Medical Laboratory Assistant

UHDB; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Medical Laboratory Assistant to join the Histology Department at the Royal Derby Hospital in Derby. The role may involve cross-site work, with a typical pattern from 07:30 to 19:30 on weekdays and occasional Saturday shifts within a rolling roster.

The MLA will support Histopathology by handling samples, data entry, and maintaining equipment.

Qualifications

• Good general education including English and Science.
• IT literacy and administrative tasks like filing and queries.
• Able to follow protocols and safe load handling practices.

Responsibilities

• Data entry and admin / filing.
• Assisting senior staff with sample handling.
• Maintenance of laboratory equipment.
• Replenishing laboratory stocks and reporting low levels.
• Human tissue handling, and chemical disposal.
• Laboratory housekeeping.

Skills

IT literacy

Administrative skills

Education

English and Science education

Job description

Main area Histology Grade Band 2 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (To contribute to shift patterns between 0730-1900 Monday - Friday and 0730 - 1530 Saturday) Job ref 320-CDCS-4439

Site Royal Derby Hospital Town Derby Salary £25,272 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 10/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 24/11/2026

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities everyday! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

If you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care-experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this within your application.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

Derbyshire Pathology has a vacancy for a Medical Laboratory Assistant within the Histology Department on the Royal Derby Hospital site, although cross-site working may be required in the future. The service is currently provides a service Monday to Friday 07:30-19:30 including Saturday working over a rolling 5 week roster.

Histopathology provides a diagnostic service to Clinicians and GPs in a timely and efficient manner handling approximately 50,000 patient sample requests a year.

The role of the MLA is well established within the department. The successful candidate will be expected to have a good level of general education including English and Science, be IT literate, Admin (Filing and dealing with queries) and be familiar with safe load handling practices.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, committed individual who has a keen interest in medical science to join the Derbyshire Pathology team. A person who has an adaptable nature, can cope with the stresses of a frequently changing environment and someone who is willing to contribute and participate in a busy team.

Laboratory experience is not essential as the tasks and duties will be taught in-house, however candidates will be expected to demonstrate experience of good team working, use of initiative and ability to follow protocols.

Main duties of the job

Key roles and responsibilities for this include:

• Data entry and admin / filing
• Assisting senior staff with sample handling
• Maintenance of laboratory equipment
• Replenishing laboratory stocks and reporting low levels
• Human tissue handling, and chemical disposal
• Laboratory house keeping

Training will be provided in-house with competency assessment and reviews undertaken on a regular basis.

Closing date of applications: 10 November 2026