Benefits and Discounts

If you’re thinking about making a purchase and can afford to do so, there are discount websites which do loads of goods and services at discounted prices for NHS workers, including for electrical goods, fashion, jewellery, sportswear, health and fitness, beauty products, restaurants, supermarkets, gifts, holidays and cashback deals.

More money in your pocket!

• Blue Light Card – NHS discount (£5 joining fee)
• Health Service Discounts
• NHS Discounts
• Voucher Codes – NHS discounts
• NHS Staff Benefits
• NHS Discount Offers

And remember, when you’re in a shop, ask if they do discounts for NHS staff. Loads of them do so you may get money off your shop by simply showing your ID card.

Company Shop - discounted household goods

Staff can join this via NHS Staff Benefits. Company Shop is a great resource for NHS staff to save money on everyday goods. Colleagues can purchase surplus stock (all in good condition) from a range of UK supermarkets, which would otherwise end up in landfill for small things such as mistakes on packaging. Profit from the shops is used to fund food bank projects, which also help people get back into work, so it's avoiding waste, cheaper for NHS staff and is a fantastic cause.

Check out the Renfrew store

Mortgage Advice

The Mortgage Advice Clinic is part of NHS Staff Benefits and can help with first time buyers, remortgaging, home movers and lifetime mortgages.

There’s no fee or obligation – visit the Mortgage Advice Clinic

Money-saving Active Travel

For details on our Cycle 2 Work and Annual Zonecard schemes, visit the Physical Health page.

Pensions

For advice and information on your pension(s), the two websites listed below will have all you need to know.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) administers pensions on behalf of the Scottish Government for NHS Scotland employees.

*Changes to 2015 pension remedy website content: Changes have been made to the SPPA 2015 pension remedy website content following feedback from members.

Changes include:

• Streamlining the information into one webpage so that members can find the information they're looking for more easily.
• The language of the 2015 remedy page has been simplified to make it easier for members to understand exactly how the changes might affect them.
• A short video can be viewed at this link explaining the changes introduced by the 2015 remedy and what it means for members.

If anyone has any concerns about the 2015 remedy, please refer to the website on the link above, or contact the SPPA on this link.

​​​​The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is an arm’s-length organisation sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, which engages with HM Treasury on policy matters relating to financial capability and debt advice.

Money Support Scotland

Worried about money? You are not alone. Many people are struggling financially at the moment and overcoming this starts with finding the right support.

The Scottish Government has launched the Money Support Scotland campaign for people in Scotland experiencing money worries, including a new website, which you can visit by clicking the following link, MoneySupport.scot, which pulls together all the support that's there for you, in one place.

Parent Club - Advice and Support for Parents

Becoming a parent can be challenging for new mums and dads and there is a fear of the unknown ahead. You want to support your child to develop confidence, skills and independence, but will not always be sure how to do this.

Parent Club is a Scottish Government website that provides information and resources for parents, carers or parents-to-be from pregnancy through to the teenage age years.

Topics covered on the site include: health and wellbeing, finance and educational information and advice.

See what help and advice is available to you. For more information, click the following link: Parentclub.scot

Financial help if you have children

The UK Government has a website that assists parents find childcare and financial support for childcare and childcare for school-age children.

This includes a step by step guides to accessing free childcare and tax-free childcare

For more information, go to: Childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Energy Saving Behaviours

By being conscious of the ways we use energy within our homes we will not only make CO2 savings, which helps the planet, but will reduce our energy costs at a time when these have been spiralling.

You will be amazed by the financial savings that can be made by making simple changes, like turning lights off when they aren’t needed (average saving of £19/yr), and as you can see below the savings can start to mount up.

* average yearly savings

In addition to changing some of your behaviours, you can save money by ensuring that your home is insulated and again these options will reduce CO2 and your bills

* average yearly savings

More information:

Home Energy Scotland: 0808 808 2282

Energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland

Uniform Tax Rebates

Do you know that if you wear a uniform and you have to wash, repair or replace it yourself that you may be eligible to claim a tax rebate?

The standard flat-rate expense allowance for uniform maintenance is £60. By claiming a uniform tax refund, you'll get back the amount of tax you would otherwise have paid on that £60. So if you're a basic-rate taxpayer, you'll get 20% of £60 as a rebate – which is £12. Higher-rate taxpayers will get back £24.

Since the £60 is a flat rate, you don't need to record and report the individual amounts you actually spend.

