved for the Trust via the Procurement teams. Managers are requested to speak to
their HR and Finance leads concerning such appointments in the first instance.
Consultants are required to have a particular employment status in order to be considered
as such. If a consultant is hired to cover an established post there is a risk that their role
could be construed as that of a trust employee and as such they would be viewed as a
direct employee for Employment Law and Tax/NI purposes.
Managers wishing to engage a consultant must consider whether the individual is under
contract of service (and as such is an employee) or has been contracted for a service
(and as such is self employed). Questions to consider when establishing this include:







Does the employer control the work done?
Does the employer control where, when and how the work is done?
Does the employer provide holiday and sick pay?
Is the employer taking the financial risk?
Is the employer responsible for paying tax and NI?
Can the employee prove they pay their Tax and NI
Does the employee have the appropriate employment checks
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If unsure about the responses to any of these questions managers should direct their
query to Procurement, who will advise on the terms of the contract.
Managers must not agree and sign off terms of contract with a non-GPS agency without
obtaining advice from HR and Procurement. Managers must be aware that there are
often associated administration charges and introduction fees from non-GPS agencies
should a temporary member of staff be offered a permanent position.
The Trust reserves the right to select an appropriate preferred Agency from the GPS
framework, this will be the only Agency from which Managers can obtain temporary staff.
6.15
Complaints
6.15.1 Should a booking manager be concerned about an incident or the standard of work of a
temporary member of staff is undertaking within the Trust, please discuss this with the
temporary member of staff at the time.
6.15.2 If concerns about a temporary member of staff continue and the temp is from NHS
Professionals, then inform NHS Professionals by submitting a web based electronic
complaints form. This form can be found at:
www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk under ‘how can I make a complaint?’ Please also inform
the Modern Matron in the appropriate Clinical Service Centre.
6.15.3 If the temporary member of staff is employed directly with the Trust, on the Bank or
through an approved GPS Agency and the manager has concerns, they should liaise with
the Temporary Staffing Team.
6.15.4 If the temporary member of staff is from a non-GPS Agency, and the manager has
concerns, they should liaise with their HR Manager who will advise as to the appropriate
course of action.
6.15.5 Action for an unsatisfactory temporary member of staff may include but is not limited to, a
warning; termination of the assignment, professional concerns may be raised with the
relevant Professional Body or any other appropriate body e.g. the Independent
Safeguarding Authority. Very serious concerns should be raised with the Head of HR or
nominated Deputy.
6.15.6 If there is a complaint from a patient or visitor about a Temporary member of staff, this
must be reported and handled through the Trust’s Complaints Procedure.
7. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
7.1 All staff involved in the Recruitment and Selection of staff should attend the Trust’s
Recruitment and Selection Training.
7.2 All staff involved in the booking of temporary staff must be made aware of this policy.
7.3 All staff within the Employee Resourcing Team who are responsible for advising managers
will receive training as part of their induction, and receive on-going updates in relation to
updated Employment Legislation.
8. REFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION
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Internal
Recruitment and Selection Policy
Recruitment and Selection of Consultant Medical Staff
Pre Employment and Employment Checks Policy
Professional Registration for Staff policy
Disciplinary for Staff policy
Employee Resourcing Desk Top Procedures
Trust Policy and Protocol for Annual Leave and Planned Absences
Trust Management of Attendance Policy
Trust Policy and Protocol for Induction
Trust Policy and Protocol for Flexible Working
External Documentation
NHS Employers
Agency Workers Directive
Health Circular HC (staff and HSG (94) 43
Data Protection Act 1998
Care Standards Act 2000
Child Protection Act 1996
Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000
Equality Act 2010
Gender Recognition Act 2004
Human Rights Act 1998
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006
Police Act 1997
Protection of Vulnerable Adults Regulations 2002
9. MONITORING COMPLIANCE WITH, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF,
PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS
9.1 Management information concerning use of temporary staff will be supplied by managers as
requested. The information supplied will be used to monitor individual departmental use of
temporary staff.
9.2 Managers will be required to submit a request to The Workforce Strategy Committee (WSC)
for any temporary cover when one months temporary cover has been agreed.
9.3 Departments engaging in excessive use of temporary staff will be reported to the Executive
Management Team (EMT). Reports concerning Trust wide use of temporary staffing will be
provided to EMT.
9.4 Managers should review assignments on an on-going basis. This review should address:






