Study Leave and Study Leave Expenses

 

Study Leave and Study Leave Expenses

General Practice Doctors in Training ONLY

 

Before applying for Study Leave, please make yourself familiar with the Study Leave Policy. It contains information that will help you over the course of your training.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How many days of study leave am I entitled to?

(Study Leave Policy Section 4, page 7, 4.0.2)

 

Full time GP Doctors in Training (GPDiTs) receive 30 days of study leave per year. The year runs from the first day of the August rotation, to the day before the next August rotation begins.

You must split the 30 days equally between the two six-month rotational periods.

 

Regional weekly teaching must be deducted from your study leave allowance.

 

Use our Study Leave Calculator to help work out how many days you are entitled to (full years, part years, LTFT).  

 

Less than Full Time (LTFT) GPDiTs receive study leave pro-rata in relation to their LTFT percentage:

 

Study leave days per rotational year:

  • Full time = 30 days
  • 80% LTFT – 24 days
  • 70% LTFT – 21 days
  • 60% LTFT – 18 days
  • 50% LTFT – 15 days

 

Currently the Accent Leave Manager (ALM) system does not track or personalise the study leave entitlements, you must do this yourself and ensure you do not take too many days. This is monitored by Central Office when we review your ALM applications for approval and when CCT dates are being calculated/checked/reviewed. 

 

If you are required to complete an extension period, your study leave entitlement will be pro-rata in relation to the length of the extension, and your contractual hours. If you CCT during a rotational period or are due to start maternity leave, your entitlement will change. Use our Study Leave Calculator to work out your entitlement.

 

During periods of statutory leave (e.g. sickness absence, parental leave) the study leave enitltlement accrues as if you were in post. If you are full time before you go on the leave, the entitlement will accrue at the full time rate, however if you return to work LTFT, the accrual will change to the LTFT amount from the date you start working the reduced hours. Use our Study Leave Calculator to work out your entitlement.

 

Study leave entitlement can be used during keeping in touch (KIT) days. 

 

 

What courses can I apply for?

(Study Leave Policy Sections 4.1.4, 4.1.5, 4.1.6, 4.2)

 

Please take a look at our Approved Course List.

If the course you would like to apply for is not listed, you must discuss the course with your ES and enter a full PDP (personal development plan) into your portfolio before submitting a request in ALM. If you do not complete the PDP, the application will be rejected.

 

Course limits and rules – some courses are capped per ST year, or per time in training. Please check your course against the Approved Course List. and think back to any previous courses you have done. Course rules/limits are checked by Central Office, and if breached, will result in your application and claim being rejected.

You cannot claim for any subscription or membership fees, this includes the Red Whale unlimited package.

Exam fees are not reimbursed.

Attendance at courses or conferences should either be taken online or as close to the training base as possible.

 

We advise that you DO NOT PAY for any courses prior to your ALM application being fully approved. If the date your ALM application is fully approved is later than the date you paid for the course/expenses related to the course, this will be automatically rejected for reimbursement. 

 

If a course is mandatory for a Trust rotational placement, you must claim back any costs related to the course directly from the Trust. If study leave time is required, it must be applied for via ALM.

 

ALS is no longer a requirement for GP Training therefore it will not be reimbursed by the School.

 

 

How do I apply for Study leave?

(Study Leave Policy Section 4.1)

All study leave requests must be made using Accent Leave Manager (ALM). Paper forms will not be accepted.

It is expected that requests are submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the first date of the leave period, however it is ultimately left to your placement to use their local policies/rules regarding this timeframe.

 

 

Using Accent Leave Manager

 

Login link:  https://accent.hicom.co.uk/Portal/Live/Web/

 

If you do not receive a password reset email within 24 hours, or your link has expired, go to https://accent.hicom.co.uk/Portal/Live/Web/ and click on “Forgotten password” – type in the email address that you have registered with us (the address held on the Trainee Information System, TIS) and click send reset password link. Your login credentials will then be emailed to you from NoReply@hicom.co.uk – you will need to check your junk/spam folder as your email provider may filter the email. Adding the NoReply@hicom.co.uk email address to your email contacts list can also help the password reset email come through, and not be blocked by your email host server.

 

If you do not receive your login credentials, experience any other technical problems or require any additional support with using Accent Leave Manager, please email ash.robson@nhs.net.  THIS IS ONLY FOR GP DOCTORS IN TRAINING - OTHER SPECIALTIES ARE NOT TO USE THIS EMAIL ADDRESS

 

Use this link to view the video on how to make study leave applications, skip to 4 minutes 30 for the relevant section. If you are a Trainer looking for guidance on approving study leave in ALM, please skip to 9 minutes 10 for the relevant section. 

 

You can overwrite the number of study leave days to be taken to zero if required, but you must note the reason why this has been done within the application and have prior approval from your ES to do so. Central Office will check this note for any zero-day applications.

 

You must choose your Educational Supervisor at the end of the application. If your ES does not appear in the list, please email ash.robson@nhs.net and wait for a response before completing the application. 

All study leave requests (including things that do not incur an expense e.g. private study leave) must be applied for via ALM and sent to your ES for review. If you are in a General Practice post, the course is on the Approved Course List and does not require Central Office review, you will see that only your ES needs to approve this in ALM. If you are in a Trust post, your ES will review it first and then it will go to the Medical Education team of the Trust.

