We provide high quality healthcare services primarily to the residents of East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, which have a combined population in the region of 530,000.
Your application is the only information we use when deciding who to invite for an interview.
To help you get it right and make a good first impression, please read and follow the guidance on this section.
Once you have searched our vacancies and found a job you would like to apply for, what do you do next?
Disclosing information about you
We ask you to declare:
Where jobs may involve working with patients or in patient areas regularly, if we formally offer you a job, we will apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on you formerly the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). ELHT is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this in full or in three equal installments over three months. By applying for a post with ELHT you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed. For staff invited to join the staff bank register, you will also need to pay the cost of the DBS check which is currently £44 for an enhanced check or £22 for a standard check.
Education and training
You will be asked to produce any qualifications any you have listed on your application form that are deemed essential to your ID check.
Supporting information
Do not ignore the supporting information section of the form. It is an important part of the application, because you can tell us in more detail about your skills and experience and how these are relevant to your application.
Work permits
If you need a work permit, please visit the Home Office website for information (Please click here for further information) on work permits and visa status before you fill in the application form.
Job descriptions
Each job we advertise is based on a job description and person specification. The job description lists the main types of duties and responsibilities of the post. The person specification outlines the skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications that you will need for the job.
Read these documents thoroughly, including the Trust vision and values (please click here for further information), as well as any other information provided, so you understand what the job involves and that you can match these in terms of your skills, abilities and knowledge. We assess your application against these documents, so give examples to explain how your skills are relevant to the job you are applying for and how and where you have used them.
Provide information on any relevant experience from your present or previous jobs. You can include skills and experience gained from community or voluntary work, work experience, leisure interests and activities in the home.
Trust vision and values
Our values help us to define and develop our culture, what we do and how we do it. It will be important to you as an applicant to understand and reflect these values throughout your application. It is also important as an employee that you understand and agree with the values of our organisation and are happy working with us.
Pay Scales
Each job with us is banded at a particular level of pay. See the pay scales chart (link to NHS employers and agenda for change, medical staffing pay scales), which shows the current payscales for each band.
References
No one is legally obliged to provide a reference, unless there is a specific contractual agreement. Therefore, it's a good idea to ask permission from the people you wish to be your referees.
Make sure you have accurate contact details for them and let them know if a reference request is being sent to them. Please be aware that we can only accept references from company email addresses and not personal email accounts such as yahoo, gmail etc. Getting these details right speeds up the process and avoids unnecessary delays to you starting your job as we cannot start anyone until the relevant pre-employment checks are completed.
You will need to give us their names, a contact address, telephone number and email address. Please note that most of our communication is done by email so email addresses will speed things up considerably.
One referee should be your current employer if you are in work and the other should be from a previous employer/school/college.
If you have not worked for some time or have never worked, use referees who can comment on your ability to do the job, e.g. a teacher, course tutor or charity organiser.
Please do not give the names of family members or friends.
Please answer all the relevant questions. If you fail to complete the questionnaire there will be a delay to your health assessment and subsequent starting date. To complete the Work Health Assessment form click here and save the file / download on to your computer.
This questionnaire gives us information which helps us to:
You may be contacted by an Occupational Health Professional who is dealing with this questionnaire. They will either telephone you to get some more details or make an appointment for you with a nurse or a doctor to discuss matters.
The medical details you type on this form remain confidential to the Occupational Health Service of East Lancashire Hospitals Trust. This means that the medical details you put on the questionnaire will not be disclosed to anyone else without your explicit consent.
Occupational Health Checks / Immunisations
The Trust has a duty of care to protect patient safety and provide all workers with a safe and healthy workplace.
Immunisation standards are determined by the Department of Health (Green book) and are regularly reviewed. The standards are based on an individual's risk of exposure to common communicable infections and biological hazards in the workplace.
If the role you are applying for means you will
Have direct contact with patients or work around patients you will be required to
To assist with ensuring that your application is processed as quickly as possible you are advised to check with your GP and/or your previous employers Occupational Health Department to gain the above required information together with documented evidence of your full immunisation history as soon as you apply for a role with us. For candidates invited to a volume recruitment open day type event you will be asked to bring this information along with you on that day. For other recruitment you will normally be asked to bring this with you once an offer has been made and you are invited in, to your one to one employment checks interview. If you are unsure of anything your recruitment advisor will be able to offer help and guidance.
