Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
NHS Business Services Authority
Stella House, Goldcrest Way, Newburn Riverside
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE15 8NY
Contact
NHSBSA Commercial Team
commercialservicesteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKC22 - Tyneside
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Future NHS Workforce Solution (including Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Services)
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72222300 - Information technology services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Authority has procured a supplier to develop a new transformed integrated workforce management solution for the NHS in England and Wales. The current Electronic Staff Record (ESR) service includes HR and payroll; learning; talent management; Total Reward Statements and workforce reporting. It is supported by a supply of systems, support and auxiliary services that enable its effective utilisation. ESR currently pays over 1.9m NHS employees every month, equivalent to around five percent of the UK workforce.
The future NHS workforce solution will fulfil the ambition of providing the NHS with a user centred digital workforce solution to empower people from both national and local organisations to carry out their roles effectively and efficiently, supporting them through their journey with the NHS.
The supplier will manage the ESR service, transform, develop, implement and manage the future NHS workforce solution and once migration of user organisations completes, decommission the ESR service.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £1,172,968,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 79211110 - Payroll management services
- 72212451 - Enterprise resource planning software development services
- 72260000 - Software-related services
- 79900000 - Miscellaneous business and business-related services
- 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services
- 79211110 - Payroll management services
- 80420000 - E-learning services
- 48450000 - Time accounting or human resources software package
- 72212450 - Time accounting or human resources software development services
- 79600000 - Recruitment services
- 79631000 - Personnel and payroll services
- 48451000 - Enterprise resource planning software package
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKC22 - Tyneside
Main site or place of performance
Newcastle upon Tyne
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The ESR service is provided under a managed service contract which expires August 2026. Oracle eBusiness Suite underpins the current integrated HR, payroll, learning management and business intelligence capability.
The future NHS workforce solution brings the opportunity to transform the existing ESR service to respond to changes in the wider health and care system. It will support NHS strategic workforce objectives through new and improved functionality and provide data and insights to inform decision making.
The Authority has awarded one contract based on the Cabinet Office Model Services Contract v2.2 for a supplier to fulfil all the requirements below:
i. Transition and takeover of current ESR service by 31 August 2026 including transfer of staff.
ii. Run existing ESR service from 1 September 2026 including ongoing development.
iii. Design, develop, configure and test the future NHS workforce solution from contract award including pilot (early adopter) implementation.
iv. Implementation of future NHS workforce solution including migration of all user organisations from the ESR service to the future NHS workforce solution in advance of the ESR service support end date of 2035.
v. Running the future NHS workforce solution including ongoing development.
vi. Decommission ESR following successful completion of the implementation and migration process.
Functional domains will deliver the capability of the future NHS workforce solution to support NHS organisation’s workforce management needs:
i. Talent Acquisition: end to end hiring experience including demand identification, talent sourcing, job marketing, candidate assessment, applicant tracking and onboarding.
ii. Core HR: employee lifecycle management including organisation management, grievance management, leave management, absentee management, self-service and exit management. The future solution will reflect the NHS organisation structures and allow flexibility for mergers/de-mergers, TUPE and HMRC guidance.
iii. Payroll: third party platform interoperability for time tracking, payroll administration, metrics and analysis. Maintenance of national and local pay scales, allowances and deductions in line with terms & conditions, adhering to legislative requirements such as National Minimum Wage and HMRC thresholds.
iv. Compensation and Benefits: compensation & benefits management, pension contribution deduction, health & wellbeing and recognition.
v. Learning: knowledge management, administration of learning, learning delivery management and development of business leaders.
vi. Career Development: employee career experience covering career paths, coaching, staff mobility and succession planning.
vii. Performance Management: objective setting, performance management, competency assessment and metrics & analysis.
Supporting the functional requirements are a series of non-functional and technical capabilities:
i. Standards and Compliance: adhering to NHS, national and international regulations, policies and standards.
ii. Service Continuity: availability, maintaining and restoring service in accordance with service levels.
iii. Performance & Scalability: increase in number of users, records and demand without degradation of service, and future growth across the health and care system.
iv. System Intelligence: dynamic, future-proof systems, responsive to change in line with workforce needs and technology advances.
v. Security: cyber-security management and adhering to appropriate security standards.
vi. Interoperability: new capability to meet interoperability requirements and ensure ongoing current interfaces where required.
vii. Channels & User Interface: multiple channel access, with accessibility as a core consideration.
viii. Data, Reporting & Analytics: person-centred data management including aggregation, segregation and storage enabling better insights and experiences.
ix. Service Management Support: Service Desk and Incident Management.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Programme Vision / Weighting: 11.5
Quality criterion - Name: Programme Delivery / Weighting: 23.5
Quality criterion - Name: Functionality / Weighting: 31.5
Quality criterion - Name: Technology / Weighting: 23.5
Quality criterion - Name: Social Value / Weighting: 10
Price - Weighting: 100
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
A Price per Quality Point (PQP) evaluation methodology was used where the PQP was calculated by dividing the Price by the Total Quality Score.
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2022/S 000-023129
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
10 October 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 3
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 3
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 3
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Infosys Limited
Electronics City, Hosur Road,
Bangalore
560100
Country
India
NUTS code
- IN - India
National registration number
FC020086
Internet address
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £1,700,000,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £1,172,968
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract is likely to be subcontracted
Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties
Proportion: 64 %
Short description of the part of the contract to be subcontracted
HCM SaaS Solution Provider, SaaS Platform provider; Consulting Services; Solution Security.
Cloud & Data stack tools for data migration & Identity Access Management.
Programme Management Office, User Adoption & Organisational Change Management.
Security Product & Service Partner.
Data Archival Solution.
IT Service Management solution.
Welsh Language Translator.
Hardware assets decommission.
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
i. User organisations of the existing ESR service are mainly NHS Trusts and Bodies. Future scope may widen to include other organisations delivering Primary Care and health and social care pursuant to the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the Health and Care Act 2022 and any successor legislation
ii. Pre-Tender Market Engagement was conducted for this procurement - Find a Tender Service Notice references:
2022/S 000-010156
2022/S 000-008651
2022/S 000-003477
2021/S 000-026774
2021/S 000-015879
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
NHS Business Services Authority
Stella House, Goldcrest Way
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE15 8NY
commercialservicesteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
In accordance with regulation 87 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Authority observed a ten (10) calendar day standstill period following notification of the Authority's decision to award the contract. This provided time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision prior to the contract being entered into.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provide remedies under statute for aggrieved parties.