NHS vs MOJ contract

[BrandNewOne]

Hello all,

Just to get some thoughts from more experienced public sector contractors.

If you could choose between two contracts would you work in NHS Digital or MOJ

[CoolCat]

MOJ failed to pay my mate at the end of his contract.

Both are a complete bureaucratic nightmare.

NHS is crawling with every consultancy under the sun, as part of the aftermath of Covid, and lots of spaghetti organisation and systems out of control. but lots of long Teams calls discussing the mostly irrelevant, and lots of NHS senior staff giving themselves pats on the back while delivering nothing but chaos.

Do it for a short term, make sure you are getting paid weekly, ideally have a short notice period on your side.

Like everything it depends mostly on who you are actually working for and what they are like.

[Lance]

NHS has got funding.
MOJ may sponsor you for SC.

[DaveB]

NHS has got funding.
MOJ may sponsor you for SC.

NHS can sponsor for SC as well, they had their own vetting team until it was all amalgamated into the UKSV.

MoJ were always a bit more hidebound about working on site rather than remotely, although that may well have changed with COVID. They tend to have nicer offices than the NHS as well.

Mostly it depends on who you are working for, there are good and bad people in both, just like any large private sector companies really. I'd worry less about which department it was and more about the tech being used and what you can gain from it other than getting paid (unless the rates are vastly different, IR35 in / out etc)

[malvolio]

MOJ is a funny one if you get near to the operational end of things as opposed to the admin side. The Civil Service are the same as any other department, clever people focussed on their three year job cycle and the next promotion with little knowledge outside their own area. The Courts are a different planet - the Crown courts are ruled by the judges who are universally very clever, well educated and adaptable people open to new ideas and better ways of working, while the Magistrates courts are much more conservative, less well funded and until fairly recently still working somewhere in the late 1980s as far as tech is concerned. However each Court is its own little domain within the wider organisation. You will almost certainly need SC clearance, incidentally, although, like any CS role, they will provide supervision until it's cleared.

The NHS is a mess, basically. The thousands of pointless middle managers have to justify their existence so hold on to their corner without worrying about the impact on anyone else, much less the NHS as a whole. Budgetary control is a nightmare and costs are largely driven by the PFI agreements that makes lightbulbs worth £30 a pop. SWMMBO worked on a national standards programme to the clinical labs that took years to develop (even though it is all perfectly normal QA stuff like knowing your cold storage thermometer is telling the truth) and ten years later is auditing the labs to see how well they are meeting those standards (some, pretty well, some not at all which, given this is about people's lives, is a little scary)

But in either one, the tech will be behind the curve and you will be in a team focussed on its own brief, so who's name is on the payslip doesn't really matter that much. Unless its an external consultancy in which case you're back in the real world.

[teabag]

It's not too likely you will get SC through the MoJ - unless you need to access live data.

[malvolio]

It's not too likely you will get SC through the MoJ - unless you need to access live data.

I needed it... But I was accessing the court premises as well as HQ offices. It all depends o nthe role.

[Cybernetic]

Happy to provide some insight into the MOJ if there is a specific role/dept you are interested in going for.

[BrandNewOne]

Happy to provide some insight into the MOJ if there is a specific role/dept you are interested in going for.

Thanks
Im curious about extensions. Renegotiating the day rate if possible. Is it worth it.

This is an IT role.

[northernladuk]

Thanks
Im curious about extensions. Renegotiating the day rate if possible. Is it worth it.

This is an IT role.

Depends on how you've been engaged. If you are just bum on seat via an agent then very little chance of that. The rates are via the framework and the agents are most likely on fixed rate. If you are through a consultancy delivering a managed service you might have a chance but you'll be talking a few tens of pounds here and there.
You'll also need to be very well embedded or critical to the work as you would in an situation where you need more money. Just asking for it because you've come to extension isn't going to work. If you've not added any extra value above and beyond what you were brought on to do you won't get any more.

Also many public sector contracts look for year on year savings from their suppliers which makes it even harder to get rate rises.

You need to be aware how to negotiate rate rises in general as well, let alone it being Public sector. Just asking for some more money from someone elses pocket will get you no where.