This standard covers NHS employment lifecycle from being a candidate for a post in the NHS through appointment, onboarding, job planning, payment, rostering, professional development, to leaving for another role or retirement. It aims to support the NHS People Digital Strategy that follows from the NHS People Plan, and defines the vision and benefits for interoperable workforce management tools and information. A key objective is to enable a joined-up workforce systems to provide staff with better operational tools and to provide managers with meaningful data for planning and to improve services.