NHS Business Services Authority goes to tender for £1.7bn HR system

NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is looking for a supplier for a new, integrated NHS HR and payroll system.

The system will be used across the NHS in England and Wales, and NHSBSA wants an integrated workforce management solution that covers payroll, HR, learning and talent management.

“The future NHS workforce solution will fulfil the ambition of providing the NHS with a user-centred digital workforce solution to empower people from both national and local organisations to carry out their roles effectively and efficiently, supporting them through their journey with the NHS,” said the tender document.

The current electronic staff record (ESR) is based on Oracle’s e-business suite, and IBM won the most recent contract to run the ESR in 2014.

The new supplier will manage the ESR service, but also be in charge of migrating user organisations across to the new system and decommission the current system.

The ESR is one of the largest IT systems in the NHS. It is used by 99% of NHS trusts in England and Wales and pays more than 1.8 million NHS employees every month.

NHSBSA wants a system that can respond to changes in the wider health and care system and “support NHS strategic workforce objectives through new and improved functionality and provide data and insights to inform decision-making”.

The contract for the new system, which is valued at £1.7bn, will run from August 2024 until July 2039 and any interested suppliers have until 7 October to submit their bid for the contract.

It envisions that by the end of August 2025, the new supplier will have transitioned and taken over the current ESR service and, from then on, continue ongoing development. The future NHS workforce system will be implemented by the end of 2032.