Secondments explained

A secondment is a temporary move to another role, team or organisation, after which you go back to your own job. Your contract with your substantive employer usually stays in place throughout, so you keep your continuous service, pension and right to return. Secondments are common across the NHS, councils and the Civil Service, and between them. Each employer has its own policy, which sets out how they are advertised, agreed and ended.

What “substantive post” means

Your substantive post is your permanent job: the one in your contract. When you go on secondment, that post is held for you. Someone else may cover it on a temporary basis, often on a fixed-term contract or acting-up arrangement. At the end of the secondment you return to that post, or to a post at the same grade and broadly the same terms if your old role has changed.

This right to return is what separates a secondment from simply getting a new fixed-term job elsewhere. If you resign to take a fixed-term post, you have no job to go back to.

Internal and external secondments

An internal secondment is a move within the same employer: a nurse from a ward to a project team in the same trust, a council officer to another directorate, a civil servant to another team in the department. Your employer and contract stay the same, and the secondment is often managed like a temporary change of role.

An external secondment is to another organisation: from one NHS trust to another, from a council to a government department, from a department to a charity or a private company. Usually you stay employed and paid by your home employer, and the host organisation pays your employer back. This is set out in a three-way agreement between you, your employer and the host. In some cases the host employs you directly on a fixed-term contract while you are on unpaid leave from your home employer; that changes your position on pension and pay, so read the paperwork closely.

Pay on secondment

If the secondment is at a higher grade, you are usually paid at that grade for the duration, often at the bottom point or with a set increase from your current pay. Some employers pay a responsibility allowance or honorarium instead of moving you up the scale. If the secondment is at the same grade, your pay normally stays the same. A secondment to a lower grade usually keeps your current pay.

Your pay progression in your substantive role normally continues. If you are on Agenda for Change, NJC or a Civil Service grade, your time on secondment usually counts toward the next step in your band or grade. Annual pay awards apply as normal.

When you return, your pay goes back to your substantive rate, and any higher-grade pay stops. If you have been on a higher grade for a long time, check the policy on what happens at the end, as some employers allow a period of protection. The acting up and honoraria guide covers temporary higher-grade pay in more detail.

Pension and continuous service

If you stay employed by your home employer, you stay in the same pension scheme and your continuous service is unaffected. Moves between NHS employers, between councils, or between Civil Service departments usually keep you in the same scheme regardless.

If you move to an employer outside your scheme, such as a charity or company, you may be able to stay in your public sector scheme through your home employer, depending on the agreement. If the host employs you directly, you may leave your scheme for that period. Check with your pension scheme administrator before agreeing. The continuous service guide explains how service is counted across public employers.

How secondments are found and agreed

Secondments are advertised internally on intranets, on NHS Jobs and Trac, and on Civil Service Jobs, where many adverts say “loan or secondment” as an option. Some are offered directly to staff by managers for development. You usually need to apply and be interviewed for the host post.

Before you start, you should get a written agreement covering:

• start and end dates, and how either side can end it early
• the role and grade, and who manages you day to day
• pay, allowances and expenses
• who pays and how the host reimburses your employer
• annual leave, sickness reporting and appraisal
• your right to return and what happens if your post changes

If the secondment is likely to involve a change to your terms, your employer must give you written details of the change.

Returning

Plan the return before the end date. Talk to your substantive manager a few months ahead about what has changed in your old team. If your post has been restructured, the employer should find you a suitable alternative at the same grade. If there is no suitable role, redundancy procedures may apply.

Many secondments lead somewhere else: a permanent post with the host, a promotion using the experience, or a move to a new team. If you are offered a permanent role with the host, accepting usually means resigning from your substantive post, so check how your continuous service and pension carry over before you sign. The NHS career progression guide covers how secondments fit into longer-term moves.