what is my esr assignment number

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What is an ESR Position Number? (BSA)

In Electronic Staff Record (ESR), all working conditions relating to each employee's role are detailed in what is called a 'position'. The position number is the unique numerical reference to this position. Position numbers can be built to include the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) for one person or multiple people; if the position number has more than one person assigned to it, this should be set up as 'Shared'.

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• Tests & Procedures
• Sed rate (erythrocyte sedimentation rate)

Sed rate, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), is a blood test that can show inflammatory activity in the body. Many health problems can cause a sed rate test result to be outside the standard range. A sed rate test is often used with other tests to help your health care team diagnose or check the progress of an inflammatory disease.

When blood is placed in a tall, thin tube, red blood cells, called erythrocytes, gradually settle to the bottom. Inflammation can cause the cells to clump together. Because these clumps are heavier than individual cells, they settle to the bottom more quickly.

The sed rate test measures the distance red blood cells fall in a test tube in one hour. The farther the red blood cells have fallen, the greater the inflammatory response of your immune system.

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Why it's done

A sed rate test may be ordered if you have symptoms like unexplained fever, muscle pain or joint pain. The test can help confirm a diagnosis of certain conditions, including:

• Giant cell arteritis.
• Polymyalgia rheumatica.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.

A sed rate test also can help show the level of your inflammatory response and check the effect of treatment.

Because a sed rate test can't pinpoint the problem that's causing inflammation in your body, it's often accompanied by other blood tests, such as the C-reactive protein (CRP) test.

More Information

• Adult Still disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Optic neuritis
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Takayasu's arteritis

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How you prepare

The sed rate is a simple blood test. You don't need to fast before the test.

What you can expect

During a sed rate test, a member of your health care team will use a needle to take a small sample of blood from a vein in your arm. This often takes just a few minutes. Your blood sample is sent to a lab for testing. After the test, your arm might be tender for a few hours, but you'll be able to resume most normal activities.

Results from your sed rate test will be reported in the distance in millimeters (mm) that red blood cells have fallen in the test tube in one hour (hr). Age, sex and other factors can affect the sed rate results.

Your sed rate is one piece of information to help your health care team check your health. Your team will also take into consideration your symptoms and your other test results.

Accuracy of test results

Many conditions can affect the properties of blood and change how quickly red blood cells sink in a sample of blood. Conditions that can affect the sed rate include:

• Advanced age.
• Kidney problems.
• Thyroid disease.
• Some cancers, such as multiple myeloma.

Your health care team will consider any other conditions you have when reviewing your sed rate test results. Talk to your rheumatologist or health care specialist about what your sed rate results mean and ask them any questions you may have.

• ESR blood test (Erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Testing.com. https://www.testing.com/tests/erythrocyte-sedimentation-rate-esr/. Accessed March 27, 2023.
• Goldman L, et al., eds. Laboratory testing in rheumatic diseases. In: Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Elsevier; 2020. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed March 27, 2023.
• Shmerling RH. Evaluation of the adult with polyarticular pain. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 27, 2023.
• Kushner I, et al. Acute phase reactants. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed April 19, 2023.
• Rheumatoid arthritis

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Electronic Staff Record (ESR)

The Electronic Staff Record (ESR) is a payroll database system commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care that NHS organisations are entitled to use free of charge. ESR is currently used by 99% of NHS Trusts and manages the payroll for over one million NHS employees.

ESR offers a hub which gives NHS employees control over their personal data as well as access to payslips, total reward statements and e-learning.

Employees can manage their own data and training through ESR. This helps employers understand talent profiles and the future needs of the workforce.

ESR supports the delivery of national workforce policy and strategy. It provides NHS organisations with a range of tools and functions which lets them record and analyse data about their workforce. Effective use of ESR functionality helps to support workforce management and planning. For example, if used effectively, it can support organisations with better:

• workforce supply
• talent management
• safety and compliance
• retention strategy
• productivity

If you would like to understand more about how ESR can be used to support your own workforce management and planning, visit Discover Your ESR . Or, speak to your ESR Regional Functional Account Manager.