 

Some courses need to be reviewed by Central Office (e.g. any requiring PDP entries, private study leave for exams, conferences, any not on the Approved Course List etc.) so these will do the same journey as the others but end with Rachel Hardy here at Central Office.

 

You can see the approvers list if you open your application and scroll to the bottom. There is messaging functionality here too so you can use the envelope icon to message approvers if you need to chase them.

 

DO NOT submit the application without selecting your ES. The application will be cancelled if it does not get sent to your ES correctly.

 

 

If you receive any error messages in ALM please email ash.robson@nhs.net and include your GMC number and a screenshot of the issue. 

 

 

I can no longer attend a course I have booked – what do I do?

(Study Leave Policy Section 4.1.10)

 

You will need to contact the course provider directly and ask them if they can issue you a refund or move the course date if appropriate. If you have already received reimbursement for the course via Easy expenses, you must email the LET Expenses team and let them know so they can recoup the money from you.

In ALM, you will need to cancel the study leave application. You can do this by opening the application and clicking on the cancel button. If you cannot find this, please email ash.robson@nhs.net. 

Inform your ES and your CS/rota manager/Practice Manager as soon as possible to let them know you will no longer be on study leave for this time.

 

The course I would like to do falls on my non-working day

Please see the Study Leave Policy, section 4.1.11.

 

The course I would like to do falls within a future rotational placement

Please see the Study Leave Policy, section 4.1.7.

 

Can I take study leave whilst on parental leave?

Please see the Study Leave Policy, section 4.0.3.

 

Can I take study leave to revise for the exam?

(Study Leave Policy Section 4.7)

The school does not encourage the taking of private study leave for any reason. This includes exam preparation, as the best preparation for both AKT and SCA is consulting and reflecting on casework. However, if you do decide that some would be beneficial, we remain in line with the study leave policy for private study.

 

 

Claiming via EASY Expenses

(Study Leave Policy Section 4.5, 4.6, Appendix 2)

 

Easy login link: https://let.easy.giltbyte.com/user/login/

 

Guidance on how to submit expenses.

 

Rules on what can be claimed – Study Leave Policy, Appendix 2.

How long do I have to claim my expenses? - Study Leave Policy, section 4.4.1.

 

Monthly expenses deadline: 5th

 

If you need help with logging in/password resets/queries on payments contact the LET Expenses team.  

 

You must upload a PDF of your fully approved Accent Leave Manager application for each study leave claim being made. Claims without this form will be automatically rejected.

If you are intending to claim expenses, you must ensure you ask for, and source, the appropriate evidence ready for when you make your claim.

 

 

Document to Upload

Heading to use in EASY

Claim Value to Enter

ALM PDF Application form

Course Approved Application Form

£1

Course Receipt

Course Fees

Receipt total*

Travel receipts

Course Expenses Travel

Receipt total*

Mileage

Course Expenses Mileage

n/a*

Accommodation/hotels within London

Course Accommodation (within London)

Receipt total**

Accommodation/hotels outside of London

Course Accommodation (outside London)

Receipt total**

Meals

Course Expenses Meals

Receipt total***

 

Receipts must show payment made to the provider/company. We do not accept screenshots of bank statements.

Hotel receipts must show room type, price paid, hotel name and address and number of nights stayed. Hotel stays within the training region geography will not usually be reimbursed, these would need to be reviewed by the Primary Care Dean PRIOR to being booked. Please email ash.robson@nhs.net if you need this.

Travel ticket receipts must show price paid, route, times/dates and class (e.g., standard). First class fares will not be reimbursed nor will taxis.

Meal receipts must be itemised and show how many people were at the meal, the date and the restaurant name/address, alcohol will not be reimbursed nor will supermarket receipts containing many individual items (these receipts are reviewed on a case-by-case basis).

 

*Enter the claim amount as the value of the receipt unless your leave falls under discretionary in which case you will need to enter a claim value of 50% receipt value. Check your ALM approval comments or email ash.robson@nhs.net if you are unsure. Course receipts must show the course provider details, your details, course name, course cost, confirmation of payment and date of payment. 

**Hotel stays must have been stated at the time of applying for the leave in Accent Leave Manager. Claims can be made for hotel stays the night before a course date if the course starts too early to travel to on the day. Hotel stays can be claimed for the nights between course dates (i.e., if the course runs across more than one day). Hotels cannot be claimed for the night after a course. If you decide to stay the night after the course finishes, this is at your own expense, and you will need to remove this cost from the claim amount being input into EASY. Dates are checked by the team processing the claims.

***When claiming meals, ensure it is only your food you claim for, and the claim meets the rules set out in Appendix 2 of the Study Leave Policy. We do not reimburse meal claims for the day before a course if you choose to travel down a day early.

 

 

How do I submit mileage claims to Easy that are not study leave related? E.g. home visits, regional teaching.

I have a query about an Easy claim that is not study leave related, who do I contact?

I cannot access my Easy account, who do I contact?

I need to change my home base in Easy / add a new vehicle, who do I contact?

 

For the above - Please see the Lead Employer Trust website, their Easy guidance and their Payroll Team contact details.