Survey changes
The survey questionnaire can be found on the Survey Documents page of the NHS Staff Survey website.
The survey questions are aligned with the NHS People Promise and two main themes of Staff Engagement and Morale.
Key changes to the 2025 survey:
The 2025 questionnaire saw several changes compared to 2024.
Q16b was updated to include examples:
2024: In the last 12 months have you experienced musculoskeletal problems (MSK) as a result of work activities?
2025: In the last 12 months have you experienced musculoskeletal problems (MSK) as a result of work activities? Examples may include back pain, neck or arm strains, and joint pain. Q20 was updated to cover protected characteristics:
Q20 was updated to cover protected characteristics:
2024: Does your practice act fairly with regard to career progression / promotion, regardless of ethnic background, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or age?
2025: Does your organisation act fairly with regard to career progression / promotion, regardless of e.g. age, disability, ethnic background, gender reassignment, religion, sex or sexual orientation?
Q21c, On what grounds have you experienced discrimination?, was updated to cover the protected characteristics:
2024 answer options: Ethnic background, Gender, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Disability, Age, Other (please specify)
2025 answer options: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage and civil partnership, Pregnancy and maternity, Race, Religion or belief, Sex, Sexual orientation, Other (please specify)
Due to changes in the wording for Q16b, Q20, and Q21c, results for these questions are not historically comparable. Only results from 2025 are presented on the dashboard.
The People Promise element 'We are safe and healthy' and the sub-score 'Negative experiences' have been recalculated for previous years to remove Q16b.
The People Promise element 'We are compassionate and inclusive' and the sub-score 'Diversity and equality' have been recalculated for previous years to remove Q20.
Socio-economic background
The questionnaire included questions (Q42-46) from the Socio-economic background harmonised standard from the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation Team. This uses the Social Mobility Commission's definition of socio-economic background, which is:
“[…] the particular set of social and economic circumstances that an individual has come from. It permits objective discussion of the influence of these circumstances on individuals' educational and career trajectories; and it can be objectively measured by capturing information on parental occupation and level of education.”
The NHS Staff Survey for bank only workers used the self-coded question set designed to place respondents into five classes, the Five Class System of National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).
During quality assurance processes, analysts at the Survey Coordination Centre (SCC) identified a high rate of non-response or non-substantive responses, resulting in 52% of respondents from across the country not being allocated a score with the Five Class System. This includes 6% that said their parents/guardians were not employed. Using an alternative Three Class System (that is derived only using Q46 - When you were aged about 14, what was the occupation of the main or highest income earner?) reduced the proportion without a score to 33%.
SCC also found the rate of responses not resulting in a score varied between demographic groups. This occurs with both the Five and Three Class Systems, though to a lesser extent for the Three Class System. Groups less likely to produce a score include:
- People from Mixed / multiple, Asian / Asian British, Black / African / Caribbean / Black British, Arab or Other ethnic backgrounds (as compared to people from White backgrounds)
- Younger people (particularly those aged 16-30)
- People recruited from abroad
When interpreting socio-economic background results on the dashboard, it's essential to consider the above caveats.