Annual Leave
How much annual leave are you entitled to?
The HR department of your employing Trust will be able to confirm your annual leave entitlement as it depends on your length of NHS service and the length of your post but generally it is 27 days per annum for full time trainees with less than 5 years continuous service, plus bank holidays.
Study Leave
Entitlement you have 30 days study leave per annum (split evenly across posts), the allowance is pro-rata’d for LTFT trainees.
Study leave is used for mandatory VTS teaching sessions, please make sure you attend all your HDR teaching sessions, study leave for additional activities is only considered if core teaching requirements are met.
Because of limited resources, most schemes are unable to promise funding for any specific courses. Study leave is provided to;
- Allow you to attend mandatory VTS teaching sessions.
- Prepare you for the requirements of MRCGP (attendance at one AKT and one CSA/RCA course can be funded, please check with your Scheme administrator for details of your locally approved HEE courses).
- Cover the mandatory training requirements, (Child and Adult Protection, BLS). At the moment the mandatory courses are taking place online and there are free courses available. Please check with your local Scheme administrator for details of the approved courses.
- Trainees who are doing well in their ARCP assessments may be approved to attend local activities that are related to an area of personal interest or hard to reach area of the curriculum, these are classed as educational enhancement activities. Approval of these activities cannot be guaranteed. Please check with your local administrator before booking a place on any course.
- Your ES and CS will need to approve your application. All educational enhancement activities should be discussed with your Educational Supervisor and should form part of your learning plan.
- Please give details of the learning entry on your e-portfolio when submitting your application.
- If you are requesting approval for attendance at a conference please note on your application how the learning need was identified and whether you have been asked to present/speak at the conference.
All completed application forms must be submitted to your local Scheme administrator, applications will be considered by the study leave team to establish whether the activity is appropriate for your current stage of training and whether resources will allow. You will be informed if your application has been successful by your Scheme administrator.
To increase the likelihood of your study leave application being approved, follow these guidelines.
1. Make sure the learning need for which you are applying for study leave is on your PDP, clearly described and justified in relation to your career in GP.
2. If you are in any doubt, talk to a TPD before going any further.
3. Use the approved study leave application form.
4. Get the request approved by your Hospital Consultant or GP Trainer and a TPD.
5. Get approval from the Rota Coordinator (hospital post) or Practice Manager (GP post).
6. Apply 8 weeks in advance of the course if possible.
7. Pay any upfront charges required by the organisers of the course – hopefully, these will be reimbursed. Some courses will not be funded neither will courses which you book onto but then you fail to attend.
- Speak to your Educational Supervisor – all applications for learning activities must be approved by your Educational Supervisor and form part of your learning plan. There may be better ways to increase your knowledge of the topic, e.g. VTS teaching, practice or department teaching, clinic sessions, Blackboard courses, self-study. Your ES and CS will be able to advise.
- Make sure that the learning objective is listed on your e-portfolio, this can be part of your pdp or learning plan, or listed as a separate learning objective.
- Arrange cover for your absence in a hospital post, this means liaising with your peers. In a GP post, this means liaising with the Practice Manager.
- Fill out a Study Leave Application Form. If your Consultant or GP Trainer and Educational Supervisor are happy with your request they need to sign their part of the form. Once all signatures are received the form must be submitted to your GPSTP Scheme administrator.
- Forms must be submitted as far in advance as possible but in any event no later than 6 weeks prior to the proposed leave. It can take a couple of weeks for approval to be given from departments, whilst approval is being sought please make sure your local administrator is aware of your application so they can check whether approval will be given.
- Please do not book a place on any course/conference unless approval has been given. Approval cannot be guaranteed.
- Once your application has been sent to your Scheme administrator, they will confirm receipt and your application will be considered. You will be informed as soon as possible whether your application has been successful. If study leave is not approved a brief explanation will be provided.
- If your application is approved you can then book a place on the course and pay the course fee. When the course is over, you will be able to claim back your expenses via your Trust’s online expenses system. Your Scheme administrator will confirm how you can claim this back.
- Please add a learning log entry to your e-portfolio reflecting on and evaluating the event. You can then upload your claim to the Trusts online expenses system. Make sure you keep all receipts as these need to be uploaded with the claim.
Study leave forms and queries
Please make sure you complete the study leave form for your Scheme either Sheffield or Barnsley, download links below, once completed please send to your local Scheme administrator for approval, email addresses are listed below;
Sheffield study leave please contact Sue Gumley s.gumley@nhs.net
Sheffield study leave application form
Barnsley study leave please contact Rose Goldsmith rose.goldsmith@nhs.net
Barnsley study leave application form
Exam Leave
Leave to take exams is usually counted as part of your Study Leave allowance. However, you can only take it as Study leave as dictated below…
Exam leave for the day of the MRCGP
– For the first attempt, leave is granted with expenses, if travelling to an exam centre.