To log into ESR as an NHS employee visit the ESR Hub .

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Understanding Your Pay

Useful information.

• Your payslip will be available to view via ESR Employee Self Service (ESS) 2 working days before pay day.
• Please review your payslip carefully to ensure that all the information is accurate. Please be aware that you are responsible for checking your payslip and reporting anything you think is incorrect.
• If you do have any queries or concerns about your payslip, please refer in the first instance to the frequently asked questions (FAQs), below.
• If you are unable to find an answer to you queries in the FAQs, please do not hesitate to contact Pay Services. The best way to contact us is via email: [email protected] (Please always quote your assignment number), however, if you prefer to contact the team via phone our contact details are at the bottom of this page .
• For Wagestream queries please visit the Wagestream section  of website for links to Wagestream and Bank Pay FAQs.

Understanding your payslip

Example payslip.

Your payslip is divided into six sections:

Employee and PAYE Information

Pay and allowances.

• Year to Date Balances

This Period Summary

Messages from employer.

The top section of the payslip details the Employee and PAYE Information:

• Assignment Number - This should be quoted in all correspondence and will be suffixed with -2, -3 etc. if you have more than one post
• Payscale Description - Payscale which you are paid on
• Sal/Wage - Full Time salary for grade
• Inc. Date - Date of your next pay step/increment or when you reached the maximum point of your payscale
• Standard Hours – Contracted hours
• PT Sal/Wage - Salary paid, this shows as a reduced amount if you are part time
• Tax Office Name - Tax Office that is responsible for your employer’s Tax Account Tax Office Ref - This is required if you need to speak to HMRC
• Tax Code – Code as allocated by HMRC
• NI Number - National Insurance Number

Pay and Allowances – left hand side of the payslip

• Description – Details all payments made in the pay period
• Wkd/Earned – Total hours worked
• Paid/Due - Number of hours payment is calculated on
• Rate – Amount the allowance is calculated on, e.g., hourly rate
• Amount - Payment that will be made

Deductions – right hand side of the payslip

• This shows all the statutory and voluntary deductions that will be made from your pay

Year To Date Balances

Year To Date Balances – left hand side of the payslip:

• This section shows the total amounts you have received and had deducted in the current tax year to the end of the period you are being paid for. PAYE details will be included in your P60 at the end of the tax year. Pension details will added to your NHS Pension record. SD Ref Number is your Employee reference number for your NHS Pension and should be quoted in any correspondence you have with NHS Pensions.

This Period Summary – right hand side of the payslip:

Messages From Employer:

• If you are viewing your payslip online via ESS any messages are displayed below the payslip detail.
• If you receive an original paper payslip any payslip messages are on the reverse of the inside flap of the payslip once opened.

Common Abbreviations Used

Common abbreviations used:

Frequently Asked Questions

When is pay day.

Pay day is 28th of the month. If the 28th falls on a bank holiday or weekend, payment will be made on the banking business day before the bank holiday or weekend. The only exception to the 28th rule  is December’s pay day and details will be shared nearer December with regards to when December’s pay day will fall.

How do I view my payslip?

Payslips are available to view online through ESR Employee Self Service (ESS). The link below will take you to a step-by-step guide on how to access your payslips.

https://my.esr.nhs.uk/dashboard/lrst/ESS12/index.html

More details regarding ESS are available via ESR Self Service webpage

What kind of information does my payslip show and what do the abbreviations stand for?

Please see “Understanding Your Payslip” section above.

If the abbreviation on your payslip isn’t listed as a common abbreviation please contact [email protected]

I haven't been paid for the overtime/additional hours I worked or I think my overtime has been paid at the wrong rate

Overtime is paid at time plus one half (or double time if it is worked on a general public holiday). Additional hours in excess of contracted hours are paid at basic rate up to 37.5 hours/week. Only hours worked in excess of full-time hours can be paid at overtime rates.

