Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff

Hire a range of temporary and fixed-term roles from admin and clerical to catering and maintenance. This framework can be used by all public and third sector organisations.

Description

This framework is produced by the Workforce Alliance, an alliance between NHS Procurement in Partnership and CCS.

It can be used by all UK public sector bodies including NHS contracting authorities, local government, universities, charities and blue light services. The 6 lots give you the ability to secure quality candidates regionally and nationally across the UK under a variety of specialisms including, but not limited to:

  • lot 1 – administration and secretarial roles
  • lot 2 – finance, accounts and audit roles
  • lot 3 – IT technicians, analysts and technical engineer specialist
  • lot 4 – legal secretaries, paralegals and lawyers
  • lot 5 – clinical coders and health records secretaries
  • lot 6 – caterers, drivers, security, estates and maintenance roles, such as general labour, specialist labour e.g. electricians and surveyors, environmental and scientific roles, for example, EA and senior assistant scientists

Quality assurance inspections are carried out to make sure all temporary and fixed-term workers are compliant in accordance with NHS Employers Check Standards and Skills for Health for NHS roles.

Contracting authorities will be able to specify what pre-employment checks are needed, for example Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).

The following methods of hire can be used under this framework:

Temporary Staff

A temporary worker employed on an hourly or daily charge rate.

 Fixed-term staff 

Fixed-term staff will be paid through your payroll but have a fixed end date to their employment.

Nominated worker

If you’d like to hire a worker who is not currently signed up to an agency supplier, you can find a supplier who will do the employment checks and put them on the agency payroll for you.

Terms and conditions, guidance and other useful framework documents can be found in the Documents section below.

Statement of Works (SOW)

You can also choose a package of work that offers specific services. The supplier will aim to meet your specific needs at no additional cost.

Benefits

  • free of charge: you don’t need a membership and there are no hidden or additional charges
  • a wide range of suppliers available including SME’s, specialist niche suppliers and managed solution options
  • quick on-boarding process and direct contact with suppliers to build good working relationships
  • framework rates are set to a maximum; they cannot be increased but may be negotiated to a lower rate between both parties
  • the Workforce Alliance conduct inspections to ensure compliance in accordance with NHS Employers Check Standards and Skills for Health
  • all public sector organisations can use lots 1 – 6 of this agreement
  • free transfer to permanent (‘temp-to-perm’) after 12 weeks in post, subject to 4 weeks’ notice
  • a range of tools available to help with selection such as our skills matrix, award support tool and region and skills matrix
  • transparent rates and costs show charges for both PAYE and limited company temporary workers, including fixed term appointments
  • NHS and wider public sector pricing tools
  • ability to direct award – giving choice and flexibility to hiring managers and reducing time to hire by avoiding competing for all requirements
  • management information is available for all customers to detail reported spend and market analysis
  • additional savings: through a range of discounts including nominated worker, volume-based level, prompt payment and length of placement discounts

Carbon Reduction

Some of the suppliers for this agreement have agreed to comply with the Procurement Policy Note 06/21: 'Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts'. If a supplier has published a carbon reduction plan, you can find it on their individual supplier details page.

Products and suppliers

There are 175 suppliers on this agreement

Lot 1: Admin and Clerical Supply

Expires:

63 suppliers

Lot 2: Corporate Functions

Expires:

110 suppliers

Lot 3: IT Professionals

Expires:

86 suppliers

Lot 4: Legal Supply

Expires:

17 suppliers

Lot 5: Clinical Coding

Expires:

14 suppliers

Lot 6: Ancillary Staff

Expires:

63 suppliers

How to buy

Rate cards

There are two different rate cards for customers, both give the same values but one is personalised for NHS customers to account for NHS E/I caps while the other is for the rest of the public sector to use. Customers can type in a candidate pay rate and the rate card will calculate a full charge rate for whichever supplier is selected. This will include all costs for hiring a temporary worker using this agreement.

This rate card will also give information on costs for hiring a fixed term worker or transferring a worker onto a permanent contract.

As part of these rate cards the Workforce Alliance have included an award support tool which will help customers to find suppliers who can provide different roles in different regions. This will rank the eligible suppliers that fulfil the criteria, in price order, to help customers to select the most economically advantageous tender. Email us for the rate card and tool.

Direct award

If it’s clear from all the contract documents which supplier is making the most economically advantageous offer, you can direct award.

The service you are getting, its supply and cost would all need to be accurately and completely defined.

Identify all suitable suppliers, going from the lot descriptions and regions supplied with services.
We can offer a simple tool to help with this, email us for a copy.

The tool will match the staff you need to the suppliers offering them. You can then rank them according to how economically advantageous their offers are. Go to each in turn until you’ve filled the position.

Further competition

The Workforce Alliance can help customers to work out their requirements and best route to market through the framework. We can offer advice and help to put together a further competition based on your needs.

Please get in touch if you would like more help.

You’ll need to run a further competition where the contract documents don’t accurately define the service you need, its supply and price. Although basic terms cannot be renegotiated, they can be added to, where your particular service requirements could not have been foreseen when the agreement was written.

To run a further competition:

  1. Identify which suppliers can meet your needs
  2. Then invite all suppliers who can to bid
  3. Send further competition documents to all capable suppliers, leaving reasonable time for them to return their tenders. You cannot introduce new award criteria, but you can modify them if they are taken from the original award criteria. You will need to let the suppliers  to know you are doing this
  4. Evaluate the returned tenders against the award criteria
  5. You can adjust your evaluation plan and weightings within the range limits to reflect your circumstances and requirements
  6. Award the supplier with the most economically advantageous offer (the highest score)
  7. If the supplier can’t deliver, you should go to the supplier with the next highest score, and so on, until your requirement is met
  8. Whether by direct award or further competition, you can contract for a defined period of time, provided it starts within the duration of the agreement

Statement of Works

If you want an output based package of work that outlines a specific set of needs and payment is based on the delivery of those needs, the awarded supplier will support the delivery of the work in line with your requirements at no extra cost to you.

You should indicate the type, level, quality and cost of service, as well as the time schedule required. The supplier will deliver the package of work by providing temporary workers and project teams (for example teams of temporary workers) in an innovative way, relevant to industry practices and methods.

The supplier will make sure that processes are set to manage the timescales provided for the project, you will not be charged any additional costs if the timescales change as a result of the team of temporary workers.

On completion of the Statement of Work, you will be given a conclusion document, with details of developments throughout the service.