NHS Workforce Statistics - December 2024 (Including selected preliminary statistics for January 2025)

There are several steps taken to add value, improve data quality and assist classification of staff groups prior to publication.

1. Only staff who have a contracted full time equivalent (FTE) greater than zero are extracted from ESR.
2. The data are divided into a separate non-medical dataset and a medical and dental dataset using medical pay scales as the initial determining field.
3. Successive tests using corroborative fields within the data confirm or reclassify records between the medical and non-medical sets.
4. Fields within the data are used to determine the grade of the medical staff.
5. Occupation codes are used to classify non-medical staff into staff groups, and these are checked to ensure that the grades of staff are appropriate to their role. Where it is not, a new staff group is assigned based on other information within the person’s record. Where that is not possible the person is classed as having an unknown staff group.
6. Each job of each person is allocated to the organisation where they work. This can differ to the trust holding their record.
7. The data are matched against earnings data. Where a person is not earning, or they are not a recent starter in post, the record is not included in statistics showing staff who provide services.
8. The data are split into classifications based on the organisation staff work in. This determines whether a job is shown as at an NHS Trust or other core organisation, at an NHS Support Organisation or Central Body, or is an Independent Healthcare Provider that is using ESR. This also determines which publication a record is included in.