Less Than Full Time Training (LTFT)

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is strongly committed to supporting all Resident Doctors in Training to reach their full potential. All Resident Doctors in Training, including those in academic programmes, can apply for less than full-time (LTFT) training.

This guidance is largely based on the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMeD) Gold Guide 10^th Edition which draws on the NHS Employers document Principles Underpinning the New arrangements for Flexible Training (2005) and is supported by the GMC’s 2024 position statement on LTFT training.

Those in LTFT training must meet the same requirements as those who train on a full-time basis to achieve a Certification of Completion of Training (CCT).

The aims of LTFT training are to:

• retain doctors in the workforce who are unable to continue their training on a full-time basis for a well-founded individual reason
• promote career and personal development as well as work/life balance and wellbeing
• ensure continued training in programmes on a time equivalence (pro rata) basis

LTFT Resident Doctors in Training in training will:

• reflect the same balance of work as their full-time colleagues. Daytime working, on-call and out-of-hours duties will normally be undertaken pro rata to those worked by full-time Resident Doctors in Training in training at the same training grade in that specialty. The educational and legal requirements of training must always be met.
• normally move between placements within rotations on the same basis as full-time Resident Doctors in Training. Where this is not possible, employers should ensure that appropriate and timely induction takes place to support the individual.

LTFT Resident Doctors in Training in training are not precluded from undertaking additional work although they should ensure that in undertaking this work, they practise according to the GMC’s standards in Good Medical Practice and that there is no negative impact on their training.  Resident Doctors in Training should take note of the recommendation that repetitive additional work will lead to a review of LTFT training schedule or eligibility and that LTFT for health reasons is unlikely to support additional working. They should ensure that the Postgraduate Dean, as their designated Responsible Officer, is aware of all additional work undertaken by use of their annual SOAR submission. Further information is available on the COPMeD website.

A balance needs to be maintained between the LTFT training arrangements, the educational needs of both full-time and LTFT Resident Doctors in Training, and the needs of the service.

Decisions made by NES relate only to educational support for a LTFT training application. The Placement Board (on behalf of the employing Board) must make a separate decision about the employment aspects of any proposal including the placement and any associated out-of-hours work.

This page was last updated on: 26.05.2025 at 09.31