– For subsequent attempts, leave is granted without expenses.
Exam leave for the day of a diploma (such as DRCOG, DFSRH, DCH, DGM)
– There is no automatic entitlement for study leave for a diploma/non RCGP exam but if educational approval is awarded, leave will be granted without funding to sit the exam.
Exam preparation leave
– There is no automatic entitlement to Exam Preparation Leave for private study in order to prepare for an exam.
– In exceptional circumstances, the employing body may grant leave for up to 2 days to prepare for an exam but no more than 3 days in a year.
Exam preparation leave only applies to MRCGP exams required for GP training, private study leave cannot be taken to prepare for any other diplomas or exams.
HEE study leave guidance
Please keep a log
In addition to Annual and Study leave, you are allowed time off from the training programme for any of the types of leave mentioned below, in accordance with the contractual arrangements with your employer. However, we would like to reiterate the fact that the total, aggregated allowance for the types of leave below must not exceed…
- one week in any 6 month post or
- two weeks in a 12 month training period or
- six weeks over a 3-year training period
(Please note that one year would be a calendar year beginning from programme start date).
Please keep a log of all your leave throughout your 3 year training programme (sickness, parental, maternity and anything else).
Remember, informing the different stakeholders who need to know is the trainee’s responsibility. Failing to do this early on will mean that any gaps that need making up in your training programme will be picked up too late to do anything about and only you lose out. We do not want this to happen to you.
Sick Leave
If you need time off sick, there are 2 aspects you need to think about:
Your Employment
– You should contact your workplace immediately to let them know you can’t come to work. In GP this might be the Practice Manager or your Trainer, in hospital the Rota Coordinator, departmental secretary or your Clinical Supervisor. Try to have a conversation or full message exchange – don’t just leave a message and hope it gets through. If you can give them an idea of how long you are likely to be off sick, this is helpful.
– You must send sick notes to the correct admin department in your employing organisation – if you don’t, you may not get paid on time.
Your Education
– If you are absent for more than two weeks in any one year for any kind of leave in addition to the study and annual leave allowance, that excess must be made up with additional training time at the end of your training programme.
– If you are absent for more than the two weeks allowance, please let the following people know:
1. Your scheme’s GP administrator
2. The Training Programme Directors
3. The Deanery
Other Types of Leave
Parental Leave
Eligible employees can take unpaid parental leave to look after their child’s welfare, eg to: spend more time with their children, look at new schools, settle children into new childcare arrangements, spend more time with family, such as visiting grandparents.
Click for more info…
Maternity Leave
This is for when you take time off to have a baby. Remember, you might be eligible for: Statutory Maternity Leave, Statutory Maternity Pay, paid time off for antenatal care or extra help from the government.
Click here for more info…
Paternity Leave
When you take time off because your partner’s having a baby, adopting a child or having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement you might be eligible for:
– 1 or 2 weeks’ paid Paternity Leave,
– Paternity Pay,
– Shared Parental Leave and Pay.
You may not get both leave and pay, and there are rules on how to claim and when your leave can start.
Click here for more info…
Time off for Family and Dependents
As an employee you’re allowed time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant. A dependant could be a spouse, partner, child, grandchild, parent, or someone who depends on you for care. You’re allowed a reasonable amount of time off to deal with the emergency, but there’s no set amount of time as it depends on the situation.
Compassionate Leave
Unfortunately, most people will experience the loss of somebody close to them at some point during their career and may need time off work for compassionate bereavement leave. This allows them time for grieving and managing bereavement matters, such as arranging or attending a funeral. Currently, there is no legal obligation for UK employers to provide compassionate leave as standard, paid or otherwise. However, most employers do exercise discretion, and most detail a formal bereavement leave policy as a contractual entitlement. Please talk to your employer.
Carer’s Leave
If you are an employee but also have caring responsibilities for children, elderly relatives or dependants you:
– Can apply for The right to request flexible working
– are entitled to Time off for dependants to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
Jury Service Leave
Your employer is required to give you time off for jury service BUT they don’t have to pay you for the time that you take off (unless your employment contract says so). You’ll be able to claim money back from the court to make up for some of your financial losses.
Time off to visit the doctor or dentist
Your employer are not legally obliged to give you time off to attend doctor or dentist appointments unless your contract of employment says so. Your employer can insist you make these visits outside work hours, take holiday leave or make the time up later on. You should check your contract of employment.
Pregnant women are allowed reasonable paid time off work for ante-natal care – you won’t need to make it up later.
If you’re disabled and your employer won’t let you take time off for a medical appointment connected with your disability, they could be discriminating against you. Discuss this with them in the first instance.