In addition to the current year's allowance, you can backdate your claim by up to four tax years too (currently 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/2022) – so five years in total. If you were a basic-rate taxpayer who wore a uniform in each of those tax years, you could claim:

• 2022/23 – £12
• 2021/22 – £12
• 2020/21 – £12
• 2019/20 – £12
• 2018/19 – £12

In all, a successful claim backdated all the way to 2018/19 would be worth £60 to a basic-rate taxpayer. Yet you've only until 5 April 2023 to claim the relief for 2018/19 - if you miss the deadline, you'll lose the ability to backdate for that year. 

In addition to their standard allowance (£125), nurses and midwives can also claim for shoes, socks and tights.

Check the full list of occupations to see if yours is listed.

Claiming for the first time?

You can apply online or by post. Simply fill in the P87 form online or print it out and send to Pay As You Earn, HM Revenue & Customs, BX9 1AS. Write 'Repayment Claim' on the envelope to speed things up. If applying by post, you'll need to fill in one form for each year you're claiming for.

If you need the form in an alternative format, contact HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on 0300 200 3310.

You'll be asked for information on:

• Employer's name and address
• Your occupation, job title and industry sector
• Your details, including your national insurance number and your pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) reference
• Whether you're claiming flat-rate expenses (usually you will be, if not, you'll need detailed records of costs). See flat-rate expenses allowed for different occupations
• How you want to be paid – into your bank account or by cheque​​​

Trade Unions - so much more than industrial relations 

When people think about trade unions they usually think that they are there to protect your rights in the workplace, to enforce health and safety, for negotiating pay with employers, or to represent you when required.

But trade unions can offer so much more.

Did you know that unions will offer financial and legal services such as help with personal injury claims, employment rights matters, wills, conveyancing; that they can provide financial assistance through benevolent funds or support lifelong learning, either through the union itself or in collaboration with other parties i.e. STUC/ TUC/employers.

The union websites will contain information on the member services that they provide. So if you’re in a union already, have a look online at the services they provide:

• Chartered Society of Physiotherapists
• GMB
• RCN
• Society of Radiographers
• Unison
• Unite the Union
• TUC unionlearn

Gambling awareness and support

Most people are aware of gambling through the lottery, on sports or on casino games. However, some people can also develop a problem gambling through investments and trading or spending money in mobile or online games.

Often people don’t recognise that these are also a type of gambling and struggle to acknowledge that they have lost control.

Gambling can result in strained relationships with family, friends and colleagues; can cause severe debts and homelessness; and additionally it can cause health problems for both the gambler and their family including stress, anxiety and depression.

Signs of problem gambling

If you think you might have a gambling problem, help is available.

To start, answer these 10 questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’:

• Do you spend a lot of time thinking about gambling?
• Are you spending more money on gambling as time goes on?
• Have you ever tried to stop gambling, or cut down on or control your gambling, and not been able to?
• Do you get restless or irritable if you try to cut down on gambling?
• Do you gamble to escape from difficulties in your life, or to cheer yourself up?
• Do you keep playing after losing money to try to win it back – often called ‘chasing losses’?
• Have you lied to other people about how much time or money you’ve spent gambling, or how much you’ve lost?
• Have you ever stolen money to fund gambling?
• Has gambling affected your job, relationships, or home life?
• Do you ask other people to lend you money when you’ve lost money through gambling?

If you’ve answered yes:

To 1 question – you might have a problem, and it would be a good idea to seek help.

To 3 questions – gambling probably feels like it’s a problem, and you should seek help.

To 5 or more questions – it’s likely gambling feels like it’s affecting every part of your life. You should get help as soon as possible.

Help and Support

There are a lot of ways to access help with problem gambling. There’s also support available if you have a loved one with a gambling problem.

Within Golden Jubilee, you can speak to your manager or Occupational Health.

The TimeforTalking service provides flexible support through face-to-face, online and telephone sessions and the Client Support team is available to help you and answer any questions.

Simply use one of the contact options below to get started:

Phone: 0330 202 0283

Website: www.timefortalking.co.uk

Gamblers Anonymous Scotland has meetings every day, and is free to attend. The meetings are informal and friendly, and there are currently around 70 meetings held in Scotland every day. Gamblers Anonymous also has a 24-hour helpline you can phone on 0370 050 8881.

Visit the Gamblers Anonymous Scotland website

If you have a loved one with a gambling problem, support is available from Gam-Anon Scotland. The organisation has supportive, confidential meetings that are separate from Gamblers Anonymous meetings. You can also phone the Gam-Anon 24-hour helpline on 0370 050 8881.

Visit the Gam-Anon website