Industrial action by resident doctors across England begins today (7:00am Tuesday 7th April) and will run until 7:00am on Monday 13 April 2026. If you're taking part, please remember to follow your host organisation’s usual process for reporting absence. You can also complete the self-reporting e-form to log your involvement with ourselves - Lead Employer. While this isn't mandatory, it's strongly recommended to help avoid any potential payroll discrepancies.

Any pay deductions relating to this period will be applied in your May salary (28th May 2026). If working in a General Practice setting, your pay deduction could be applied to your April 2026 pay depending on the timing of your host absence reporting submission. To support accurate processing, please submit the e-form by Friday 24th April 2026 and raise any queries as early as possible so they can be reviewed in time. Further guidance and support are available via our industrial action information pages.

We’re delighted to welcome our new resident doctors joining us this April. As your employer, we’re here to support you throughout your training as you rotate across different host organisations.

We know starting in a new role can feel like a big transition, and we’re committed to making that experience as smooth as possible. As a reminder to all, you can find the best way to get in touch with us whenever you need us via our contact details page, ensuring your query reaches the right team quickly.

Thinking about your financial future is an important part of your career, particularly as you progress through training. Chase de Vere are hosting an upcoming webinar designed to support GP resident doctors with financial planning and preparing for the next stages of your careers.

The session will take place on Tuesday 13 May at 6:30pm and will cover topics such as managing your finances, planning ahead and understanding your options as your career develops.

We’ll be launching our next pulse survey later this month, giving you the opportunity to share your experiences of being employed by Lead Employer.

Your feedback is really important in helping us understand what’s working well and where we can improve. Previous surveys have directly shaped changes to our processes and the support we provide, and we’re committed to continuing to listen and act on what you tell us.

The survey is quick to complete and completely confidential, so we’d really encourage you to take a few minutes to have your say when it lands in your inbox.

Patchwork is now live as the system for submitting exception reports, following the change introduced on 1st April 2026. All new exception reports should now be submitted via Patchwork, as the previous Allocate system is no longer in use.

If you are currently on placement within a GP Practice, Hospice or Community placement, you should have received your Patchwork login details ahead of your go-live date.

A range of support resources are available, including video demonstrations. If you experience any issues accessing Patchwork, please contact the Helpdesk for support at lead.employer@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk.