The SLE model in Wales is a collaborative employment model, with the responsibilities of the traditional employer shared between three major stakeholders, who are:
All three stakeholders’ primary function is to ensure that trainees complete their training satisfactorily and in doing so provide an excellent service to the local health and social care Sector in Wales.
ESR is a national NHS system for managing HR, payroll and reporting. This is where the SLE will record absences and special leave on behalf of host organisations. You will also be required to use the record and will be issued with a username and password.
You will be set up on ESR when you start with NWSSP. You will be sent a link and a password n your first day of employment. Please follow the guidance that will be attached to activate your account.
We have a paperless payslip system so your payslips will be available to view and download from ESR.
We also ask that you keep your personal information up-to-date on ESR as we rely on this information should we need to contact you for any reason.
You will also be responsible for maintaining all of your statutory and mandatory training on ESR which is highlighted on the home page when you log in.
The ESR Support team have multiple user guides on how to navigate the system, these guides can be accessed via this link: https://nwssp.nhs.wales/ourservices/digital-workforce/esr-support-wales/
If you have any queries regarding your ESR account, please contact the ESR Support Hub: eateb.wales@wales.nhs.uk / 02920 905400
Yes, you will be set up with an online e-expenses account for claiming any allowable expenses, these will be issued at the end of the month in which you commence employment.
Please ensure receipts are uploaded for all expenses (public travel, training courses, parking charges, tolls, subsistence, and accommodation) as expenses will not be approved without one.
If you meet the specified criteria within the relocation policy, you will also be able to apply for relocation expenses.
Please also ensure expenses are submitted within 3 months of the occurrence. Expenses must be submitted by the fifth of each month and must approved by the seventh of each month in order to be paid within the same monthly pay.
Please be aware that the approval of expenses is multi-tiered, therefore those submitted on the fifth may not be approved by the seventh.
Guidance on expenses and relocation can be found here: http://nww.employmentservices.wales.nhs.uk/expenses-information
You will be paid on the 21st day of each month, or the Friday before if the 21st falls on a weekend or bank holiday. You will be paid via BACs transfer. Payslips will be available via ESR.
Your starting salary will be dependent on the grade and role in which you are commencing and will be in line with Medical & Dental salary scales for Wales.
For those on new 2026 Medical & Dental Terms and Conditions (Residents who commenced training from 01/08/26), bandings are not applied but the payment would consist of basic hours, additional hours, unsocial hours and on call hours, depending on the placement and the rota you are working. These are confirmed by the Health Board and a job plan will be issued to you 8 weeks before your placement is due to begin.
For those on the 2002 Medical & Dental Terms and conditions, pay bandings are only applied and are calculated and provided to the SLE team by the Health Board in which you will be working. It is dependent on the roster you will be working and the hours you will be undertaking.
Any LTFT trainees will need to submit their rota to the local Medical Workforce team for them to calculate the appropriate banding. Please note, when rotating to a new placement, any delays in the rota being submitted can result in a delay to the banding being paid correctly and should be done as soon as possible, ahead of the rotation start date. Banding supplements can range from No Banding to 50%.
For more information on bandings and how they are calculated, please visit BMA Bandings.
Yes, you can work locum shifts for any Health Board within Wales provided you have notified your Training Programme Director and are competent to work in the locum role.
Foundation year one doctors are only permitted to work additional hours in a post and hospital site they are currently / have previously been placed in.
However, you are unable to work locum shifts if you are currently absent from your employed role due to any sickness absences or paid parental leave.
ALL rostered shifts (including on call) MUST be completed before a locum shift commences.
If any locum shifts are worked within Aneurin Bevan, Cardiff & Vale, Hywel Dda, Cwm Taf Morgannwg or Velindre NHS Trust, the hours worked will be communicated to SLE payroll. The additional hours will then be paid with your salary and included on one payslip.
To sign up for locum shifts, you will need to contact the Medical Workforce Team within the Health Board and complete an engagement form.
Please note, all locum and rostered shifts will need to be undertaken in line with the Working Time Directive.
If a change in hours or a change in banding is confirmed to us after the payroll deadline, then this can result in an overpayment or an underpayment.
If you feel you have been underpaid, please check your payslip in the first instance to ensure you have received the correct basic salary and the correct banding. If these look incorrect, please contact the SLE team to investigate and resolve.
If you have been overpaid for any reason, you MUST contact SLE, and Payroll as soon as detected to avoid further overpayment and investigation. The overpayments team will then contact you directly to arrange reimbursement.
No, you will be subject to one set of checks which will be taken at the start of your employment.
The SLE in NWSSP will share these checks with Health Boards prior to each rotation. They will also be shared with the co-ordinators of the Medical Performers List (if applicable).
You may however be required to complete a new DBS during your training. At the start of your employment NWSSP can only accept a DBS certificate that is dated within the last 3 years and has been carried out by a Health Board in Wales. If your DBS expires during your training a new application will be required. You will receive an e-mail from SLE providing you with specific instructions should a renewal be required.
Alternatively, if you are part of the DBS update service, SLE are able to verify your status at any time during your training without the need to complete a new application.
If you are moving from one programme to another i.e., Foundation Trainee going into Anaesthetics programme, then there will be minimal checks required provided the documents we hold remain in date.
A new Occupational Health clearance will always be required if there is a change to your role, and if completing Foundation / Core training, we will need to be in receipt of your Certificate of Competence for these.
If any other checks are out of date and need to be renewed, a member of the SLE team will contact you to confirm.
All Medical & Dental Residents are entitled to either 28 days or 33 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if less than full time).
Under the 2002 Medical & Dental Terms and Conditions, annual leave is calculated based on salary point rather than length of service. Those on salary point 03 and above have 33 days per annum, those on Point 02 and below have 28 days per annum.
Under the 2026 Medical & Dental Terms and Conditions, annual leave is calculated on length of service. This with 5 years service and more will have 33 days per annum, those with less than 5 years service will have 28 days per annum.
Your annual leave will be divided over the number of rotations you have within that year and will be confirmed in your Front Sheet (see above).
You must ensure you take your allocated leave during any given placement, in accordance with your contract of employment.
Annual leave requests must be submitted with reasonable notice and as agreed by your host organisation.
If you are sick during any periods of annual leave, the annual leave can be reimbursed provided you inform SLE on the first day of absence and the sickness period is covered with a GP note. Any bank holidays that occur during a period of sickness absence, will not be reimbursed.
Trainee Pharmacists – All trainee pharmacists will be on the Agenda for Change contract and will have 28 days plus bank holidays on appointment. This will increase following 5 years of service.
Yes, please see below for information based on your training programme.
• Secondary Care trainees
Study leave is the responsibility of HEIW, therefore please direct any study-related queries to HEIW.Recruitment@wales.nhs.uk or visit Study leave - HEIW (nhs.wales)
• GP trainees
Study leave is the responsibility of HEIW, therefore please direct any study-related queries to HEIW.GPTraining@wales.nhs.uk or visit Study leave - HEIW (nhs.wales)
• Dental foundation trainees
Dental foundation trainees are not entitled to any study leave – as part of their programme they attend 30 study days during the year.
• Trainee Pharmacists
Trainees will be provided with the equivalent of four hours study time per week where external training days are not provided. Use of study time will be agreed with the educational supervisor.
NWSSP supports its employees at times of urgent and unforeseen need, by consideration of the provision of additional leave according to circumstance. An example of the situations that the Special Leave Policy is intended to deal with are:
• Emergency carers and dependant leave,
• Unexpected crisis leave; and
• Bereavement leave.
Leave granted under the Special Leave Policy is not intended for long term or foreseeable domestic and family situations, which may be provided for in other ways, e.g. annual leave, unpaid leave, or reduced working hours.
Requests for special leave should be submitted to your educational supervisor or practice manager who will then forward to the NWSSP SLE team for approval in accordance with the Special Leave Policy.
Yes, all employees are entitled to Parental leave.
If you require maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave, please inform the SLE team as soon as possible. We will then send you the leave application form and provide you with guidance on the next steps.
Any pregnant trainee will be required to complete a risk assessment with their educational supervisor or host manager to identify any specific risks and adjustments which need to be made to protect the employee and their unborn child.
If you have any queries or concerns regarding your parental leave application, please contact the team to discuss on NWSSPSLE@wales.nhs.uk.
If you are unwell and feel unable to attend work, you MUST notify your manager, rota co-ordinator or educational supervisor on the first day of your absence, including the nature of the illness.
If you are in a hospital placement, contact the medical HR or rota manager. If you are in a practice placement, contact the GP practice or GP trainer. Trainee pharmacists should contact the educational supervisor in your relevant placement.
For any period of sickness absence between one and seven calendar days you must complete a self-certification form, unless already certified by a fit note or hospital certificate. This should be completed on return to work.
If the period of absence continues beyond seven calendar days, you MUST produce a fit note (medical certificate) for every day of absence thereafter. A fit note should normally be received by your educational supervisor or manager no more than three calendar days after it becomes due.
Sickness absence not covered by a self-certificate, or a fit note will be treated as unauthorised absence for which no payment will be made.
After any period of sickness absence, you will be asked to attend a return to work interview with your educational supervisor or manager to discuss your absence and any specific needs or concerns you may have.