If you worked overtime or additional hours last month but have not received payment for them, please check that your manager added the hours to your Healthroster record correctly before the cut-off date. If they did not, please ask them to submit a Data Amendment Form (DAF) to correct your record. Corrections will be applied in the next available payroll run.

Please note that staff on band 8a or above are not entitled to overtime pay unless express approval from HR has be obtained in advance.

I am a substantive member of staff. How is my basic pay calculated?

For each calendar month, employees are paid one twelfth of their annual salary. For each odd day (including Saturdays and Sundays, in the case of a working week of five days), employees are a paid the monthly sum divided by the number of days in the particular month.

Please note that basic pay for substantive staff is paid on a current pay basis and not in arrears. For this reason, if your hours or rate of pay is changing or you are leaving, it is important to make sure your manager notifies Pay Services before the cut-off date for the month in which the change is due to occur. Failure to notify Pay Service by the relevant cut-off date is likely to result in an underpayment or overpayment.

I have changed my hours or pay band, or I have returned from maternity leave/career break but these changes are not reflected in my pay this month. Why not?

Please check with your manager that they submitted a change form to notify Pay Services of the change. If they have not, please ensure they submit a form as soon as possible.

If they did submit a form but submitted it after the payroll cut-off date, corrections will be applied in the next available payroll run.

I have returned from sick leave but my pay this month is still reduced for half/no pay sick, why is this?

Absences from the roster are reported to Payroll in arrears, if you have returned after the roster was finalised please ask your manager to email [email protected] with your return details.

"AfC Absence" is showing on my payslip. What is it?

If you have taken annual leave and regularly receive payments for unsocial hours, overtime, additional hours or on call, you may see AfC Absence on your payslip.

AfC Absence is based on your average pay in a set reference period, usually the three months ending on the last day of the pay period in which the leave started. Payment is in arrears one month after the annual leave has been taken provided that your annual leave has been recorded on Healthroster in an accurate and timely manner. Please note that AfC Absence is not payable in respect of bank holiday leave or leave taken in lieu of bank holidays. Nor are payments received in relation to work on a bank holiday included in the calculations for AfC Absence.

I work on the bank but I haven't been paid or I have been paid for the wrong number of hours. Why?

Bank hours are paid a month in arrears based on the timesheet details recorded by your manager on Healthroster.

If you have checked your payslip carefully and think you haven't been paid for the correct number of hours, please review your Healthroster record to check that your manager recorded your shift times correctly and submitted the hours for payment before the payroll cut-off date (this is the third working day of the month following that in which the hours were worked).

If your pay is incorrect due to the information recorded on the roster, please speak to your manager and ask them to submit a Data Amendment Form (DAF). Once the necessary corrections have been made, any pay adjustments required will be applied in the next available payroll run.

For any further assistance required on using Healthroster, please contact the Healthroster team .

Unsocial hours payments or enhancements. What are they and what do I do if I think my unsocial hours payments are wrong?

Unsocial hours payments or enhancements are paid if you are required to work to cover services in the evening, at night, over weekends and on general public holidays.

Unsocial hours payments are additions to basic pay and are calculated as a proportion of basic pay (including long-term recruitment and retention premiums (RRPs), but excluding short-term RRPs, high cost area supplements, and all other supplements and payments). The exact rate of payment depends on when the unsocial hours were worked and on your pay band. Please see Section 2 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook

An example is provided below of how enhancements would appear on the payslip of someone who, for the purposes of this example, is band 5 with a basic hourly rate of £16.84.  If they who worked 10 hours on Saturday and 1 hour on Sunday, the enhancement for their Saturday unsocial hours would be paid as 30% of their basic pay for the same hours and the enhancement for their Sunday unsocial hours as 60% (based on 22/23 rates). The unsocial hours payments would be shown on their payslip as follows:

Unsocial hours are paid a month in arrears based on the timesheet details recorded by your manager on Healthroster.

If you have checked your payslip carefully and think you haven't been paid for the correct number of unsocial hours, please review your Healthroster record to check that your manager recorded your shift times correctly before the payroll cut-off date (this is the third working day of the month following that in which the hours were worked).

