Frequently Asked Questions (Study Leave) | Health Education Yorkshire and Humber

Study Leave
for Postgraduate Doctors and Dentists in Training

This section provides information about study leave for resident doctors and dentists. The study leave framework is set out in the national study leave policy and the local study leave operational guidance, as well as the gold guide. Resident doctors and dentists are encouraged to familarise themselves with these documents and the pages in this section when planning study leave. Please ensure that you refer to the relevant resources before contacting NHS England or Medical Education.

Pages in this section:

Study Leave Overview | Frequently Asked Questions | ALM Applicant User Guide | ALM Approver User Guide | ALM Trust User Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

ALM error message: ‘The user does not have a license’

This may indicate that your username has changed. Your username is linked to the email address in your TIS record (TIS = NHSE Trainee Information System). If the email address in your TIS record has changed, your username will have updated to match it. Please use the new email address as your username when logging into ALM.

Please see How to check or change your username for guidance on how to check or change the username in your TIS record. If you are still unable to login, please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team for help.

Please note: ALM accounts are created 8 weeks before the programme start date. Please wait until 8 weeks before your programme start date before attempting to activate your account or log in. If you have left a training programme, your account will be made inactive a 8 weeks after your programme end date.

How do I report a login error?

If ALM does not recognise your username or password, you may need to follow the instructions at How to check or change your username or How to reset your password. If you have followed those steps and are still unable to login, or if they do not apply, please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team for help.

My placement details / training grade in ALM are incorrect

Placement information in ALM feeds from the NHSE Trainee Information System (TIS). Placements are managed by the relevant rotations admin team. Most residents can now view their placement records in TIS Self-Service. To request an update to your placement information in TIS, please contact the relevant rotations admin team. ALM syncs with TIS overnight. If your placement is updated in TIS, the change will appear in ALM the next day.

Please note: When contacting the relevant rotations admin team, please state clearly that you wish to update your placement records in TIS. The rotations admin team are not able to help with Accent Leave Manager itself.

Please also note: It is not always possible to record subspecialties in TIS/ALM and the parent specialty may be recorded instead. Please do not contact the team if the correct parent specialty is displayed.

ALM error message: 'No placements found for selected dates'

Placement information in ALM feed from the NHSE Trainee Information System (TIS). Most residents can now view their placement records in TIS Self-Service. This error may indicate that the training placement related to your leave dates has not been uploaded to TIS. If your leave dates relate to your current placement or you are due to start the relevant placement within the next 8 weeks, please contact the relevant rotations admin team to request that the placement is added to TIS. ALM syncs with TIS overnight. If your placement is added to TIS, it will appear in ALM the next day.

As future placements may not be not added to TIS / ALM until 12 weeks before the placement start date, please avoid contacting the rotations admin team until you are within 12 weeks of the next rotation start date.

Please also note: The start/end date for ALM applications must fall within the start/end dates of a single training placement. Applications cannot span two training placements. If you are rotating to a different trust, you will need to submit an application for each placement. Otherwise, please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team for advice.

ALM error message: 'There are no approvers available for this placement'

Approval chains are maintained by the Deanery Study Leave Team. This error indicates that the approval chain needs to be updated before you can submit an application. Please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team to ask for the approval chain to be updated. Please include the start/end date for your planned leave in your email. This will help us identify the placement that needs to be added to the approval chain.

ALM error message: 'No entitlements found...' or 'No budgets found for selected data'

Entitlements and budgets are maintained by the Deanery Study Leave team. This error indicates that the entitlement / budget relating to your leave dates has not been uploaded to ALM. Please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team to ask for your entitlement / budget to be added to ALM. Please include the start/end date for your planned leave in your email. This will help us identify the relevant entitlement / budget that needs to be upload to ALM.

ALM error message: 'An error has occurred with this command.'

