Labour turnover in the British National Health Service: A local labour market analysis

This study uses regression analyses to examine the relationship between staff turnover in the British National Health Service (NHS) and a range of labour market, job and worker characteristics. Data relating to nine staff groups in up to 103 District Health Authority areas, and covering over 300 000 employees, form the basis for the analysis. In the regression analysis, two variables consistently emerge as significantly related to turnover across a range of staff groups: the size of the private health care sector, as measured by the number of beds in private hospitals and in private nursing homes, and the pay of the staff group relative to the local average for comparable workers. The results suggest that staff groups of different skill levels each have distinct labour markets, and this needs to be recognised in the future design of human resources management policies.