If your pay is incorrect because due to what has been recorded on the roster, please speak to your manager and ask them to submit a Data Amendment Form (DAF). Once the necessary corrections have been made, any pay adjustments required will be applied in the next available payroll run.

My expenses haven't been paid. Why not?

If you submitted an expenses claim on EASY that hasn't been paid, please check the claim status on EASY. Only claims that were authorised by your manager before midday on the third working day of the month will have been paid. Claims authorised after the cut-off date will be paid in the next available payroll run.

Please also note that if you submitted a claim for the current month, this will not be paid until the following month, subject to the claims being authorised by the relevant cut-off date.

For any further assistance required on using EASY, please contact the Healthroster team.

"WTD pay" is showing on my payslip. What is it?

Bank staff receive a supplement equivalent to 12.07% of their basic pay and enhancements (with the exception of bank holiday enhancements). This supplement is described as WTD Pay and it represents your entitlement to statutory holiday pay.

How can I check if my tax code is right?

Your tax code is determined by HMRC and we can only change it if HMRC ask us to when sent via the normal methods for notifications.

To check your tax code or request it be reviewed/updated, you will need to contact HMRC directly.

Below are some useful links explaining why your tax code may have changed and how you can contact HMR to check whether your code is correct.

Income Tax: general enquiries - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Check your Income Tax for the current year - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What is my pay step date? I was expecting an increment this month but have not received one, why not?

Your pay step date is usually the anniversary of the date you commenced employment in your current band.

If you were expecting a pay step increase this month but have not received one, the two most likely reasons for this are:

• you were not due a pay step increase either because you are already on the maximum pay step of the pay band or you are have not yet reached a pay-affecting step. With regard to the latter, the pay bands show the minimum length of service on a pay step point required before staff are eligible to move to the next pay step.
• your manager has not recorded a successful pay progression meeting on your ESR record. If prior to your pay step date, you had a pay progression meeting with your manager and it was agreed that you met the required standards to progress to the next pay step, please check with your manager that (a) they recorded the meeting outcome correctly on your ESR record and (b) they recorded it before the relevant payroll cut-off date.

If your manager did not record the pay progression details correctly or they were not recorded before the relevant payroll cut-off date, they will need to make sure the necessary corrections are made to your ESR record and, additionally, submit a change form so that any salary adjustments required can be manually applied.

Contacting Payroll Services

Contact details for the Trust's Pension Team, Healthroster Team and ESR System Team can be found on the Contact Details page.

The best way to contact the Payroll Team is via email: [email protected] , please always quote your assignment number.

To contact us by phone please dial 01785 221290  between 9:30 - 12:00 and 14:00 - 15:00 Monday to Friday. Please note: our phone system only allows a limited number of calls to be placed in our queue and when this number is exceeded unfortunately calls are automatically disconnected. Around payday lines are busy so you may prefer to email us at the above address.

When ringing us on the above number please press 1 for surnames beginning with A-H or press 2 for surnames beginning I-Z.

The next option will put you through to the Payroll Advisor whose allocation you come under.

If you have pressed 1 for surnames beginning with A-H:

• Press 1 for surnames beginning with A to Billingham
• Press 2 for surnames Billington to Clarke H
• Press 3 for surnames Clark J to Davis F
• Press 4 for surnames Davis G to Fleet
• Press 5 for surnames Fleetwood to Hanlon
• Press 6 for surnames Hanmer to Hounsome
• Press 7 for surnames Housden to Hymers

If you have pressed 2 for surnames I-Z:

• Press 1 for surnames beginning with I to Latham H
• Press 2 for surnames Latham I to Montgomery
• Press 3 for surnames Moody to Persaud
• Press 4 for surnames Pestridge to Sein-Flanagan
• Press 5 for surnames Setchell to Ticehurst
• Press 6 for surnames Tickle to Weliweriya
• Press 7 for surnames Weller to Z

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