The NHS Staff Council strongly recommends involving the Job Evaluation Group (JEG) as early as possible when considering new jobs or roles, in order to ensure that appropriate national job evaluation expertise is included. This will help to avoid any confusion when drafting job descriptions and assessing the job demands of emerging national roles. For more information on the guidance and further advice from the Job Evaluation Group, visit our JEG advice pages.

The NHS Pension Choice exercise began in January 2010, giving all eligible members of the NHS Pension Scheme a one-off opportunity to move their benefits from the 1995 section to the 2008 section of the scheme. Employers are reminded that employees who are in the process of applying for ill health retirement benefits can delay their participation in the Choice exercise until the outcome of their ill health retirement application is known. A fact sheet providing guidance on ill health retirement and the NHS Pension Choice exercise is available from the NHS Pensions website.

There is still time to submit your views on the draft report of the Medical Education and Training Regulation Policy review. NHS Employers is calling for feedback from medical and HR directors and educational supervisors on the report, which makes recommendations for the future regulation of education and training for the medical profession in the UK. The General Medical Council (GMC) is consulting on the review and NHS Employers will respond to the report’s 27 recommendations, based on views from the NHS. To contribute to our response, please complete the short online survey on our medical workforce web pages.

NHS Employers is producing an e-learning programme to support employers with training their staff to deliver personalised care plans. From 2010, every individual suffering from a long-term condition should be offered personalised care planning, which goes beyond the normal clinical and medical conditions and recognises that many different issues can have an impact on health and well-being. The pilot version of this programme is now complete and we are seeking feedback from employers on its content and ease of use. To view the e-learning programme and submit feedback, see our planning your workforce web pages.

A new case study from Wakefield District PCT demonstrates how the trust developed a simpler way of working with the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) and defined a workforce plan that would streamline service provision into one integrated model. To read the case study and find out how this was achieved, visit our shared learning web pages.

Jobcentre Plus is holding a series of national ministerial breakfast events to promote the Backing Young Britain campaign and is keen for representatives from NHS trusts to attend. With a fifth of young people out of work, employers must act now to help secure a skilled workforce for the future and, as the UK's largest employer, the NHS has a large role to play. For more information on these events please email tony.hyland@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk. To find out more about the campaign and the range of other routes into NHS employment visit our new recruitment in the UK web pages.

On 2 February, the NHS Confederation and the Royal College of Physicians jointly held a breakfast debate on whether or not the NHS is equipped to tackle the burden of alcohol. The debate considered the best combination of system redesign and national policy required to tackle the burden and cost of alcohol-related problems to the NHS. Read the full summary of the debate on the Confederation’s Parliamentary centre web pages.