Less Than Full Time Working
​Welcome to The Rotherham NHS Foundation NHS Trust (TRFT)
Ambitious, Caring, Together: we reflect our values in all practices across the trust. *Hours, Rotas, Leave, Pay* We understand that organising these aspects of LTFT are often the most complex and difficult to navigate. Here you will find access to the right information and the right people to help you. You may also be interested in our page LTFT: For Supervisors.

Please send any comments about this page to [email protected].  © You may adapt any parts of this page to develop local LTFT resources; please credit The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust.  
​Dr Jon Clark [email protected]
​​Consultant in anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Director of Medical Education and Flexible Training Champion (FTC). The FTC role is to offer support to doctors in their working practice and any other commitments they have.

​​Dr Clare Smith [email protected] Ext: 7816 
 Consultant in Anaesthetics, TRFT SuppoRTT Champion (Supported Return to Training).

Debbie Harrison  [email protected]
Medical Education Manager. As well as being our Education Manager, Debbie has experience working at Health Education Yorkshire and Humber and has working knowledge of many of their processes and procedures.

Chelsea Goodwin [email protected]
Medical Workforce Advisor and Medical Workforce Flexible Training Champion. Chelsea understands the challenges and regulations surrounding working LTFT with regards to hours, rotas, leave and pay.

Gerry Lynch
Consultant in anaesthetics and Guardian of Safe Working (GOSW). The GOSW role acts to monitor and action the exception reporting system and to meet with doctors when problems with working within hours arise.
​Read local policies relevant to working LTFT and find out more about on-site services.
​Policies marked * below are on the Trust's intranet site.  TRFT staff can access the intranet remotely: please contact the IT Helpdesk (01709 820000 switchboard) or the HR Service desk (01709 820000 switchboard) for help with this.
Annual Leave + Bank Holidays (8) x % worked = total leave entitlement

Eg. If worked in NHS > 5 years and working 60%:  (32 + 8) x 0.6 = 24 days leave per year.
​
  • If NHS Service <5 years annual leave = 27 days, if >5 years = 32 days
  • If your normal working day falls on a bank holiday but you are not working it, you take a day off your total allowance
  • If a bank holiday falls on a zero hours day/long day/night/on call/non-working day, you do not deduct a day from your total allowance. 

​In order to check this you will need:
  1. Your personalised (bespoke) work schedule for the entire period
  2. A copy of the full time rolling rota.

Once you have these you can work through the comprehensive joint BMA/NHS Employers guidance LTFT: Your Pay Explained.  If you have any issues with this then contact Chelsea Goodwin ([email protected]), our Medical Workforce Flexible Training Champion.
Starting point:
  • You should be doing approximately your percentage of each type of shift. E.g. If working 60%, you should expect to work approximately 60% of normal working days, 60% of long days, 60% of night shifts, etc. 
  • If you are in a job share then you work your agreed percentage of normal working days and split the on-calls 50/50. 
  • If you have to complete mandatory training or study leave on a non-working day/zero day you can claim TOIL (time off in lieu) or payment as long as the study leave has been approved beforehand. 
  • Trainees can be rostered to start OR finish on a non-working day but not both without mutual agreement.
  • If scheduled as a “long day” but the shift finishes by 9pm, this shift doesn’t attract extra pay, therefore is treated like “normal working day,” therefore can be booked as leave without needing to swap.

Further guidance: 
  • NHS Employers: Doctors & Dentists in Training 
    This page contains information relating to doctors and dentists in training on national terms and conditions of service (TCS). It covers both the 2016 contract for doctors and dentists in training, and archived information on the previous 2002 medical and dental terms as they applied to doctors and dentists in training.
  • BMA Rostering Guidance
Health Education Yorkshire and Humber
Health Education Yorkshire and Humber: LTFT
Quick access to all policies and application forms, details of LTFT Workshops, peer support via social media, the SuppoRTT Programme for those return after a period of leave and expert support: email  [email protected]  

British Medical Association
British Medical Association: Flexible Working and LTFT
Reduced fees if LTFT;  LTFT Forum;  LTFT: Your Pay Explained;  Working Parents;  Contract Checking Service;  Rostering Guidance