The continuing need for the work
Whether alternatives have now become available that can be considered
The standard of work performance
Progress against agreed targets and requirements
The expenditure incurred
Patient and staff safety.
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9.5 Executive Director level authorisation will be required for any post which requires the use of a
consultancy or specialist agency.
9.6 With regard to agencies included on the GPS framework, the Trust’s Procurement Manager
will undertake intermittent reviews to ensure that compliance to the Office of Government
Commerce (OGC) regulation is being adhered to. Where an agency fails to adhere, loses
GPS registration or fails to supply sufficient management information for monitoring purposes,
they will be removed from the GPS Framework.
9.7 Managers need to verify details of NHSP/agency claims before authorising payment to
ensure:


NHSP/agency hours have been worked as claimed and;
Substantive duties have not been adversely impacted, for instance where any
employee may have started a substantive shift(s) late, or left early to work
NHSP/agency shift(s).
9.8 All bookings made by the temporary staffing team are recorded.
9.9 To ensure compliance with the above, a quarterly random audit will be undertaken by the HR
Transactional Manager.
9.10 The results of all audits will be reported quarterly, by exception, to the Senior Leaders
Forum and any required action will be taken by the Director of Organisational Development
and HR. This may include:


Direct action to improve auditing process
Changes to policy / procedures
9.11 A monthly workforce report will be provided to the Trust Board by the Director of
Organisational Development and HR.
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APPENDIX A
LOCUM/AGENCY REQUEST PROCEDURE FOR STAFF OTHER THAN NURSES MONDAY TO
FRIDAY 08.30hrs to 17.00hrs
Manager (or nominated person) identifies need for Locum/agency cover after exploring all options
for internal cover
Manager (or nominated person) must obtain GM/Chief of Service or nominated deputy approval
Manager will complete a ‘Locum/Temporary Vacancy Booking Form’ (found on intranet under HR
forms) and e-mail request to temporarystaffing.department@porthosp.nhs.uk
Temporary Staffing will check there is no internal locum/temp staff available, then put the requests
out to the relevant via e-mail. For locums/agency staff CV’s received will be forwarded to the
manager as soon as they are received.
Manager is given 2-4 hours to check CV, if after this time Temporary Staffing will chase Manager.
Once CV approved Temporary Staffing will book the locum/agency staff with the agency. Booking
confirmation will be e-mailed to Temporary Staffing, who will sign and fax back confirmation.
Booking confirmation e-mailed to manager as soon as it is received.
If the shift remains unfilled and the start time is less than 24 hours, after discussion with the
department non GPS agencies are contacted. If a non GPS temporary person is planned to be
used Temporary Staffing will check GMC directly using GMC faxback or other professional
registration, and check that the agency has current ID checks, DBS, professional registration and
current references. Approval has to be sought from Executive Director (via e-mail Temporary
Staffing) prior to a non GPS doctor/temporary staff being appointed.
Once the agency booking is confirmed confirmation is e-mailed or faxed to the line manager
or lead consultant or designated deputy.
ALL Locum Doctors must undertake PHT’s Induction prior to undertaking any work and can
be found on the PHT Moodle website, follow link below http://www.i-am-in-the-moodle.co.uk
once on the site locum users are required to login using:
Username - locum
Password - doctor
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The next step is to click Locum induction from 'My courses' section on the left-hand side
of the page to access/complete the course. They are required to print and sign the
declaration as evidence that the training has been undertaken.
Provide the declaration has been signed and sent to the Temporary Staffing office, we will
then pay the locum an hour’s rate of pay for completing the induction.
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