Medical & Dental Trainees - For any periods of absence other than annual leave and study leave that collectively exceeds 14 days in any year, a review will take place to determine whether your programme completion date needs to be extended. Any change to your programme end date will be confirmed by HEIW.
Trainee Pharmacists – If absent for more than 40 days, inclusive of annual leave & bank holidays, this may impact on your end date. Should this occur, each case will be assessed individually by HEIW.
Sickness absence is managed in line with our Managing Attendance at Work policy.
All LTFT and out of programme applications should be submitted to HEIW.
For more information on the LTFT policy or to submit a digital LTFT application, please visit Less than full time training - HEIW (nhs.wales) and contact your programme director. In addition, you must notify the SLE team at NWSSP so that any contractual variations can be confirmed.
For trainees who receive a supplementary banding payment; please note that due to being LTFT, a bespoke rota may need to be created by the rota-coordinator. This will result in the banding needing to be calculated by the Host Organisation Medical Workforce Team. Once the rota has been assessed, the team will then confirm the new banding to us to process for payment. Due to tight payroll deadlines, this may not be received prior to the cut-off date but will be adjusted for the following month’s salary. Please be assured that any monies owed will be backdated.
Pre-registration pharmacists: Out of programme applications do not apply to pre- registration pharmacists and LTFT applications need to be submitted to HEIW but also require approval from the GPhC. Please contact HEIW.PRP@wales.nhs.uk for further detail.
For more information on the Out of Programme policy, please visit Out of programme - HEIW (nhs.wales) for further information. You will need to discuss your plans with your Training Programme Director prior to completing and submitting your application.
Being employed by NHS Wales Shared Services, under the Single Lead Employer (SLE) model, you will be entitled to various employee benefits including:
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), our confidential counselling service, as well as other Health & Wellbeing support services.
• Automatic membership of NHS Pension Scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Salary Sacrifice schemes for lease cars and home electronics
• Access to occupational health services for further support
All official documentation will be sent to your NHS Wales email address. It is important therefore that you check your account regularly. If you require assistance with accessing your account, please contact it.servicedesk@Wales.nhs.uk.
As your employer we also hold a record of your application and pre–employment checks on an electronic personal file
NWSSP is hosted by Velindre NHS Trust so all contracts of employment are issued by Velindre NHS Trust.
NIIAS, an electronic auditing tool, has been introduced across NHS Wales to detect access to electronic systems results and records by NHS staff, which may be unjustified or inappropriate.
NIIAS uses intelligent data triangulation and audit logs to detect when an employee may have misused their access rights. It automatically notifies the information governance team of any activity that may be of concern.
Examples of this type of activity are:
• Where an NHS Employee accesses their own care record without going through the correct procedure.
• Where an NHS employee accesses the record of a family member.
• Where an NHS employee accesses the record of a person living at the same address.
• Where an NHS employee accesses the record of a near neighbour; and
• Where an NHS employee accesses the record of a work colleague.
Of course, there will be times where some of the above activity is perfectly acceptable and justified; for example, when an employee is providing the care to a neighbour or colleague. However, a check will be undertaken to ensure this is indeed the case and that no breach of policies has occurred. That may lead to further investigation and action, so please think carefully if you need to look at someone’s personal information or results before you do so.
During your pre-registration period you are employed by Velindre University NHS Trust under the auspices of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. The Trust applies NHS Indemnity to its core activities.
If you are placed within a health board, this organisation will also apply NHS Indemnity to your NHS activities, which provides indemnity for any civil claim arising from your negligent act, omission or breach of a statutory duty in the course of your duties.
All community pharmacies are required to hold their own private indemnity cover for their activities and you will need to be included in this indemnity provision for the period of time that you are working there.
Both NWSSP and HEIW have processes to confirm the insurance or indemnity held by a community pharmacy, but you should also check that you have been included by speaking to the lead pharmacist or practice manager.
You are also strongly advised seek your own personal cover from a private indemnity provider or medical defence organisation to address the risk of a legal case being brought against you personally (for example criminal proceedings), the need for representation at an inquest where you are a separate interested party, or a referral to the GPhC. You should also seek separate personal cover for any activity that falls outside of your duties as a pre-registration pharmacist, such as private work within a GP practice or Good Samaritan acts.
During your foundation period you are employed by Velindre University NHS Trust under the auspices of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. The Trust applies NHS Indemnity to its core activities.
If you are placed within a health board, this organisation will also apply NHS Indemnity to your NHS activities, which provides indemnity for any civil claim arising from your negligent act, omission or breach of a statutory duty in the course of your duties.