NHS Employers
NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (Staff Handbook)
See: Section 33: Balancing work and personal life 

General Medical Council
Reduced fees if below income threshold

Royal Colleges and Faculties
​Check individual colleges for details of reduced fees and flexible working policies e.g. *Royal College of Surgery: Reduced fees; Flexible Training & Working in Surgery ; *Royal College of Anaesthetists: Less than full-time training: a guide for training programme directors in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine 

UK ​Government: rights and benefits
Part-time workers' rights  and Benefits Calculator (gov.uk)
​Tax-free Childcare (gov.uk)
  • We would recommend regular informal (check in) and formal (review meetings as per ARCP/appraisal) contact with your educational supervisor.
  • If you are having problems ask for help early, in the first instance with clinical or educational supervisors, but if appropriate escalate to the Director of Medical Education (DME), Training Programme Director (TPD), Head of School (HoS), or Associate postgraduate dean for LTFT Training.
  • There is a reason you are working LTFT - ensure that your working pattern is appropriate for you and that you have back up plans where necessary (eg. for childcare).
  • Be professional, you are still part of a team.
  • Support is available locally on the Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Corridor, regionally via Health Education England Yorkshire and Humber and Nationally via GMC, Royal Colleges and Unions such as the BMA.
  • Self care – look after yourself amongst all this. And if you need help, just ask.
Timeline: what to do and when

​Planning and applying
  • Ideally, Health Education England Yorkshire and Humber (HEEYH) want as much notice as possible for the decision to go LTFT, but we appreciate that this is not always possible. If you are not sure whether LTFT working is for you it may be useful to speak to current doctors working LTFT or attending one of the HEEYH LTFT Workshops. These are held twice each year and can be found on the HEEYH website. 

  • Once you have made the decision, it’s important to speak to the RIGHT people EARLY.  This is a good time to meet with your Educational Supervisor (ES) and Training Programme Director (TPD) to discuss the practicalities within your specialty.  

  • You will need to complete the Health Education Yorkshire and Humber (HEYH) LTFT paperwork (scroll to the bottom of this page). This is easy to do and the LTFT email at HEYH ([email protected]) is very responsive.   Eligibility and further information regarding LTFT can be found here:  https://www.yorksandhumberdeanery.nhs.uk/learner_support/policies/less_than_full_time.

Supported Return to Training
If you are taking an extended period of time away from work, there is now a programme available to support your return to training and transition back into work: SuppoRTT: Supported Return to Training programme. These are a series of workshops and events that cover clinical scenarios, updates and mindfulness to name a few. Full details can be found at https://www.yorksandhumberdeanery.nhs.uk/learner_support/supported_return_to_training. 
If you are planning a period of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, it is good to consider Keeping in Touch (KIT) and Shared Parental Leave In Touch SPLIT days. 

​Approximately 8-12 weeks before returning to work (if known)
You will need to inform Chelsea Goodwin ([email protected]), our medical workforce Flexible Training Champion, of the expected date of returning to work. This is important for calculating any annual leave remaining and bank holidays accrued.  The Medical Workforce team at TRFT will also be able to provide you with your generic and personalised work schedule, as well as indicate your pay for the forthcoming job. You will also need a copy of the full-time rota in order to check your LTFT rota is correct.

This is a good time to meet with your Educational supervisor (ES) and contact your TPD. These meetings provide a good opportunity to plan your educational needs and activities and appreciate the current departmental challenges.

​ After meeting your ES and TPD and receiving your work schedule from the Medical Workforce Team, it is a good time to reflect on the challenges you may face and thinking in advance of solutions. Depending on the reason for you working LTFT will depend on your specific needs but these may include:
  • having robust childcare in place and a plan for an emergency situation
  • if you will need to attend multiple hospital appointments and the majority fall on one specific day, choosing that day as a non-working day.

Now is also a good time to reinstate professional memberships and if eligible, apply for discounted fees with the GMC, BMA, Royal Colleges, etc
​
​Balancing Working and Training
  • Organisation is KEY - it is important to be as organised in all aspects of life to make things as easy for you as possible
  • Having SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) Goals for training in agreement with your ES
  • Try to regularly reflect and reassess and if you are experiencing problems – ask for help early.