Staff Lottery – Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you are more than welcome to enter more than once. Each ticket costs £1, and you can purchase up to ten entries per month.

Starting in September 2024, there will be a prize draw every month, on the Monday following the NHS Lothian salary payday, which is the last Thursday of every month. Due to Christmas, the December draw will take place earlier, typically in early December, aligning with the adjusted payment schedule.

The winner is selected electronically using a random number-generating tool. Your entry number is your payroll number. If you have purchased multiple entries, your number will be entered multiple times.

Signing up is easy. It’s done online on the NHS Lothian Charity website. You’ll need a few personal details and your payroll number, to do so.

Your NHS Lothian payroll number is located on your e-payslips, in the top left-hand corner when you log in, or on your printed version under ‘staff pay number’. Your payroll number starts with an S and then is followed by seven numbers e.g., S1234567.

Bank staff are eligible to participate in the Staff Lottery. Bank staff who wish to take part will be required to set up a Direct Debit directly with NHS Lothian Charity, with the first payment starting on the 1^st of September 2024, in advance for the first draw at the end of the month. This ensures that entry payments are always collected on time, as due to the ad hoc nature of bank shifts, payment from the NHS Lothian payroll team is not guaranteed. Prize winnings will be paid through your salary, the same as other participating staff.

Complete the Staff Lottery registration form and make it known you are bank staff. If you have signed up before the end of June 2024, the Charity team will contact you to inform you how to set up a Direct Debit instruction to purchase your monthly Staff Lottery entries. The first Direct Debit for entry payment will be set up for the 1^st of September  2024, in advance of the first prize draw at the end of September

Any bank staff signing up to take part after the 22nd July, must complete a Direct Debit form by the 14th of the month to ensure we can collect on the 1st of the following month to participate in the following month’s draw.

Bank staff must cancel their Direct Debit for payment of participation if they leave their employment with NHS Lothian. If, for any reason, this doesn’t happen and the winning number belongs to an ex-employee, the win is null and void, and the prize money will roll over.

Our current monthly prize pot is:

• The top prize is £1,000
• Second prize is £500
• Three prizes of £200
• Two prizes of £100
• Eight prizes of £50
• And ten £10 prizes every month!

So, every month, there are 25 lucky winners guaranteed. NHS Lothian Charity aims to increase prize levels as and when the number of lottery participants allows.

Winners will be announced on the Staff Lottery web pages on NHS Lothian Charity’s website and NHS Lothian’s Intranet, if the winning participant gives us permission to do so. Winners will also be notified directly by NHS Lothian Charity’s fundraising team using the contact details you’ve provided us with. We will try and call you if we can, as we know you’ll want to know quickly, and that is a phone call we’ll take pleasure in making! The prize money will be distributed to the winners the following month, paid straight through their payslips.

Yes, every month, the day after the draw, the winning participant will be announced on the dedicated Staff Lottery webpage on NHS Lothian Charity’s website and the Charity’s pages on NHS Lothian’s Intranet, if they give us permission to do so. If they don’t, we’ll detail the area the winning participant is based.

From signing up, you will be entered into the next available prize draw. The first draw will take place at the end of September 2024, after the initial period of promotion. If you sign up before the 1^st of any month after the promotion period, you will be entered into the following month’s draw.  This ensures there is time to complete the necessary administrative processes and collect the entry payment.

No, you don’t pay tax on lottery winnings in the UK. This applies to all lottery games, including the National Lottery, Euromillions, and scratch cards.

Lottery winnings are classified as gambling winnings by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This means it is not considered income and therefore is not subject to income tax, capital gains tax, or National Insurance contributions.

We’re sorry, but no, not currently.

This is due to how the lottery ticket costs are processed, and winnings are distributed. As this is processed through NHS Lothian’s payroll system, you need to be on the payroll system to take part.

We hope to launch a public lottery in the future and will invite all volunteers to take part if or when that launches.

Unfortunately, Gift Aid cannot be claimed on income raised through the Staff Lottery. Gift Aid applies to voluntary donations, and a lottery entry is considered a payment for a chance to win a prize, not a gift. This is according to HMRC, the UK’s tax authority: www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid.

The terms of the gambling licence state that at least 20% of the income raised through Lottery entry purchases will be donated to NHS Lothian Charity for each draw. We anticipate it will be more than this each month.

Yes, you will receive a welcome email. Remember to check your junk inbox.

You can contact NHS Lothian Charity fundraising team by calling us on 0131 465 4850 or emailing us at [email protected], and we will investigate it promptly for you. Please remember to check your junk inbox too.

