MySBSPay was launched by NHS Shared Business Services towards the end of 2018 to give NHS employees their pay information in a more convenient and understandable format, including the facility to ask common pay-related questions using modern Chatbot technology.
With almost 400,000 NHS staff paid via the NHS SBS payroll service, which is used by around 90 NHS organisations around the country, the App has been downloaded over 40,000 times.
Figures for the three months August to October 2018 – shortly after the App was introduced – show that the NHS SBS payroll service desk dealt with an average of 12,808 queries a month from NHS employees, ranging from payslip clarifications to tax enquiries, pay day information requests to maternity pay questions.
Between November 2018 and January 2019, however, the total number of cases was down significantly to an average of 9,474 per month – a 26 per cent decrease. With an average case taking approximately six minutes to resolve, this equates to a saving of around 333 staff hours every month – the equivalent of 48 working days across the NHS.
At Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where staff worked closely with NHS SBS last year to design and test MySBSPay, more than one in four employees (26%) are now using the App. The average number of monthly queries to the payroll service desk from those working at the Trust has reduced by 19 per cent – saving around nine hours of staff time every month.
Deirdre Richardson, Associate Chief Pharmacist (Operations) at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I’m a huge advocate of the NHS SBS App. It is very helpful to see at a glance my salary over the last few months and also when the next pay day is – as both can vary from month to month. Rather than having to be at work and logged into ESR (Electronic Staff Record), which can be time-consuming, MySBSPay gives Trust employees the flexibility of viewing their payslips very easily at home or on the go from their mobile phone.”
The Trust’s Assistant Director of Nursing, Cathy Hill: “Using MySBSPay is much easier than having to log on to ESR to view your payslip. The ability to ask questions on the App will also mean NHS staff spend less time on phone calls and emails to Payroll. One of the most useful things about the App for me and others in my team is being able to easily see and track the payment of any arrears or travel expenses.”
