All foundation trainee pharmacist posts must recruit via the National Recruitment Scheme (NRS). No places are available outside of this route.

Any organisation may be the Employer of a foundation trainee pharmacist but training sites within the programme must comply with the requirements for training provision described on the 'Getting Ready for 2025-26' webpage available below.

All training posts must be of 52 weeks duration (for full-time trainees)

Employers will accept the applicants allocated to them following assessment and ranking, subject to standard pre-employment checks. All applicants will be recruited in accordance with the nationally agreed person specification and Professional Attributes Framework. This includes:

Employers will be responsible for undertaking pre-employment checks and for issuing appropriate contracts of employment and are expected to contact trainees as soon as reasonably possible after allocations have been announced, and no later than February for the year the trainee is starting.

Employers will pay at least the minimum salary for entry to the NRS, which is currently £22,222 for a 35-hour week (adjusted for actual hours worked) and will honour the advertised salary and contracted hours as displayed in their programme information on Oriel. Should this salary fall below the threshold for the National Living Wage by the time the trainee begins their training, the salary must be increased accordingly (see here: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates)

The advertised salary will not be subject to further deductions upon payment to the trainee (for example, charging the trainee for external training provision payments). For clarity, the trainee should be paid the full salary as indicated in the programme information on Oriel (or pro rata if the trainee is working less than full time)

Employers will be responsible for immigration related checks / appropriate visa sponsorship. If a trainee requiring Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship is appointed, those Employers advertising as a sponsor on Oriel will pay at least the salary stipulated by the Government at the time of employment, regardless of the salary stated at the time of application to the NRS. Should a trainee be appointed who does not require a Skilled Worker Visa, the salary stated at the time of application to the NRS must be honoured.

To support consistent inductions and appropriate allocation of staff, Employers must ensure trainees begin their training on a suitable date within the below windows:

Employers must develop and submit their Training Plan to NHS England within the required timescales, in line with NHS England guidance

Employers must ensure that their allocated foundation trainee pharmacist trains at an approved Training Site and follows an approved Training Plan that allows them to meet the GPhC Learning Outcomes for the Foundation Training Year

Training Site approval is administered by NHS England and is contingent upon the prospective training site declaring that they will meet all of the requirements set by the GPhC and NHS England, through agreement with the Terms of Participation

NHS England requires that the training site will provide evidence of meeting requirements where this is requested

In accordance with GPhC requirements, Employers must ensure that the trainee will have access to:

Employers will be responsible for:

Employers will not withdraw programmes from the NRS once advertised unless in exceptional circumstances. Typically, programmes are displayed on Oriel in the June of the year prior to the training programme commencing.

Many programmes require trainees to work across multiple practice settings and with multiple Employers. For these programmes, one lead Employer must be identified. It is the responsibility of the lead Employer to work with and share information with other Employers within the same programme. This information will include, but is not restricted to, allocated trainee details, programme information and communication about the NRS.

The lead Employer must further ensure that all practice settings and Employers within the programme have read and agree to the full Terms of Participation

Employers agree to the NHS England privacy policy (available here https://https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/privacy-notice/)

Employers agree to receive communications relating to the NRS

Employers agree to receive communications relating to subsequent Foundation Training Year activity and relevant NHS England workforce planning and training initiatives

Employers agree to be contacted by NHS England, or an organisation designated by NHS England, for the purposes of supporting programmes and placements advertised within the National Recruitment Scheme