There is currently no state-backed scheme for indemnity within community dentistry and all community dental professionals in Wales are required to obtain and maintain their own personal cover from a private indemnity provider or medical defence organisation.
You will be expected to provide evidence of your indemnity cover to NWSSP, HEIW and the dental practice you are working in.
As a trainee working in Wales, you are employed by Velindre University NHS Trust under the auspices of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. Both the Trust and the organisation in which you are working apply NHS Indemnity to your NHS activities which provides indemnity for any civil claim arising from your negligent act, omission or breach of a statutory duty in the course of your employment or duties.
Speciality GP Trainees, whilst working at a GP practice, are also covered by the discretionary General Medical Practice Indemnity scheme (GMPI) for NHS work. The scheme provides indemnity for clinical negligence claims which occur after 1 April 2019.
Whilst the NHS indemnity schemes provide cover for your NHS work, you are strongly advised seek your own personal cover from a private indemnity provider or medical defence organisation to address the risk of a legal case being brought against you that is not a civil claim (for example criminal proceedings), the need for representation at an inquest where you are a separate interested party, or a referral to the GMC. You should also seek separate personal cover for any activity that falls outside of your duties as a GP trainee, such as private work within a GP practice or Good Samaritan acts.
The NHS indemnity schemes provide a significant reduction in the costs that you will need to pay a private insurance provider or medical defence organisation.
Prior to commencing your employment, the following documents must be completed:
- New Appointment Form – this will be emailed to you approximately 4 weeks before you commence employment and is used to enrol you on to our payroll system
- Your host Health Board’s Occupational Health Questionnaire – this is sent with the ‘Offer Letter’ and needs to be completed and returned to the Occupational Health department, as detailed on the form, as soon as possible. Please ensure that the questionnaire is accompanied with the following information:
• Hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody status / Hepatitis B Certificate
• VZV (Chicken Pox) antibody status
• Rubella antibody status
• Documented evidence of heaf testing / BCG vaccination
- Electronic Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) form (unless in receipt of a current valid check – see ‘Welcome Letter’ for further information)
- All applicable ID checks, including application for Medical Performers List for GP Trainee
- All statutory & mandatory online training via your ESR account as soon as log in details have been received.
All the documents listed, MUST be provided in order for you to commence employment. If you do not have any of these to hand, arrangements must be made for you to obtain them.
The proof of address requirement relates to a bank statement or utility bill. If these are currently managed online, you will need to contact the provider and request a statement to be mailed to you.
If you are unsure of what you can provide, please email the relevant email address as detailed at the end of this document.
We strongly advise you arrange your arrival no later than 4 weeks prior to your planned start date.
You will need to be in the UK to complete your checks as we will need a UK address for the DBS application to be processed. You will also need time to open a UK bank account for payment.
If you require a sponsored visa in order to take up your post, a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) form will be completed by Single Lead Employer (SLE) and sent to the COS team, along with supporting documents (passport, medical degree, BRP) for further processing.
The team will then issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship directly to your personal email address.
Further information can be found on https://nwssp.nhs.wales/ourservices/employment-services/skilled-worker-certificate-of-sponsorship/
Whilst in the employment of NWSSP if you are applying for indefinite leave to remain the Medical Workforce Team will be able to provide you with the relevant references to assist with your application.
We must be in receipt of all required checks in order for you to commence your training. However, depending on the outstanding check and confirmation from your hosting Health Board, we may be able to undertake a risk assessment for you to undertake some patient care activities.
We will contact you individually should this be the case.
Providing all requirements from you are acted upon as soon as receiving, the pre-employment checks can be completed in 2 weeks, however, there are various reasons for potential delays.
• Any delays in us receiving copies of requested documents can have a knock-on effect of other checks. For example: A DBS application can only be processed once you have completed the form and an ID check has been completed. This will include your ID and a proof of address document. Without these, the application will not be processed through the system, even if the form has been completed.
• A sponsored application being delayed
• Occupational Health clearance can take a few weeks to come through during busier periods, therefore all forms need to be completed and returned as soon as possible and any requested appointments need to be attended. You will be unable to commence your employment unless you have been cleared fit by the Health Boards Occupational Health Department.
Please note that until we receive ALL required documents, we will not be able to enrol you on to the Electronic Staff Record system which will delay payment of your salary.
A New Appointment Form will be issued to you on completion of your pre employment checks. This will come from NWSSP.PayrollCentral@wales.nhs.uk.
Please complete this as soon as received to avoid any delay with your salary payment.
Your contract of employment with NWSSP will be sent to you on completion of your pre employment checks, providing you have fully completed the pre employment checks. This will detail the terms and conditions applicable to your employment.
You will be asked to accept your contract via the Trac system.