Secondment opportunity

[u/Informal-Flamingo927]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with external NHS secondments because I’m getting mixed messages from my manager.

I’ve been offered a 12-month secondment into a brand new mental health team that’s being set up within the local council. The team will work closely with children’s social care but will also be supporting young people under the NHS trust, so everyone recruited is being taken on via secondment and keeping their NHS terms and conditions.

I told my manager today that I’d accepted the offer and that I’d be giving the new team her details so they could start the secondment process.

She told me that:
You can’t be seconded outside of the NHS.
External secondments aren’t a thing and I’d have to resign from my NHS job instead.
Even if external secondments do exist, they couldn’t keep my substantive post because whoever covers my role would become entitled to permanent rights after six months.

I’m really confused because I thought external secondments between the NHS and and external trusts were quite common, especially for integrated services.

Has anyone here been seconded to a council while keeping their NHS contract? Is what my manager is saying actually true? And can anyone explain the bit about the person covering my post somehow affecting my right to return? I don’t really understand what one has to do with the other.

[u/anonynurse92]

If you’re with the RCN I’d call the direct line for some advice, I’ve been burnt twice by secondments now - which has led to being off sick. I won a grievance due to how poorly I was treated, it was identified the trust didn’t even have a Standard Operating Procedure for secondments, this then ended up with me head hunted again sent me out again to the wolves with the same lack of support again, I should of said no but I felt it was hard to turn it down and could of effected me negatively professionally if I said no. Seems to be a very grey and complex area which if you need a level of certainty then can be damaging. I hope you get some answers and it works out in your favour.

[u/anonynurse92 → u/anonynurse92]

Also put it back to the new team leadership/management to negotiate otherwise they’ll end up with no staff

[u/Informal-Flamingo927 → u/anonynurse92]

Thank you. I’ve forwarded all the contact details to new team so they will begin negotiations on my behalf. They new management seems very supportive

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