Rachel Forber

Employer: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Qualifications: MML French and Spanish; University of Manchester

8.30 am

The first thing I do when I arrive at the office is make a cup of tea and check my e-mails. I reply to any messages I can straight away and check what meetings are scheduled for the day ahead.

9.00 am

HR may be an office job, but I’m rarely in here all day! I’m responsible for looking after the HR needs of particular departments in three general hospitals, and my days are filled with meetings with the various managers I work with. We also have a regular HR team meeting for an update on what everyone’s doing.

10.00 am

Another morning task is to catch up on my admin. Keeping records accurate and up to date is an important part of my job, and today I work on the monthly staff sickness reports. I help co-ordinate reviews of these statistics and keep hospital managers informed about how things are looking.

2.00 pm

I have lunch at the office, and in the afternoon there are more meetings to attend. Part of my job is to organise disciplinary hearings and give advice on disciplinary and grievance procedures – today I was note-taking at a hearing in the hospital where I am based. I have recently written a new HR policy for secondments, and last week presented it in front of managers and union members. It was a real challenge, but I’m studying for a postgraduate diploma in human resource management which has given me a good grasp of the theoretical and legal side to HR.

4.30 pm

I tend to leave the office between 4.30 and 5.00. At the end of the day I check that everything has been done and post any urgent letters; I need to leave on time so that I can keep up to date with my university work at home. It’s a sociable job – every day I meet all sorts of people involved in hospital life. It’s also a friendly office and there are plenty of parties and events organised outside of work.