Frequently Asked Questions

When will I receive my lottery number(s) ?

Lottery ticket number(s) are issued once confirmation has been received from the relevant payroll unit that a deduction has been taken from your salary or pension for the HASSRA lottery and that this deduction is consistent with the number of lottery tickets requested. This will normally be within 4 weeks after the first lottery deduction is taken.

The ticket letter will then be sent by official courier to the office address that was entered on the applicants HASSRA lottery application form unless notified otherwise. The letter cannot, by law, be posted via the Royal Mail postal service.

When is the draw conducted ?

The draw is conducted within the first week of each month.

How is the draw conducted ?

At the time of each draw, all numbers between the first and last allocated lottery numbers held on the HASSRA Lottery database are input into a 'random number generator'.

Who undertakes the draw ?

Three officers are involved with the draw:

• The numbers are selected by an independent member of staff who is not involved with any part of the administration of the draw.

• A second individual witnesses the draw and confirms that the drawn numbers have been recorded correctly.

• A third officer double checks that the numbers drawn have been recorded correctly as per the sequence indicated by the number generator.

How are 'winners' identified ?

The drawn numbers are 'decoded' from the Lottery database which holds records of the names and staff numbers of all HASSRA members who have been allocated tickets in the draw.

The next stage is to ensure that all potential winners have had a deduction from their pay (or pension) for the preceding month and verify this with the appropriate pay group, i.e. FAMIS, Rebus, ADP Chessington, and a number of other payroll providers in the case of potential winners from Private Contractors, Retired Members and those staff working at Special Hospitals. These checks confirm if, and how much, the 'winning' members had deducted from their salaries (or pensions) from the preceding month. The process of dealing with the various payroll providers can take time and this is why the results are often not available until the third or fourth week of the month in question.

However, as soon as a list of winners has been verified and the 'major' prize winner has been informed of their win, the results are announced.

How are winners notified ?

The car winner receives a notification letter together with a car brochure advising them of their win. Quite often this is presented by a Senior Manager within the winner's Business Unit.

As soon as the major prize winner has been notified of their win, results posters are issued to the thirteen HASSRA regional secretaries who, in turn contact the winners within their catchment area to pass on the good news. The results are also posted on the HASSRA Intranet and Internet sites.

How are the cash winnings paid ?

All monthly cash prizes for staff paid via the FAMIS payroll system, are paid with salaries, tax free, normally in the month following the draw. All other winners receive a cheque during the month following the draw.

Why are the results not usually announced until the latter part of the month ?

You will see from question 5, above, that it is necessary for a significant amount of checking to be undertaken with a number of different parties following each draw. Consequently, the timing of the announcement of the results will vary from month to month depending on the number of required checks and speed of payroll response.

How are the results announced ?

Once the results are verified, copies of the monthly lottery winners posters are issued to each of the twelve HASSRA regional secretaries for onward dispatch to clubs and offices. Additionally, a copy of the results are added to the HASSRA Intranet and Internet sites where the current month and five preceding months are featured.

Retired members who take part in the HASSRA lottery are sent their own results posters on a quarterly basis along with their copy of HASSRA Headlines.

What if I win the car, but do not want to keep the vehicle ?

Members enter the HASSRA lottery draw on the basis that they are entering a competition where they might win a car. However, there may be a number of reasons why car winners may not be able to keep the car, i.e. they might be a non driver.

We are often asked why there is no a cash alternative to the car. The reason for this is because HASSRA pre-orders one years supply, i.e. 12 cars in advance. So, when the car winners are notified of their win, their cars have already been bought and paid for and are ready for delivery.

Are there any other rules that apply to the draw ?

Yes there are. Click here to view a full set of rules to the HASSRA Lottery.

Can someone win more than one prize in the same month?

Yes, and there have been instances when this has happened. As mentioned in question 2 above, the 'random number generator' selects the numbers within the specified range so all numbers have the potential to be selected. If a member has two or more tickets, there is nothing stopping two different numbered tickets being selected. As long as the correct payroll deduction has been taken, members can therefore win more than one prize in the same month.