This error normally indicates that invalid data has been entered in one of the fields in the event details section; typically when copying and pasting text from a course / conference website. This is because the text exceeds the character limit or contains invalid characters. If pasting text from another website, please check that only the relevant information is copied and that it is not unnecessarily long. Typing rather than copying the text or right clicking and selecting ‘paste as plain text’ may help.

Please note: The fields in the event details section of the application primarily exist to help the approver understand your request. When completing this section, consider the information that will be relevant to your approver / expense approver.

For example: Instead of copying the venue address, enter the venue name and city/town (eg 'Medical Education Centre, Hull' or 'Royal College of Surgeons, London'). Do not use the event details fields to add additional comments.

ALM will not allow me to add estimated expenses to my application

ALM is not optimised for mobile devices. Some ALM features do not work when accessing the site using a mobile browser. Specifically, the pop-up for adding estimated expenses does not work when accessing ALM using a mobile browser.

If you are accessing ALM using a mobile device, please use a desktop/laptop computer instead. ALM can be accessed using Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a Windows or Mac computer.

Please note: While expense claims are submitted after the event, expense claims will only be processed if estimated expenses were added at the time of application. So if you are having difficulty adding expenses, you should pause your application and ensure that you are able to add your estimated expenses before submitting.

How do I apply for an online self-paced course or resources?

Online self-paced courses or resources can be applied for in the same way as live online or in person courses. The two conisderations are the leave start/end dates and the entitlement days taken. If you intend to undertake the self-paced course in work time, please enter the dates that have been agreed with your rota coordinator. If you are undertaking the self-paced course in your own time, please enter the date you intend to register for the course and adjust the entitlement days taken as appropriate.

How do I apply for a higher education course?

When submitting study leave application(s) for higher education courses (eg PGCert or Masters), it will likely be necessary to submit an application for the course fees and if applicable seperate applications for any study days or seminars.

Before submitting an application for higher education course fees, you will need to confirm how you will be invoiced by the institution. If the institution will invoice you per academic year, you will need to submit an application for each academic year. If the institution will invoice you per module, you will need to submit an application for each module.

When creating an application for course fees, please then use the start date of the academic year / module (as applicable) for both the leave start and end date. When entering the event name, please take care to indicate the relevant year or module (For example: 'PGCert Medical Education - Part Time Year 1' or 'PGCert Medical Education - Effective Learning and Teaching module'.). If the application is approved, a study leave expense claim can then be submitted after the academic year / module start date (as applicable).

My application has not been approved/declined, who do I contact?

While applications will typically be approved promptly, please allow approvers 14 days to review your application before following it up. If your application is not approved/declined within 14 days, please contact the approver directly in the first instance. If you do not receive a response after contacting the approver directly, please contact Medical Education at your employing trust for help following up the application.

I forgot to add estimated expenses to my application

If you intend to claim expenses after the event, estimated expenses must be included on the application at the time of submission. Any expense claim will only be processed, if estimated expenses were included on the application at the time of submission.

If you forgot to add estimated expenses when submitting your application, you will need to contact Medical Education at your employing trust to request they add the estimated expenses to the application on your behalf. Please include a breakdown of the relevant estimated expenses (eg course fees, milage, public transport, accomodation) in your email. This may only be done before the date of the course / conference. If the application has already been approved, the agreement of the origional approver will be needed before any missing / additional expense items can be added.

How do I cancel an application?

If you are not able to attend a course / conference for which you have applied or the event is cancelled, cancelling the application helps to ensure that your entitlement days and budget are record correctly. If you need to cancel an application, you can do so before the date of course / conference. To cancel an application:

Go to My Applications in the Navigation Menu,
Click on the relevant application to open it
Scroll to the bottom of the page
and then click Cancel Application

If the course / conference date has passed, you will need to email Medical Education at your employing trust to request the application is cancelled on your behalf.

Please note: Cancelled applications cannot be reinstated, so please be certain that you need to cancel your application before submitting the request.

