The NHS Pension Choice exercise is a one-off opportunity for NHS Pension Scheme members in the 1995 section, with its normal pension age of 60, to move to 2008 section, with its normal pension age of 65. To participate in this, staff will need to be active members of the NHS pension scheme at 1 October 2009. If a scheme member retires before that date they will be unable to participate and, as part of their disclosure responsibilities, employers need to inform them of this. The employer should consider delaying retirement until after 1 October 2009 for any scheme member who expresses a wish to participate in the NHS Pension Choice exercise. Further information and guidance is available on our pay and contracts web page.

A revised version of our Employment history and reference check standard is now available following our regular review of the NHS Employment Check Standards and their fitness for purpose. This latest version responds to your feedback, providing greater clarity on which requirements are mandatory and which are recommended good practice. The standards form part of the core safety and quality standards that are monitored by the Care Quality Commission. Download the revised version from our employment checks web page.

As trusts test their pandemic flu plans and work out how to fill gaps ahead of a likely swine flu pandemic the autumn/winter, NHS Employers is seeking examples of good practice to share across the NHS. If your organisation has examples of preparation in action, such as vaccinations for frontline staff and moving staff to areas of greatest need, please send the details so that other trusts can benefit. Please email your examples to steven.weeks@nhsemployers.org and see our flu preparation web page for advice and guidance.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is geographically one of the largest trusts in the country, with staff working across 10 sites. The trust identified that poor access to the e-KSF was impacting on the number of staff participating in appraisals. To address this, 50 new PC terminals have been set-up, which are dedicated solely to giving staff access to the e-KSF and trust e-learning modules. Read the full case study in the shared learning section of our website.

The Department of Health Workforce Directorate, NHS Employers and NHS Connecting for Health, in consultation with a range of stakeholders, have published advice for the NHS on ensuring that healthcare students are provided with the appropriate access to information held on NHS Care Record System and electronic records as part of their training placements. The advice provides information for organisations on the processes they need to consider in issuing Smartcards to students and setting permissions to view records appropriate to the training that is being provided. To view the full advice, see our medical education and training section.

While there was broad agreement on the proposed career and training pathways for the healthcare science workforce, respondents to the Modernising Medical Careers consultation requested clarification and more detail on the proposals. As a result, the Department of Health is inviting chief executives from NHS trusts to participate in two events to refine the model and input into a policy document due to be published in the autumn. The events are taking place on 22 July in Liverpool and 27 July in London. For more details and to book, please email msc.deliberative.events@dh.gsi.gov.uk. For more information on Modernising Scientific Careers, visit our MSC web pages.

The national Social Partnership Forum (SPF) chaired by Ann Keen, Under Secretary of State for Health, met on 21 May 2009. Key topics discussed included: key policies in the quality framework, medical and non-medical revalidation, personal health budgets, indemnity insurance, the commercial operating model, the National Leadership Council and Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery. For more information, see the Social Partnership Forum website.

We still have places available in Bristol on 2 July for two events examining the implications of the integration of Occupational Health Smart Cards (OHSC) into the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and prepare employers for the implementation of the Vetting and Barring Scheme. This is your last chance to secure your place and ensure your organisation does not miss out on these updates. Register your place and find out more on our events web pages.

Attend Leading workforce thinking 2009 for the chance to participate in challenging masterclasses, interactive workshops and personal coaching sessions. Held in Birmingham from 3-5 November, NHS Employers’ annual conference and exhibition will provide you with new strategies, different ideas, and up-to-the minute tools to take back to your workplace. Book now on our conference website.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to NHS Employers’ online survey last week. Your views, experiences and feedback will be very important in helping us to shape the future direction of NHS Employers to better meet your needs. Congratulations to Sue Covill, HR director at South Tees Hospital NHS Trust who was picked out of the pool of respondents to win a place at Leading workforce thinking, our annual conference and exhibition, in November.

The NHS Litigation Authority is now providing a new service for NHS organisations on age discrimination claims, alongside its existing advisory role on equal pay claims. For free advice on handling discrimination cases, email the authority at generalenquiries@nhsla.com or phone 020 7430 8821. For detailed legal advice, please continue to contact your solicitors, as usual. For more details email Carole Smith, who leads on age diversity for NHS Employers, at carole.smith@nhsemployers.org. Information on age discrimination can also be found on our age web pages.

Last week our directors attended the awards event from the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards at Wellington House and the Social Partnership Forum meeting at Richmond House in London. We attended the workforce availability policy and programme implementation group at Richmond House and the Modernising Nursing Careers UK Coalition meeting at Whitehall. We held a forum for employers to feed into the UK consultation on the European Commission Proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive and were present at the first Healthcare Innovation Expo. We also attended HR network meetings for Yorkshire and Humber and West Midlands.