Introduction
The purpose of this handbook is to signpost Trust and QE Facilities people managers to key resources and processes they need to be aware of in their role
The handbook supports all people managers. If you are a people manager who is newly promoted or recruited into their first people management role in the Trust we offer the Introduction to People Management at Gateshead Health course (attendance is ideally for those within three months of starting their role) You may also find it helpful to watch the short webinar that accompanies this handbook.
Section 1 – Gateshead Health Vision and Values
Section 2 – People and Organisational Development (POD) Support for people managers
Section 3 – Systems a people manager may use
Section 4 – Employee journey including recruitment, induction, appraisal, developing your team, promoting and supporting attendance, Occupational Health and Wellbeing, Health and Wellbeing check-ins, support for managers, managing performance, handling concerns from staff or dealing with conflict, leavers
Section 5 – Manager’s Information Governance responsibilities, managing a budget and Cardea/Procurement
Section 6 – Staffzone links for useful management forms, guidance and Leadership and Management Hub
You will find pink hyperlinks throughout the handbook which will take you to the locations where you can find out more detailed information or the relevant Staffzone page.
Section 1: Vision values and objectives
Read about the Trust Vision and Values on Staffzone.
The Trust’s vision for the future is clear:
To be recognised as a provider of safe, high-quality integrated health services, diagnostics, and a centre of excellence for women’s health.
“Our managers and leaders are fundamental to creating positive and healthy working environments for our diverse NHS people ” NHS England
Our Strategic intent:
Strategic intent is a concept that drives organisations towards their long-term goals and aspirations. It is the guiding force that shapes their actions, decisions, and resource allocation.
Our strategic intent:
Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health: ensuring that women across Gateshead have access to personalised, evidence-based care throughout every stage of life. This reflects our ambition to close gaps in access, outcomes, and experience for women, with services designed to be inclusive, responsive, and delivered with compassion.
Diagnostic services: providing safe, timely, and effective care across the organisation. By combining clinical expertise with the latest diagnostic technologies, we are improving accuracy, speeding up access to treatment, and providing a strong foundation for better patient outcomes.
Commitment to high-quality integrated health services: delivering joinedup, patient-centred care. By working across teams and with our partners, we aim to provide seamless pathways that support people with complex needs, improve outcomes, and ensure care is delivered in the right place, at the right time.
Trust ICORE values and behaviour framework
It is important that all Trust managers role model the ICORE values and the behaviours outlined in the framework that would expect to see. The framework is useful to frame feedback to staff when they demonstrate behaviours would love to see, expect to see or never want to see.
Section 2: People and Organisational Development (POD) - Support for people managers
You can access information about the teams that make up the People and Organisational Development (POD) Business Unit and how they can support you and your team via their page on Staffzone.
Each Business Unit has a POD Lead aligned to them and they are supported by a matrix team specialising in HR advice, Learning and Development, Organisational Development, Recruitment and People Data and Information support
The People and Organisational Development Policies can also be accessed via Staffzone. Please always access the policies via Staffzone (do not download copies to your PC) to ensure you are always referring to the latest version. Many policies are relevant to the Group (both QE Facilities and Gateshead Health) however QE Facilities only policies can also be found within the library
On the next page we have included a contact list in this handbook for all teams within POD Business Unit and other useful contacts. If you have an enquiry please contact the relevant team directly either by phone or email.
