NIMDTA has been integrated as the Single Lead Employer (SLE) for Doctors and Dentists in Training across Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland and we are delighted to welcome you.
Established in 2019 as part of the Department of Health (NI)’s workforce strategy; to deliver an improved employment experience for medical and dental trainees in the region.
Your Employment with Us
For the duration of your NIMDTA training programme*, you will be employed by NIMDTA SLE who will provide you will a full HR service as you rotate around the different placement providers and training environments that form your rotational training programme.
The SLE Team will be on-hand to answer questions on areas such as:
- Pay (e.g. basic pay, previous service, incremental dates etc.)
- Terms & Conditions of Service
- Contracts of Employment
- Policies & Procedures
- Family Leave such as Maternity, Paternity, Adoption
- HRPTS / Employee Self-Service access
We’re also here to support you throughout your career with issues such as sickness absence, bereavement, occupational health, and providing information on the full range of employment issues.
*Please note that the employment of GP Specialty Trainees in General Practice placements, remains with the individual GP Surgery. More information on this can be found in the GP Trainee Payroll tab.
The Host Organisation is the term we use to describe the provider of your training environment. This will normally be one of the five HSCNI Trusts, but could also be a GP Practice in foundation, or the Public Health Agency for example. While they won’t be your employer, they have an important role to play in providing your training environment and supervision, managing your rota, and providing access to sites and patient systems.
It’s important to note the difference between employment and training. NIMDTA is one agency and whilst your employment will be managed by the Single Lead Employer Team, your education and training are the responsibility of NIMDTA’s Education Department and the Training Schools for each Specialty/Training Programme.
Whilst separate departments, we will all be working together, along with your Host Organisations to support you in your role. Training queries can be directed to the school, and employment queries can be directed to SLE.
Prior to the Single Employer Model, Northern Ireland’s Doctors and Dentists in Training (DDiT) were usually employed by a trust for the duration of their placement, before moving on to the next one as part of their rotational training programme.
As each HSCNI Trust is a separate employing authority, rotational training resulted in the frequent changing of employers throughout the doctor or dentists’ career. This led to a duplication of effort for trainees and employers in terms of repeated signing on processes, repeated pre-employment checks, the issuing of new contracts, termination of employment, and so on. The frequent changing of employers also often resulted in a cycle of tax issues, and problems around statutory leave.
The Health & Social Care Workforce Strategy 2026:
“Delivering for Our People” was developed through detailed engagement with colleagues across Health and Social care. It reflects their views on how to create an environment in which excellent, high-quality care can continue to be provided, skills developed, investment in the wellbeing of the workforce, and empowering and supporting the workforce to do what they do best.
Section 9 of the Workforce Strategy focusses on ways in which to “make it easier for the workforce to do their jobs”. This involved simplifying the employment arrangement and eradicating unnecessary bureaucracy; starting with the establishment of a “Single Lead Employer” for Doctors and Dentists in Training.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE WORKFORCE STRATEGY 2026
Phase one commenced in August 2019 with the transfer of Radiology, Histopathology, and T&O, from HSC Trust Employment to NIMDTA Single Lead Employer. We progressed on a phased basis, with the transfer of trainees from all training programmes completed by December of 2022.
In moving to a Single Employment Model, we have simplified the employment arrangement of NI’s Doctors and Dentists in Training, reducing or eliminating many of the previous issues and provided a continuous employment experience.