How do I find information about the courses / conferences funded for my programme?

To ask about whether a specific course / conference can be supported or funded through study leave, please contact your Training Programme Director. Your TPD or specialty school should also be able to tell you about any school guidance regards preferred or expected courses for your programme or grade.

Please note: Individual study budgets no longer apply, all study leave applications are subject to approval by the TPD approver or Medical Education. TPD approvers will evaluate the educational appropriateness, quality and value for money of any course / conference applied for in relation to the overall school budget.

Do I have an individual study budget?

Individual study budgets no longer apply. While budgets records in ALM appear as £0.00 and unlimited, school budgets are finite and TPD approvers will evaluate the educational appropriateness, quality and value for money of any course / conference applied for. Applicants should consider the most cost effective options when planning study leave.

My entitlement is incorrect

Entitlements and budgets are aligned to a standard training year. As different programmes rotate at different points in the year, we have adopted a standard training year (August to August). Entitlements on ALM reflect those outlined in the National Study Leave Policy and Terms and Conditions for Resident Doctors. Entitlements are calculated pro rata for residents who start or complete part way through a year. From August 2026 entitlement records in ALM will be calculated pro rata for LTFT residents.

Entitlements in ALM for academic residents do not reflect their clinical WTE and they are expected to calculate their pro rata entitlement based on their clinical WTE and to check the calculation with their rota coordinator and Educational Supervisor.

Also see: I am LTFT, how does this effect my study leave entitlement? Or if you believe that your entitlement or budget is recorded incorrectly on ALM, please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team.

I work Less Than Full Time, how does this effect my study leave entitlement?

Less Than Full Time (LTFT) residents have equitable access to study leave funding and their entitlement is pro rata based on their Working Time Equivilent (WTE). From August 2026 entitlement records in ALM will be calculated pro rata for LTFT residents. Calculations will be based on the WTE in the resident's TIS placement records (TIS = NHSE Trainee Information System.). Most residents can now view their placement records in TIS Self-Service.

If the WTE in your TIS placement records is incorrect, please contact the relevant LTFT admin team. Please note: When contacting the relevant LTFT admin team, please state clearly that you wish to query your placement records in TIS. The LTFT admin team are not able to help with Accent Leave Manager itself.

If the WTE in your TIS placement records is correct, but you need to query your pro rata entitlement calculation, please contact the Deanery Study Leave Team. Please note: If your WTE has changed recently, the Deanery Study Leave Team will need to recalculate your entitlement.

I am on maternity or parental leave, how does this effect my study leave entitlement?

Per the Terms & Conditions for Resident Doctors and Dentists, residents on maternity or parental leave retain their entitlement to study leave and this may be taken during 'keeping in touch' days. Residents on maternity or parental leave should apply for study leave in the usual way. Any keeping in touch days must be agreed in advance with Medical Staffing at the employing trust.

My rota coordinator has declined or cancelled my leave request

Before submitting an application on ALM, rota coordinator approval for the time off must be requested using the local trust process / e-roster. Rota coordinator approval must normally be requested at least eight weeks before the event. Request received within the 8 week notice period, will be considered at the discretion of the trust.

If rota coordinator approval has been declined, please contact your rota coordinator to identify a suitable opportunity to undertake the course or activity. If previously agreed study leave has been cancelled by the trust, please discuss this with your Educational Supervisor or TPD. Similarly, if you experience difficulty obtaining time off to undertake study leave, please contact your ES or TPD for support.

If I attend a course/exam on a non-working day, can I claim the day back in lieu?

Per the Terms and Conditions for doctors & dentists in training: “Study leave should be prospectively sought for all teaching, courses and educational opportunities that fall on non-working days, and where study leave approval is granted it must be compensated with time off in lieu, or payment if the doctor prefers.”

Therefore applicants attending courses or exams on a non-working day may contact Medical Staffing at their employing trust in advance of the event to discuss time off in lieu.