Team and Sharepoint page link
Bank and Agency
Bank team (non medical) Sharepoint page
Medical Staffing team page
What they do and contact details
Non medical: ghnt.staff.bank@nhs.net x5232
Medical: ghnt.mst@nhs.net or x8090
Health and Wellbeing (HWB)
Health and Wellbeing Sharepoint page
Human Resources (HR Advisory)
HR Staffzone page
Learning and Development (L&D) L&D team Sharepoint page
Library
Library team Sharepoint page
Medical Education
Medical Education team Sharepoint page
Occupational Health (OH)
Occupational Health Sharepoint page
Organisational Development (OD)
OD team Sharepoint page
Signposting support for all health and wellbeing matters: ghnt.hwb@nhs.net or x5494
Advice on HR policies, retirement, maternity, sickness, leave, discipline, grievance, bullying: ghnt.podservicesadvice@nhs.net or 5428
Apprenticeships, Trust prospectus, study leave, Trust Welcome, core skills, work placements: ghnt.learning.development@nhs.net or x2690
Knowledge Services and library queries: ghnt.medical.library@nhs.net or x2935
Simulation, Resident Doctors room bookings: ghnt.postgrad.education@nhs.net or x8050 / x2503
Occupational health including clinical ergonomics, physiotherapy and counselling service: ghnt.occupational.health@nhs.net x5494
Staff survey, MBTI, Coaching, 360° (as part of leadership development): ghnt.gatesheadod@nhs.net or x5428
Team and Sharepoint page link What they do and contact details
Payroll
Payroll team contact page
People and Organisational Development (POD)
POD admin team Sharepoint page
People Data and Information (PDI)
PDI team Sharepoint page
Recruitment
Recruitment team Sharepoint page
Gateshead.Payroll@northumbriahealthcare.nhs.uk or 0191 2031234
Subject access requests, Star awards, reward and recognition: ghnt.peopleandodadmin@nhs.net or x5428
Requesting Smartcards, ESR Managers SelfService, reference requests, ESR record queries: retirement flexible working, maternity/paternity: ghnt.peopledataandinformation@nhs.net or x5492
Trust and QEF Recruitment including Trust Bank recruitment on Trac, internal secondments, Honorary contracts, Clinical attachments, Job Evaluation, Visa extensions, Right to work queries: ghnt.recruitmentESR@nhs.net or x5449
Your Division’s POD Lead, Deputy POD Lead and POD Advisors are detailed in the table below:
Surgery and CSS
Medicine and Community, and all Corporate Services
POD Lead - Kimberley Coulsey
Deputy POD Leads - Sarah Taylor (Surgery), Dalia Minkute (CSS)
POD Advisors - Charlotte Oxley (Surgery), Heather Birleson (CSS)
POD Lead - Sean Duffy
Deputy POD Leads - Lisa Crawley (Medicine & Community)
Sarah Taylor (Corporate)
POD Advisors - Alison Croney (Medicine & Community), Charlotte Oxley (Corporate)
QE Facilities Currently vacant
Please contact ghnt.podservicesadvice@nhs.net for initial HR support and guidance.
Section 3: Systems a people manager may use
Appraisal portal
Managers can update their team members 4 week objective setting for new starters and annual appraisal via the appraisal portal. This system is more user friendly and quicker than using ESR. Managers need to click on the following link to access the portal: Staff Management Portal
If you receive an error message, please contact the People, Data and Information team and they will give you access to your team records.
ESR
Managers have access to a self service portal on ESR, here they will have the ability to regularly check their staff/team’s:
Appraisal compliance (both probation 4 week objective setting and annual appraisal)
Sickness / absence percentages
Statutory and mandatory core skills compliance
Staff course bookings
There are guidance videos for Managers and Supervisor ESR self service and for Employee self service via these links
Manager & Supervisor Self Service - ESR EDUCATION - ESR Education - NHS Electronic Staff Record
Employee Self Service - ESR EDUCATION - ESR Education - NHS Electronic Staff Record
ESR continued
Key deadline: All changes such as leavers, change in hours, terminations should be input by the 9th of the month to avoid over/underpayments.
Contact for ESR queries: ghnt.peopledataandinformation@nhs.net
Please note core skills is hosted on ESR Any queries regarding eLearning should be directed to the Learning and Development Team: ghnt.learning.development@nhs.net
Health Roster
HealthRoster is a workforce planning system that incorporates time and attendance, self rostering, auto-rostering, absence management and electronic timesheets It is fully integrated with ESR and Payroll The HealthRoster team have a dedicated page on Staffzone which includes support for managers including:
User guides and demos
Maintainer, Co-ordinator and Approver training
Hints and tips
Contact for HealthRoster: ghnt.healthrosterproject@nhs.net or call x5727
Managers can request support from IT via their IT Self Service portal. Managers can also request staff access to systems through the following IT System Access link.
