NHS reservists in mid and south Essex

We are currently recruiting Reservists to the following roles;

• Registered Reservist – Up to a band 5
• Non-Clinical Support Reservist
• Clinical Support Reservist

As the programme expands these roles will increase to additional workforce groups, however please do still contact us  if you are interested in becoming a Reservist but do not feel you fit in to the criteria above.

As a Reservist, you will also enjoy the following benefits:

• Option to join a pension scheme.
• Easy access to shift bookings.
• Weekly pay.
• The opportunity to gain experience in a variety of settings.
• Access to a variety of NHS Discounts and benefits.

A Reservist is a newly developed role to complement the existing NHS workforce, aimed at nurses who want to continue practicing with a limited time commitment, and seek an opportunity to deploy years of experience and knowledge in a variety of health and social care settings.

As a Reservist you are required to work a minimum of 15 deployed days per year and undertake up to 3 days of training and ‘keep in touch’ time per year.  As this is a new programme however, this will be dependent on the surge requirements and you may find this could be less to begin with.

You will be assigned to campaigns such as staff flu vaccination, vaccination trials, and to meet increased shift demand in a range of health and social care settings across the Mid and South Essex region.  This could include working within community, mental health, social care or acute NHS organisations.

Where possible we will try to deploy Reservists in small clusters through a number of regional hubs.  You will benefit from the knowledge and support of colleagues.  There may be occasions where you will be deployed to cover a shift where demand for care is higher than usual and this will require you to work as part of a ward-based team.

As part of your training and induction, you will receive a comprehensive briefing about the deployment and a local induction.

This will vary according to the campaign or requirement at the time and will be notified to you in advance of committing to work the shift. You will be required to work a mix of day and evening shifts across the working week as well as weekends.

Raising concerns is an essential part of the NHS Freedom to Speak Up campaign and there is a protocol in place for doing so. 

If your desire is to work in a more specialist role and more frequently, our bank services will allow you to do that in a number of locations in community, mental health, social care and acute settings. We can refer you to ‘join the bank’ schemes which are a straightforward process.

The Reservist scheme isn’t a replacement for the bank, however it is a ground breaking scheme, the first of its kind in the NHS in England, allowing you to utilise years of acquired knowledge and experience in a dedicated way, working on a less frequent basis.  The early adopters of the scheme will help us to shape the future of the Reservist role and how this compliments the existing dedicated NHS workforce.

If you meet the criteria for AfC enhancements in your Reservist role you will be entitled to enhancements.

The tax position for each individual will be different as this depends if you have other roles outside of the scheme, receive a pension or other income. 

We are not able to give you individual advice regarding your tax position and you should consult HMRC for clarity. Telephone 0300 200 3300 and have a note of your National Insurance number.

No, there is no entitlement to overtime for hours worked on the Reservist Scheme.

This will be automatically generated from the HealthRoster system once the worked shift has been verified/finalised for payment.

You will be paid on a Friday for hours worked between Monday and Sunday of the previous week subject to your shifts being finalised by the weekly payroll cut off time.  When a bank holiday falls on a Friday you will be paid on Thursday.  

If you work between Monday and Sunday you will be paid for the hours you have worked on the Friday of the following week.

We fully appreciate that individual circumstances change and you can pause or resign from your Reservist assignment. If you wish to work more frequently we can convert your assignment to join the bank and this will give you the flexibility to do so.

Before you can start work as a reservist, we need to satisfy a number of pre-employment checks including DBS, verifying professional registration, proof of address and right to work in the UK.  The scheme will meet the cost of the DBS.

Your deployed days will vary according to demand, this many involve a block of days or single working days on a sporadic basis.

It is important that you make sure you have sufficient time off from work to have a healthy balance between work and home life.  This means that in line with working time regulations you should:

• not be working more than an average of 48 hours per week
• have an 11-hour gap between shifts
• have one day a week off or two days over a fortnight
• utilise your annual leave entitlement

The most appropriate option would be to join the bank if you already hold a substantive contract and wish to work additional shifts.  This does not exclude you from enquiring about the Reservist scheme.

No, so it doesn’t matter if there are gaps between working shifts, however, you should be practicing for a minimum average of 12.5 hours per month to remain clinically current and meet the requirements for revalidation.

As required by the NMC Code you have a professional responsibility to maintain your own professional registration and revalidation to practice safely and effectively.

You can work in any clinical area providing you have the clinical competencies to practice safely and effectively. You will also need to have the relevant health clearance.   On occasion when working as a Reservist, you may be required to move to another area.  You can deliver the general duties of the Registered Nurse role, but will not be expected to perform tasks/duties which you do not assess yourself as having the required clinical competence for.  You should make the Ward Manager/Senior Sister aware.