Absence during Foundation Training

Annual Leave

Your employing NHS Trust will confirm to you your entitlement to annual leave. The foundation schools advise that annual leave is split equally between attachments in order for you to achieve the maximum exposure to each specialty and to ensure adequate R&R throughout your training programme. Foundation doctors should check local arrangements with their local medical education manager or medical staffing manager.

If you are being pressured by your clinical department to delay taking annual leave until later in the training year please discuss with your local FTPD or Foundation Coordinator.

Jury Service

Doctors are no longer exempt from performing Jury Service. It is possible to defer a Jury Summons, however, deferral can, by law, only be granted once.

As there are time requirements for the Foundation Training Programme, if you receive a Jury Summons during either the F1 or F2 year you should reply promptly to the Summons requesting a deferral. If, for some reason, this is not possible foundation doctors should contact the Foundation School in order to obtain a letter to request that Jury Service be restricted to a maximum of two weeks.

Compassionate/Maternity/Sick Leave

Please ensure that you follow your employing Trusts procedure for reporting absences from work.

The maximum permitted non-statutory leave (i.e. compassionate/sickness/maternity leave) during each of the F1 and F2 years is 20 working days before it is necessary for a foundation doctor to complete additional training in order to be signed-off. If you are – or are likely to be – absent for more than 20 working days you should contact the Foundation School to discuss further.

Maternity Leave Only

If you are due to go on maternity leave we ask that you complete the Time Out of Programme form so that a record of your leave is recorded at Foundation School level. The form can be downloaded from the following location: Policies – Time Out of Foundation.