Manager’s should be aware that if a member of staff is not at work for more than 90 days (eg for maternity or long term sick), their IT account (PC access) will be automatically disabled. When the employee returns to work, their Manager should request their account is enabled via IT Self Service, their access to systems will also need to be requested again via IT System Access.
Employee access to their NHS mail account will also be permanently deleted if it is not accessed for 90 days. To avoid this, Managers should request the email account is disabled while the employee is absent from work via IT Self Service, the email address will then remain disabled for 18 months but will be permanently deleted if not enabled at the request of a Manager after this period.
Section 4: Employee journey: links, policies
and resources to support people managers
We have designed this section to follow the journey of an employee. We hope the signposting and resources will help managers to provide a positive onboarding experience, retain and motivate their team members and where someone decides to leave us for pastures new how to provide a positive experience.
Recruiting a member of staff
Check out the Recruitment Team page on Staffzone where you can find information on the Vacancy Control Filling process, how to use TRAC, frequently asked questions about short listing and interviews, actions to take post interview, processes related to the internal movement of staff and much more.
Access to Work
As a Disability Confident employer, Gateshead Health is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for everyone. We want to ensure that all our employees have access to the tools, adjustments, and support they need to thrive in their roles from day one.
We encourage new starters to explore the government’s Access to Work scheme and invite them to have a confidential conversation with their Manager before their start date if possible. You can find more information here: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work and it may be helpful to use the Health Passport on the Balance website to guide the conversation.
Inducting a new member of staff
All new members of staff must attend the Trust Welcome before starting in their role. Recruitment are responsible for booking new external staff onto Trust Welcome via TRAC Trust Welcome is currently held twice a month Learning and Development are responsible for new employees’ welcome and enrolling them onto their necessary training depending on their role and prior compliance if relevant.
Managers will also need to prepare for a new starter’s IT requirements. The IT team will ensure they receive access to their PC login and email account before they start however as Manager it is your responsibility to;
Request any system access they may need via the System Access Portal
Order their Nervecentre/EMIS/Badgernet mobile devices via the online Equipment order form
Provide access to any shared mailboxes or Sharepoint site or Shared Drive as necessary
All new recruits should also receive a Local Induction to their department from their line manager. Please see Local Induction checklist and local induction guidance presentation for manager’s so you can ensure you are fulfilling your responsibilities to provide a welcoming and supportive local induction. Managers should complete an ID badge and access form (available from Facilities). New members of staff may have queries about car parking and as Manager you will need to authorise their permit applications You can refer to the Car Parking Sharepoint page for further detailed information.
Within the first four weeks, all new employees should have an initial appraisal discussion with their manager to outline the probation process and set objectives to be met during the probation period. This must be recorded on ESR and managers can do this via the Staff Management Portal.
Please refer to the following policies to ensure you are fulfilling all your management responsibilities in relation to Appraisal and Probation: Group Appraisal Policy and Group Probation policy. Managers should let new employees know about the staff networks that colleagues can join to help improve experiences at work and celebrate our differences.
Annual Appraisal
Managers who are responsible for holding appraisals must attend appraisal training Learning and Development offer training for new managers and a refresher session for established managers. Managers can sign up for sessions via ESR and find further information on the Learning and Development page on Staffzone.
There is also a Frequently Asked Questions guide available for managers and this can be shared with staff in your team. Please familiarise yourself with the Group Appraisal policy and appraisal form. Appraisal discussions must be recorded on ESR and managers can do this via the Staff Management Portal.
Pay progression
If you have a team member reaching a pay affecting pay step, People and OD will email both you, and the employee in advance as a reminder, you can also check all your team and if/when they are due to reach this point within the Manager Self Service section of ESR.
It is essential that managers read the available guidance as individuals will only progress to the next pay step if a pay progression meeting has taken place, the individual has been confirmed as meeting the criteria eligible for progression, and has been recorded via the required route (Please note, the route to record and the process differs for Agenda for Change and Medical – if you manage colleagues on both sets of terms and conditions please read both processes). Follow this link to access the guidance for both Agenda for Change and Medical under ‘Pay Progression’.
