The secret life of an enterprise agreement on all you need to know about the Home User and Employee Purchase programmes

In his latest column, Brian Painting outlines some of the benefits for NHS staff that come with Microsoft’s latest enterprise agreement with the health service – and how to get the most out of the Home User Programme and Employee Purchase Programme.

The enterprise agreement that Microsoft has signed with the NHS has two schemes to enable its employees to access high quality software at great prices.

That sounds like an advert; but the Home User Programme and the Employee Purchase Programme have been very popular features of our previous enterprise agreements with the NHS.

The Home User Programme: What’s available?

The HUP enables all users of Microsoft Office in the NHS to get a copy of Office to use at home. In practice, that means very nearly all NHS staff, because almost everybody uses some of the functionality of Office - whether that is Word for documents or Outlook for email.

The copy of Office that people can get is the same as the one the NHS is licensed for under the enterprise agreement, which is Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Plus.

Copies of Microsoft Office 2003 are no longer available, because that is not covered by the latest deal. However, if a newer version of Office is released before the agreement expires in 2010, that –and the current version - will be available through HUP.

HUP: What can I do with it?

HUP means you can get a copy of the latest version of Office with lots of bells and whistles on it for less than £20 shipping.We’re sometimes asked what people can do with their free copy of Office, and the answer is anything they like. The idea of the programme is to help people become familiar with the software, so it is easier for them to use it at work.

But that doesn’t mean you have to do work on your own copy. If you want to write letters with it, or help your kids put together a PowerPoint presentation for school, that’s fine.

HUP: How many copies and how do I get one?

The number of copies of Office available is commensurate with the number of desktops in the NHS – which equates to about 650,000 people. In practice, again, that means that everybody who wants a copy should be able to get one. But it also means we can only send out one copy to everybody who does.

To get a copy, you need three things. The first is access to the Internet, so you can go to the relevant section of the NHS Resource Centre, and the second is an NHS email address.

People often ask whether they can use another email address, such as their hotmail account, but the answer is no. This is a benefit for NHS employees. We don’t want to have to ask you lots of questions about your background, so the easiest way to check that you are an NHS employee is to ask for an NHS email address.

If you don’t have an email address from your employer, you can get an NHSMail address from NHS Connecting for Health. The last thing you need is your credit card. Yes, I know I said that HUP is free, but we do make a small charge for shipping. And I’m afraid we don’t take cash or cheques.

I’m having problems with the website...

We’re sometimes asked what people can do with their free copy of Office, and the answer is anything they like. Most people find the order process straightforward. But there are two common problems we have come across. One is that people’s Internet settings don’t let them use the site: if you are having problems with the site or ordering process, email hupvalue@msdirectservices.com.

The other is that the software that gives you access to HUP is quite a simple desktop application. That makes it easy to roll out, but it might not have captured absolutely every domain name (the organisational part of an email address) in the NHS.

We do add domain names as we come across them. So if you are having problems and you think this is the reason, email us at nhsea@microsoft.com.

HUP: How long does it take – and what if something goes wrong?

Your copy of Office will be shipped from Ireland. Our experience is that copies usually take three or four weeks to reach people. You should be aware that in the run-up to busy periods, such as Christmas, it may take a bit longer.

The biggest problem that people report once they get their copies is that they have received one in Estonian or Finnish. That’s because these are the languages that come above and below English in the drop-down menu that people use to select the language they would like their copy of Office to come in.

Obviously, the top-tip here is to make sure you pick out English from the menu. But it’s quite easy to get it wrong. If you do – or you have any other problems with a copy of Office that you have received - you should email hupvalue@msdirectservices.com and they’ll sort it out.

The Employee Purchase Programme

The other scheme that we run for NHS employees is the Employee Purchase Programme. This allows people to buy copies of Microsoft software and games at a discount on the retail price.

We constantly make new software available, so if you want a copy of Vista or a new X-box game, it is worth having a look at what is available. NHS employees access the programme in exactly the same way as they access the HUP, but they can buy as much stuff as they want through it.

Really, the only question we are often asked about EPP is whether it is a taxable benefit. The answer is that most NHS employees don’t have to worry about this. But we’re not tax experts. If you really want to check the details you’ll need to speak to you employer or an accountant.

Is it worth having?

As I said, it sounds like a bit of an advert, but all the feedback we get about HUP and EPP suggests that these are great benefits and much valued.

HUP is particularly good, because you can get a copy of the latest version of Office with lots of bells and whistles on it for less than £20 shipping. That’s better than you’ll get even if you use one of the educational schemes to buy one for a child.

About the author: Brian Painting has worked in Microsoft’s UK healthcare team for six years. He is the business manager for London and Wales and was involved in setting up the new NHS enterprise agreement for England.

Related links: To find out more about HUP, and to place an order, please click here.  Alternatively, to find out about EPP, and to place an order, please click here.