Tears, tantrums and no pay – my life on a zero-hours contract in the NHS

I endured personal attacks, felt invisible and undervalued working in administration. Our beleaguered health service is in need of urgent care

After I was laid off from a job in banking IT and a change in personal circumstances made part-time working necessary, a zero-hours contract with the NHS seemed like a godsend. But just a year and a half later, despite regular hints of a permanent contract, two of us were let go – with less than a month’s notice - because the temp staff budget ran out.

I had no guaranteed hours but they did at least maintain the level of hours and days throughout. While I was grateful for the work, a permanent contract would have been better and given me some job protection. My role, which was, naturally, never fully defined was to receive outpatients, handle incoming and outgoing calls, update patient records, handle the post, set up meetings and tidy up after them, take queries and do any filing/general administration.

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