Developing your team
Managers should signpost their team members to the Trust prospectus so that they can play an active role in considering their own development pathways. The Prospectus provides information on all internal training and a section on external training both with a cost and free to staff.
All individual and team requests for training and development that has a cost attached or a period of study leave required, should first be entered onto the Trust’s Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) online form.
Once the LNA submission has been reviewed and confirmation has been provided by your Business Unit's L&D facilitator, the member of staff should complete a study leave form. All forms will need to be fully completed and should be signed by the line manager in order to be processed by the L&D Team. Further information on the process to follow is available on the Study Leave page on Staffzone.
Promoting and Supporting attendance Managers should familiarise themselves with the Group Promoting and Supporting Attendance policy. This policy focuses primarily on encouraging improved attendance at work through a supportive framework of managing absence; however, this policy should also be used in the context of other Group strategies, policies and initiatives to support improvements in staff health. PDI regularly circulate a report that informs managers if a member of their staff has hit an absence trigger point. Training is available for people managers to support the implementation of the policy and this can be booked via ESR Find details of the course content in the Trust prospectus.
Occupational Health and Wellbeing
The Occupational Health and Wellbeing team is there to help and support staff in and out of work. Whether managing health conditions or difficulties, looking for advice around risks in the workplace or seeking to make more general health and life improvements, the Occupational Health and Wellbeing team is there for you and your team. Further details of the services on offer can be accessed via their Staffzone page and on the Balance Gateshead website.
Health and Wellbeing Check ins
Health and wellbeing check-ins provide colleagues with a chance to chat with their line manager around any particular needs or concerns in relation to their own health and wellbeing. A check-in can take place at any time – this could be over a cup of coffee or in a 1-to-1.
In turn, managers can then signpost to relevant and useful resources, helping our colleagues to take care of themselves. Training and resources are available via the Balance Gateshead website to support managers to hold safe and effective wellbeing check ins.
Staff can expect at least one wellbeing check-in per year. This needs to be recorded on the appraisal form
Managers can support staff by sharing the details of the Balance Gateshead website and explaining that they do not need to be logged onto a Gateshead Health device to access it.
Support for Managers
Gateshead Health is keen to ensure that we support managers to be compassionate leaders. The Health and Wellbeing team have created a number of handy guides covering challenging and sensitive situations such as supporting staff during crisis, responding to the death of a colleague, terminal illness or traumatic incident. There is also a managers support section on the Balance Gateshead website.
The Organisational Development (OD) team can support teams, managers, or individuals with specific challenges such as enabling change and team dynamics. They can provide a thorough diagnosis and meaningful, targeted, and impactful interventions including: development sessions, leadership development and coaching, 360 feedback and personality profiling, culture and behavioural change support.
The OD team also supports managers to interpret the results from the annual and quarterly Staff Surveys, providing advice on how best to effectively use the data, engage with teams and implement action plans. You can find out more about the Staff Survey here: Staff Survey and Employee Engagement.
Managing Performance
Gateshead Health expects high standards of performance and behaviour from all its employees in line with the key principles of the NHS Constitution. It is recognised that the management of an individual’s performance can be a difficult and often sensitive area. However, performance or behaviour which is not up to the required standard must be addressed as it is in the employer's and the employee's interest to ensure that underperformance does not place undue stress on the individual and on the remaining workforce.
Managers should familiarise themselves with the following policies;
Managing Performance (PP50) (Trust employees)
Managing Performance (HR09) (QEF employees)
Group Investigation and Disciplinary policy (PP01) and seek support from the POD Advisory team when dealing with poor performance or potential misconduct issues.
Managers responsibilities:
Ensure policy is implemented fairly and that employees understand the required standards expected
Ensure employees receive the appropriate levels of support
Inform the employee and openly record when instances of underperformance occur
Ensure every employee receives an appraisal
Understand the reasons for poor performance
Managers may find the following toolkit useful for guidance to support People Performance Management Toolkit | NHS Employers
Handling concerns from staff or dealing with conflict
We recognise the importance of open and honest communication in order to work together constructively to resolve problems or concerns which arise during the employment journey at an early stage.
