Resigning from my practice

My current employment has become untenable for a multitude of reasons. How do I go about ending my employment agreement?

Clause 20 of the NTCER provides that a registrar’s employment should not be terminated before the completion of a fixed term, other than in exceptional circumstances (e.g. serious misconduct, or a change in the registrar’s circumstances).

A decision to resign from your employment should not be made lightly. We encourage registrars who are considering resigning from their employment to seek support from their Registrar Liaison Officer, relevant GP Speciality College, GPRA or independent legal advice.

Registrars should inform themselves of any implications that resigning prior to completion of their training term may have on their training time. Registrars will need to work with their GP specialty training College to gain a new placement or, if this is not possible, may need to take a period of leave from AGPT. Registrars should discuss their options with their training provider before deciding to resign.

You are required to give your employer an agreed period of notice of termination. If you don’t give the agreed period of notice, your employer is not required to pay you in lieu of notice and may in certain circumstances seek to recover amounts from you for loss or damage which your employer suffers because of your failure to give the required period of notice. You should review your employment contract (if you have one) to confirm how much notice is required.

If your contract is silent about notice, or you don’t have a written employment agreement, then you should seek your employer’s consent to resign and agree on an appropriate period of notice (which should be no less than one week). Resigning without your employer’s consent in these circumstances may amount to a breach of contract for which you may in certain circumstances be liable to pay compensation to your employer.

It is generally best to resign in writing and keep a copy of your resignation letter. Your resignation letter should specify your notice period and state your last working day.

You will need to inform your training provider as soon as practical that you have resigned.