The MDU in action

A poor induction can leave employees feeling demotivated and set them up to fail, which can in turn lead to problems with morale, sickness and staff turnover. It could also make it harder to attract new staff as there are now websites like Glassdoor where job-seekers can find reviews from current and past employees about their experience. 

The stakes are even higher in healthcare settings where ignorance of systems and protocols could compromise safety and quality of care. For example, a common theme in this analysis of Never Event investigations by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) was that “staff were not prepared for their roles as induction and training did not address safety-critical requirements.”. 

Another HSIB report into workforce and patient safety analysed 30 serious incident reports involving temporary staff and “identified issues relating to [their] induction and orientation,” which highlights their importance for all staff.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 2c) imposes a legal duty on an employer to provide “such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees.” 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has produced a free training guide for businesses.

If you’re regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) you’re obliged to meet the National Regulation 18 on staffing. The CQC says: "Providers must ensure that they have an induction programme that prepares staff for their role,” emphasising that this is just as important as ongoing professional development and regular appraisals. 

Staff inductions are also required by national minimum care standards for independent healthcare providers in Wales (Standard 25) and Northern Ireland (Standard 10) and are part of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland quality framework under workforce planning. 

You can find further resources and guidance on inductions below.

• ‘The Acas guide to inductions’ from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service for employers and employees.
• ‘A guide to onboarding new employees successfully’ by Peninsula Group, employment law specialists and an MDU partner.
• ‘Leadership and management for all doctors’ guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC) includes a section on induction and mentoring that stresses the importance of “relevant induction” for new doctors and healthcare professionals (para 55). 
• ‘Standards for the dental team’ by the General Dental Council (GDC) says dental professionals who manage teams must demonstrate effective leadership skills, including making “sure that all team members, including those not registered with the GDC, have a proper induction when they first join the team.” (para 6.6.1)

Induction is an important element in any recruitment and retention strategy, but a structured induction programme will help you support new members of the team better than an ad-hoc approach and reward you in the long run. 

Here are some practicalities to consider.

Every new starter should have an induction 
From receptionists to clinical staff, every new employee or partner should receive an induction appropriate to their role. This applies to temporary as well as permanent staff, including locums covering sick or maternity leave. 

In addition, temporary and permanent staff who need access to practice computer systems should be set up as a separate user from day one for audit purposes (no sharing user names and passwords).

First day
There will be some important information to pass on straight away, like a tour of the practice, health and safety information and dealing with employment documents. 

Locums and temporary staff should also have the opportunity to meet colleagues and get familiar with the practice’s policies, procedures, and local systems, especially if they’re in a frontline role. This will help them hit the ground running. 

Have a structured plan 
While it may be possible to have a quicker induction process for temporary staff, it makes sense to prioritise and carry out the programme over several days or even weeks so as not to overwhelm people on their first day.  

Acas advises thinking in terms of milestones for new staff, such as the first day, first week and first three months. This will avoid the extremes of bombarding team members with too much information or leaving them to get on with things without enough support.

Cover the essentials
A receptionist will have different requirements to a new nurse or doctor but there are some areas that should be covered with all staff, including the following.

• Meeting colleagues and understanding their role.
• Health and safety – for example, sharps bins, infection control, fire exits, and so on.
• Confidentiality and data protection – especially the serious and binding duty to maintain confidentiality, ensuring that staff only access patient information necessary for their role.They should also be informed about related matters, such as safeguarding privacy in reception areas, handing information requests from third parties, and identifying and escalating subject access requests.
• Complaints handling, including the practice policy and timescales for responding to patients' or relatives' complaints.
• The procedure for raising patient safety concerns.
• Safeguarding, including how to raise concerns about possible abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult and responding to requests from social services or the police.
• Personal conduct such as policies on discrimination, responsibly using social media, and respect for colleagues and the disciplinary procedure.
• Practice systems for managing patient correspondence, appointments and phone consultations, travel clinics and other services.
• Procedures for emergencies.
• Managing violent or aggressive behaviour.
• Relevant policies relating to equality legislation and dignity at work.

Support and follow-up
Remember, even if staff have completed their induction, they might still need support as they adapt to their new surroundings and role. 

It's a good idea to assign a senior member of the team to be their contact or mentor during this period and to keep an eye on their progress.

Identify ongoing training needs
An induction is a good opportunity to sit down with every new employee to discuss their training needs and create a personal development plan. They can then discuss their progress with line managers at regular intervals and during annual appraisals.

As an MDU Connect policy holder, you and your team have access to expert medico-legal and dento-legal guidance and support. 
We encourage you to address issues early to pre-empt problems, so contact us for specific advice or explore our resources. 

This page was correct at publication on 10th March 2025. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.