Alternatively, applicants attending courses / conferences on a non-working day who do not claim time off in lieu or payment, may adjust the 'number of days requested' against their study leave entitlement to '0' when creating their study leave application.

Reference: Terms and Conditions for Doctors and Dentists in Training (10.42, p59)

How many private study leave days can I take for exam revision?

Residents may normally take up to 5 study leave days per exam attempt at the discretion of their Training Programme Director and trust. Further private study leave days can be granted at the discretion of their Training Programme Director and service. Private study leave is part of and not in addition to the annual 30-day study leave entitlement.

Reference: Local YH Study Leave Operational Guidance

Can I request funding for an exam preparation course / mock exam?

Where an exam preprepration course is not provided as part of regional teaching, one external exam preparation course per exam qualification may be requested if the exam is required by your specialty curriculum. If an exam preparation course is provided as part of regional teaching, you would be expected to attend the local regional teaching provision.

A mock exam may be requested instead of an exam preparation course, if the resident has not previously attended a preparation course for the exam. Only one exam preparation activity is permitted per exam qualification.

Can I request funding for exam revision material?

If cost effective and educationally beneficial, residents may request funding for exam revision materials such as question banks or subscriptions. Only one-off, non-recurring subscriptions for the minimum available duration will be considered. Any request will be reviewed by your TPD on a case-by-case basis.

How is eligible mileage calculated?

Residents attending study leave may only be reimbursed for miles travelled in excess of their normal commute. Eligible mileage is normally the miles travelled from work base to the venue and back.

When the journey starts at home, the home to work base distance is deducted from the distance travelled to calculate the eligible mileage.

When the journey starts from a location other than home/work base, reimbursement may be capped at the mileage from home/work base if lower.

Please note: For the purpose of study leave, work base is the resident’s principal place of work for their placement at the time of the leave.

References: NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook (17.19, 17.15), Terms and Conditions for Doctors and Dentists in Training (12.15, p67; 12.20, p69)

How do I claim study leave expenses?

While study leave applications are now submitted using ALM, reimbursement continues to be through the local trust expenses system. Expense systems vary depending on the employing trust, please contact Medical Education at your employing trust for information about or assistance using the trust expenses system.

Please note: Expense claims for all approved applications where a receipt can be provided may be submitted after the expense is incurred; as such these claims may be submitted before the event. Expense claims for milage and meal costs may only be submitted after the event.

Only the Trust you will be employed with at the time of the activity can process the claim. Therefore, in some cases applicants may need to wait until they have rotated to the employing Trust before they can submit their expenses claim.

The deadline for all expense claims is normally 6 weeks after the end of the event. In exceptional circumstances late claims received up to 3 months after the end of the event may normally be considered at the discretion of the employing trust.

Is a certificate of attendance required when submitting my expenses?

Proof of attendance is not required when submitting your expenses claim. We expect applicants to inform their employers when an event has been cancelled or they did not attend. Any applicants found to be claiming for non-attendance will be required to return any funds claimed. Failure to do so will be treated as a probity concern and reported to the Head of School and GMC accordingly.

What happens if the event is cancelled or I am unable to attend?

In case of non-attendance, it is the applicant’s responsibility to notify the employer. Any paid expenses will need to be recouped according to the Trust payroll department procedures. Where costs are recouped, the expense will be cancelled on Accent Leave Manager by the employer.

How do I request support?

For help using ALM or claiming expenses, please contact the Medical Education at your employing trust. For technical support, feedback or guidance, please contact the Deanery Study Leave team. Please see the Overview of Study Leave page for the list of support contacts.

When emailing for support, please ensure that you include your GMC Number, and the start/end dates and course / conference name for your planned study leave. If you are emailing about a system error, please include the text of the error message and or a screenshot. Please also include the date and time that you encountered the error.

Go to the list of support contacts

Study Leave for Postgraduate Doctors and Dentists in Training