Agenda for Change Job Evaluation IT Solution

Tender description

This Pre-Market Engagement Exercise is being run to support the procurement and development of the Job Evaluation digital system (JE DS) for the NHS in England. The NHS Job Evaluation Schemes (JES) (https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/nhs-job-evaluation-handbook) underpins the Agenda for Change (AfC) (https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/agenda-change) contract as the mechanism for determining the pay bands for all posts under the NHS terms and conditions of service (AfC) (https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/tchandbook). JES is operated in partnership with trade unions both locally and nationally. It is the responsibility of each NHS employer to comply with the Equality Act 2010 which mandates equal pay for work of equal value. JES delivers the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and, where implemented correctly, ensures that staff are paid correctly for the work that they are asked to deliver by their employer, as is their contractual right. The objective of the programme is to establish a new digital system to make sure the job evaluation scheme is applied fairly across the board. The introduction of a JE digital system in England forms part of a wider plan to restore confidence, build capacity, and modernise job evaluation in the NHS. These actions were agreed as part of the 2023 ‘non-pay’ Agenda for Change deal for England (https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/agenda-change-pay-deal-2023-non-pay-commitments-update), recommendations from which were agreed in principle by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in May 2025 and supported by NHS England executives. Through this RFI, NHS England is consulting the market on a potential national JE Digital System solution for England currently covering approximately 205 NHS Provider organisations and by April 2027, 26 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). A full description of the current requirements for the Agenda for Change Job Evaluation Digital Solution can be accessed in the Request for Information Documents, linked to this Notice.