Immigration and eligibility to work in the UK – NHS Lothian must ensure that potential employees are legally entitled to work in the UK. To ensure that we do not discriminate, all job interview applicants are required to provide original hardcopy evidence at interview of entitlement to work in the UK. Some successful candidates may require a work visa in order to be able to take up employment.
Verification of Identity – We will ask you to provide evidence of your identity at interview stage. We will ask you to bring with you three forms of identification; one photographic, one with date of birth and one with current address (such as passport, driving licence, a utility bill or bank statement (dated within the last three months) or the most recent council tax bill).
References – All appointments at NHS Lothian are subject to the receipt of two (three for medical and dental career grade posts) satisfactory references. References are never used as the sole grounds on which to base a recruitment decision. Additional references will also be required if:
- You have been overseas for a single spell of three months or more, or a cumulative total of six months or more – you should provide NHS Lothian with details of the overseas employer
- An employer’s reference is not available – you should provide details of another referee of some standing in your community (for instance a doctor, lawyer, MP, etc.)
- You have been in full time education – a reference should also be obtained from the relevant academic institution.
- You have served in the armed forces or civil service during the previous three years – an employer’s references will be obtained from the relevant service or department
- Where there is an unexplained gap in your application form it will be necessary to obtain verification of whatever explanation is given
- For periods of self-employment, evidence should be obtained (for example, from HM Revenue and Customs, bankers, accountants, solicitors, client references, etc.), to confirm your business was properly conducted and was terminated (i.e. your involvement in the business) satisfactorily.
Occupational Health – The Occupational Health Service (OHS) will carry out a medical check on you prior to you starting employment. This is based on the needs of the post to ensure you are capable of undertaking the post safely. To do this, you will be asked to complete an occupational health questionnaire. The questionnaire will be screened in confidence by the occupational health practitioner. In certain cases the OHS may contact you for further information and a medical examination may be required before confirmation of appointment. Any medical information provided by you will remain confidential to the OHS; however, it will be used as a basis for advice to recruitment, without breach of confidentiality.
Additional Pre-employment Checks (applicable to certain roles)
Statutory Health Surveillance – Health and Safety legislation requires some workers to be subject to periodic health checks. This is an absolute legal requirement which NHS Lothian must undertake. Currently, this sort of statutory health surveillance is restricted to the following four categories:
- Skin checks
- Audiometry – for exposure to noise
- Respiratory – based on chemical exposure
- Ionizing radiation – Classified radiation workers within NHS Lothian are all medically qualified, and their designation is confirmed by the organisation’s radiation protection advisors (RPAs).
Where the risk assessment indicates that health surveillance is required, the law determines that an assessment of initial fitness should be undertaken.
Driving Licence – If driving is required to carry out the normal duties of the post you are being offered, you will be required to hold a valid driving licence within the UK covering the appropriate class of vehicle. Evidence for this will be checked at the interview.
Qualification and Registration Checks – For all staff groups that require registration (e.g. nursing, AHPs, doctors, etc), checks of essential qualifications and professional registration will be made at interview by the interview panel. You will be required to provide original certificates of essential qualifications required for the post at interview. A photocopy will be made and retained with your recruitment paperwork. For posts that require employees to be registered with the appropriate professional body (such as, GMC, NMC and HCPC), this check will be undertaken and confirmed by the recruitment team through the appropriate professional body website.
Disclosure Scotland – For posts that require employees to work with vulnerable groups, the successful candidate must complete a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check and it must be deemed satisfactory. Depending upon the requirements of the post, successful candidates may be required to complete a standard Disclosure Scotland check.
Once all pre-employment checks have been completed and considered satisfactory by the new manager, a final offer of employment will be sent to you with a contract of employment.