Certain workers will not be able to undertake work until a validated blood test is taken by Occupational Health to confirm they do not have a Hepatitis B, C and HIV infection.
Workers include:
Please note all testing/vaccinations involves the workers informed consent.
However it should be noted that withdrawal of consent to essential testing/ immunisations may result in termination of your contract of employment as they are an essential requirement of the job.
Equal opportunities
Please remember to fill in the employment monitoring form, which is towards the end of the online form.
We remove this from the main application when we receive your completed form, so the staff shortlisting the applications do not see the monitoring forms. This means that when they make their decisions about who to shortlist, they will not be influenced by age, ethnicity, sexuality or any disability.
The employment monitoring form helps us to see how effective our policies on promoting equal opportunities and valuing diversity are. It is not used to decide who will be offered the job.
Disability
We are committed to increasing employment opportunities for disabled people and encouraging all people with a disability to apply for a job with us.
If you need special arrangements to get to the interview or selection test, please give us details in the space indicated on the form.
Submitting your application
Once you have completed the form, please remember to proofread it and check that you have answered each section as fully as possible.
Submit your application and keep a copy, to help you prepare if you are shortlisted for an interview.
We look forward to receiving your application.
If your submitted application meets the criteria for the role then you may be invited to come to an interview or assessment centre. Below gives some tips on how to prepare and what to expect at your assessment:
It may sound obvious but do your research about our hospitals and the department you are being interviewed for. The more comfortable you are with this information the more you can tailor your skills and experience and relax in the interview.
Your interviewer/assessor will be looking to understand how well you fit the job description and person specification for the role that you have applied for and so will tailor their questions to explore this at the interview. We therefore recommend that you read both these documents carefully and have a think about what you may be asked and prepare your answers accordingly. There will be opportunities to ask any questions that you may have about the role, the Trust and its services so also think about some questions you want to ask.
You may have been asked to bring some documentation along to the interview with you – proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK, proof of residency and qualifications that you hold. Try and bring as much as you can with you as it can be copied/scanned on the day. If you are successful, it will help to reduce the time between your conditional offer being made and you starting with us.
Think about your appearance, it's not just what you say that makes an impression; it's also how you look. Make sure you are dressed smartly for your interview.
Switch off your mobile before you enter the room.
Plan your journey. There can often be delays, so leave plenty of time so you don't get caught out. If you're early, you can always spend the time going through your notes. If you are delayed for any reason, make sure you call ahead to let your interviewers know.
Your interview will usually take place at one of our sites. Please check where your interview is being held.
For more detail on our locations click here.
Try to remember the questions and your responses, as this may help you to improve your performance in the future.
Whether successful or not, ask for feedback so you can learn from the experience and prepare for the next step.
Remember, if you are not successful this time, you may want to apply again, so use feedback constructively. It's not a reason to argue with the hiring manager.
Great, your interview went well. Once the interviewers have considered their notes and any assessment results, they will decide who to appoint. The next steps involve:
If you are successful, you will receive a phone call with an informal offer. Assuming you want to take the role, you will then receive a provisional offer. A letter, forms and document requests will be sent to your email address for you to complete whilst we seek references.
We cannot agree a starting date with you until we have your references and the documents we need. If you are currently in work and have received an offer, we ask that you please do not hand in your notice until you have an agreed starting date.
We are required to obtain references covering a minimum of three years and will contact those listed as referees on your application. Naturally, we hope they will provide glowing references about you. If not, please see below to find out what the referee can provide.
We need to see original documents which we copy. Photocopies will not be accepted. If you have not already provided relevant documentation at interview, you will receive a booking request with the recruitment team to undertake the necessary checks.
If a referee feels that you have performed at an unacceptably low level, or you have been dismissed for something that would cast doubt on your suitability for the post, the person giving the reference can provide:
If a reference is not positive, it is up to you to establish that the information they have provided is misleading or that your previous employer was negligent in giving such a reference. If you can prove this and the reference harms your employability, you should seek legal advice.
For identity checks relating to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) - these are required for posts working with vulnerable groups and documents must be produced in person.
For information on immigration and visa checks, please visit the Home Office website.