Before you sign
Healthcare employment contract review
Turn a long contract into five clauses and a focused list of questions for an adviser.
Contracts and employment rights
Healthcare contracts and employment rights
Guides for pharmacists, doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff facing a new contract, a restriction, a job move or a dispute.
Pharma Mate groups each contract topic by the decision you face. Each guide explains the UK rule, the questions to ask and who gives advice. Bring the actual document and a specific question to an adviser. A clause you fear is not always a clause a court would enforce.
Where this applies
Most guides describe the law in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has separate employment legislation, industrial tribunals and the Labour Relations Agency in place of Acas. See our Northern Ireland page and nidirect early conciliation guidance (opens another website). General information, not legal advice.
Short answer
Read the whole contract before you sign, ask for time, and get advice on any restriction, repayment or confidentiality clause. Restrictive covenants are enforceable only where they protect a legitimate business interest and go no further than reasonably necessary. If a dispute starts, most tribunal claims in Great Britain now have a time limit of six months less one day for problems on or after 1 October 2026.
Key facts
- Written statement
- Employees and workers are entitled to a written statement of main terms from day one
- Minimum notice from you
- One week once you have worked one month, unless your contract says more
- Tribunal time limit
- Six months less one day for most problems on or after 1 October 2026 (Great Britain)
- Before a claim
- Notify Acas, or the Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland
Before you sign or start work
Before you sign
Pressure to sign a contract or NDA
Ask for the full document, a reasonable time to read the document and a written explanation of any term you do not understand.
Before you sign
Employment status for healthcare professionals
Employee, worker or self-employed: your status decides which rights apply, whatever the paperwork calls you.
Before you sign
Locum contracts: clarity before the shift
Confirm the rate, cancellation terms and duties in writing before you rely on a booking message.
Before you sign
Zero-hours healthcare work and uncertainty
Compare the written terms with how shifts are offered in practice.
Before you sign
Exclusivity clauses and second healthcare jobs
Check if your contract limits locum or bank work while you stay employed.
Restrictions after you leave
Restrictive covenants
Restrictive covenants: the different clauses
One heading in a contract can hide four separate restrictions with different effects.
Restrictive covenants
Non-compete clauses for pharmacists and clinicians
A ban on working for a competitor is enforceable only if the ban is no wider than reasonably necessary.
Restrictive covenants
Non-solicitation clauses and patient relationships
What counts as approaching patients or customers after you move to a new pharmacy or practice.
Restrictive covenants
Non-dealing clauses: questions before accepting work
A non-dealing clause can apply even when a former patient or client contacts you first.
Restrictive covenants
Non-poaching clauses and colleague recruitment
Rules on inviting former colleagues to join you, and what a conversation about a new job can involve.
Leaving a job
Leaving
Notice periods when leaving healthcare work
Statutory minimum notice, contract notice and how to agree an earlier leaving date.
Leaving
Garden leave, notice and future work
You remain employed and bound by your contract on garden leave until the notice period ends.
Leaving
Training repayment clauses and deductions
When an employer may recover course fees, and the limits on deductions from final pay.
Leaving
Settlement agreements for healthcare staff
A settlement agreement is binding only after advice from an independent adviser, so read every clause first.
Changes, disputes and deadlines
Disputes
When a healthcare employer changes your contract
Your options when an employer proposes new hours, pay or duties, including the risk of dismissal and re-engagement.
Disputes
Employment tribunal time limits
Most claims now have six months less one day from problems on or after 1 October 2026, and Acas comes first.
Disputes
Prepare for employment or whistleblowing advice
A one-page timeline, a document list and five questions to take to an adviser.
Disputes
NDAs in healthcare: what a clause cannot stop
Whistleblowing, reporting a crime and some support conversations stay lawful whatever an NDA says.
If the uncertainty is affecting you
Stress and support
Feeling trapped by a healthcare contract
Split one overwhelming fear into separate questions about restrictions, money and leaving.
Stress and support
Stress while living with an NDA
Who you can still talk to, and how to ask for health support without describing confidential events.
Stress and support
Money worries
Practical help when pay, debt or a repayment demand is adding to the pressure.
Stress and support
Locum and freelance pressure
Support for the insecurity of booking-to-booking work.
Stress and support
Burnout in healthcare
Signs of burnout, time off and where healthcare staff can get help.
Where to get contract advice
- Acas: free impartial guidance and early conciliation in England, Scotland and Wales.
- Citizens Advice: employment information and local advisers in Great Britain.
- Pharmacists' Defence Association: employment support and representation for eligible pharmacy members.
- RCN member support: employment advice for nursing members.
- Healthcare support options compared: which service gives guidance, document review or representation.
Concerns about patient safety or wrongdoing belong in our speaking up and whistleblowing guides. For every rights topic in one place, see workplace rights and wellbeing.
Common questions
Should I get my healthcare employment contract checked before signing?
Yes, if the contract has a restrictive covenant, a training repayment clause, a long notice period or a confidentiality clause. Ask your union, defence body or a solicitor to review those clauses before you sign.
Are restrictive covenants enforceable for pharmacists and doctors?
Only where the restriction protects a legitimate business interest, such as patient connections, and goes no further than reasonably necessary in time, area and activity.
How long do I have to bring an employment tribunal claim?
For most problems on or after 1 October 2026, six months less one day in England, Wales and Scotland. Notify Acas first, which pauses the clock.
Who gives free employment advice in the UK?
Acas and Citizens Advice give free information in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, contact the Labour Relations Agency. Unions and defence bodies advise their members.