Please contact NHS Lothian Charity fundraising team to increase or reduce your number of entries per month, by calling us on 0131 465 4850 or emailing us at [email protected]. You can make changes until the 1^st of the month so that they are applied to that month’s draw. Otherwise, the changes will be applied to the following month’s draw.

Please contact NHS Lothian Charity fundraising team to cancel your participation, by calling us on 0131 465 4850 or emailing us at [email protected]. You can make changes one month in advance. Notice of cancellation must be given before the 1^st of the month, otherwise, the deductions will be taken for the draw the following month.

Please contact NHS Lothian Charity fundraising team by calling us on 0131 465 4850 or emailing us at [email protected] and we will support you to get you signed up right away.

Please contact NHS Lothian Charity fundraising team by calling us on 0131 465 4850 or emailing us at [email protected] and we will make the necessary updates to your participant record right away.

You must be 18 years old or over, be employed by NHS Lothian, receive your salary through NHS Lothian payroll, and live in Scotland to claim a prize from the NHS Lothian Charity Staff Lottery.

Full terms and conditions apply and can be found on the dedicated Staff Lottery webpages on NHS Lothian Charity’s website.

Yes, if the person claiming can prove, to NHS Lothian Charity’s reasonable satisfaction, that they are entitled to claim on behalf of the deceased participant’s estate.

NHS Lothian Charity abides by the terms and conditions of our gambling licence, as issued by Edinburgh City Council. You’ll find more information on the licence on their website. NHS Lothian Charity Staff Lottery is a charity fundraising product, and we follow best fundraising practice, as set out in the Fundraising Code of Practice.

NHS Lothian Charity is a Scottish Registered Charity No: SC007342, regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator, OSCR.

You can find the full terms and conditions of the Staff Lottery on the dedicated web pages on NHS Lothian Charity’s website.

If you’re worried about the effects of gambling on you or someone you know, you can find information on the Gamble Aware website or you can call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. We encourage our participants to gamble responsibly. For more information on responsible gambling, please visit the Gamble Aware website.

If you are gambling more than you want to, then you have the option to self-exclude yourself from future lotteries. If you would like to be excluded from future lotteries, please download, complete, and return this self-exclusion form to [email protected] or post to Vanessa Healey, Planned Giving Manager,  NHS Lothian Charity, Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG.

Alternatively, you can call us on 0131 465 5850, and the fundraising team can support you to self-exclude.

This exclusion will remain in place for a minimum of 6 months, and you must contact the fundraising team if you wish to play again after that time.

Any complaints, concerns, or feedback relating to the NHS Lothian Charity Staff Lottery should be sent in writing to [email protected] or posted to NHS Lothian Charity, Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG.

No, this is not the same Staff Lottery as previously promoted by NHS Lothian. It is promoted and managed by NHS Lothian Charity and will only deliver cash prizes.

No, NHS Lothian Charity won’t be offering tickets to local attractions as prizes. The prizes will currently be cash only.

The previous Staff Lottery prizes were larger as it had been running for a considerable length of time and had a large pool of participants, and therefore entry payments, to fund those prizes. NHS Lothian Charity aims to increase prize levels as and when the number of lottery participants allows.

Staff are still eligible to participate should they be on a period of any leave, i.e., sick leave or maternity leave.

Participation in each month’s draw depends on the payment of entry. If payroll is unable to collect payment for any reason, then participants will automatically be excluded from the draw. You will be contacted by the fundraising team in these circumstances.

To cancel or pause your participation, please notify the fundraising team at NHS Lothian Charity one month in advance of your cancellation. Notifications must be received by the 1st of the month, or the deductions from that month’s salary will be taken. Direct Debits can be cancelled directly with your bank up to three days before the due date, but please also notify the fundraising team at [email protected]

To be eligible to win a prize in a draw, you must be employed by NHS Lothian before the 1st of the month that the draw takes place in and have wages to cover your entry fees. If you leave your employment with NHS Lothian, you can no longer take part in the Staff Lottery. If, for any reason, an ex-employee does have a winning entry, this is null and void, and the draw will roll over to the following month.

Yes, of course, you can do this however many times you like. To cancel or pause your participation, please notify the fundraising team at NHS Lothian Charity one month in advance of your cancellation. Notifications must be received by the 1st of the month, or the deductions from that month’s salary will be taken. Direct Debits can be cancelled directly with your bank up to three days before the due date, but please also notify the fundraising team at [email protected]

No, you don’t need to inform or ask permission from your manager to participate in the Staff Lottery.

We will only publicise your name if you give us permission to do so, and only your first name and work base area. We may ask our winners to participate in celebration communications and photographs, but it is entirely up to you if you wish to do so or not.