It is hoped that most problems can be dealt with promptly, through informal discussions between individuals and their immediate manager. People managers should familarise themselves with the Group Grievance Policy and seek support from the POD Advisory team where appropriate. From time to time, individuals may need to raise and address their grievance formally and the policy sets out the procedure for doing this.
The Organisational Development Team have produced a guide for managers dealing with employee conflict. They also offer Mediation support, further details about the support can be found via this link
Member of staff leaving
We want to retain staff but in the situation where a member of staff is moving on to pastures new, it is important for the people manager to continue to provide a supportive and positive employee experience. Manager’s should remember to complete a staff termination form prior to the payroll close dates to ensure overpayments are not made.
Once the employee’s leave date is in ESR, their PC login details will be automatically disabled from this date. Their NHS email account will be marked as a leaver and will be deleted in 30 days unless it is transferred to another NHS Trust. If another or new employee will be taking over a leaver’s IT equipment (PC, Laptop, Mobile Device) please inform IT via the IT Self Service portal with the name of the new user of the equipment so IT can update its records. Any unused IT equipment should be returned to IT, please call the Service Desk to make an appointment to drop it off 0191 445 2397
Any member of staff leaving should be offered the opportunity for an exit interview. This doesn’t need to be with the immediate line manager. For further information contact the POD Advisory team.
Reference requests
Across the North East and North Cumbria, we have agreed to provide factual references only. This means confirming deatils such as employment dates, job title and duties, but not giving personal opinions or character references. This approach ensures fairness, consistency and protection for both staff and the organisation
All references must be completed by the People Data and Information (PDI) team. To ensure compliance with Trust procedures, reference checks should not be carried out independently. All reference requests should be sent to PDI who handle the process from start to finish. Contact the team at ghnt.peopledataandinformation@nhs.net or on extension 5492
Section 5: Managers Information Governance (IG) and budget management responsibilities
Information governance: It’s in your hands.
Manager’s Information Governance responsibilities:
Fostering and implementing best practice
Managing information in line with individual’s expectations
Inspiring and motivating staff
Ensuring you are operating fairly, transparently and lawfully.
The Information Governance team have produced guidance in order to provide a standard for the way the Trust maintains staff records. You can read the guidance in the Record Management Policy (Appendix 2)
Managing a budget
Finance provide support to managers who are budget holders. Please contact your Strategic Business Partner to arrange this support:
Business Units
Clinical Support and Screening Services, Chief Executive, Estates and QE Facilities, People and OD
Strategic Business Partner
David Seymour
Community and Older People’s Mental Health, Medicine and Elderly, Nursing and Midwifery, Medical Director Jen Forbes
Surgical Services, Finance and Digital, Chief Operating Officer Pam Trickey
Top tips of effective budget management:
Review budget reports on a monthly basis and ask yourself
Staffing - does this look correct, names and codes?
Non-staff - does this look high, is there anything that shouldn’t be there?
Income - do I expect to see any? Does it look right?
Liaise with your Financial Management team to clarify Staff mis-codings -ESR manager self-service
Non staff spend queries
Income queries - identify financial pressures, activity increases
Know who your finance contacts are and liaise with them about issues and developments
Understand your budget - ask your finance contact if you have questions
Ensure Cardea requisitions are raised and approved in a timely manner
Provide codes and approval for invoices to support the payment process
Ensure staff coding is correct in ESR and report incorrect spend allocations
Identify and report efficiencies (CRP) and cost pressures
Operate within financial policies
Communication is essential!
Procurement and Cardea
Gateshead Health aims to operate under a no purchase order no pay policy. Requisitions and subsequent purchase orders for all goods and services should be ordered via Cardea. Cardea is a web-based e-procurement system and you will find the user guide and required attachments, together with the instructions on the Cardea eProcurement Sharepoint page
Section 6: Staffzone links to useful management forms, guidance and Leadership and Management Hub
The People and OD Sharepoint page on Staffzone is a useful resource for documents, forms and guidance for all managers: People and OD Sharepoint page
We have also recently launched the Leadership and Management Hub. It has been designed to support current and aspiring managers and leaders across all levels of our organisation The Hub provides information, resources, guidance and learning opportunities you’ll need in order to manage and lead with confidence, integrity, and impact.
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