Advice for doctors who miss training as a result of industrial action

HEE respects the rights of doctors in training to take industrial action as employees. Whilst industrial action in the short term may not necessarily compromise their training, there could be circumstances where prolonged industrial action and loss of training experience impact on a doctor’s ability to demonstrate competence and the satisfactory completion of the curriculum. To manage this issue, HEE will comply with GMC guidance that states if a trainee misses more than two weeks (when a trainee would normally be at work), over and above annual leave, that the satisfactory training progression of a trainee should be reviewed at their next Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP).

For trainees on the Foundation Programme, the trigger point is 20 days.

See GMC guidance at:

• Time Out of Training - GMC position statement November 2012
• Absences from training in the Foundation Programme June 2013