FAQs

Attendance and Absence Policies

What happens if I am ill or need to be absent from my placement?

If at any point during the course you are unable to attend a scheduled shift on a placement, you should;

record the absence from shift via the online timesheets e.g. InPlace.
inform the placement area of your absences prior to the shift starting.
NB there may be a policy in the clinical environment that you are expected to follow if not attending the shift, please familiarise yourself with this.
Make a note of the date and time you contact the learning environment, and the name of the person you spoke to.
Inform the University via hhs-nursing@hud.ac.uk
If you are ill for more than 7 days (including Saturday and Sunday) you must provide a medical certificate completed by your doctor, which should be sent to the course assistants within 7 days via email hhs-nursing@hud.ac.uk

Why do I need to make up hours that I have missed?

As part of the criteria for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), learners must work a specified number of hours to be eligible for registration as qualified practitioners.

Does making up practice hours wipe out the sickness, special/compassionate leave, and absence?

No. This will always be maintained in your personal record. However, there will be on the record a note of any practice/placement make up time which has been completed.

What happens if I have more than 48 hours (1 week) of placement time to make up?

Yes, but the way you do this will be dependent upon the amount of time to be made up.

During current placement

If you have a relatively small number of hours to make up e.g. one or two days (7.5-15 hours) you may be able to make this up during your current placement by working an extra shift or extending a short shift to a long shift. Please note the restrictions to this approach:

Your practice supervisor/assessor and placement manager must agree to this arrangement. If you have missed placement time due to illness, it may not be in your best interests, or safe for patient care, for you to then work additional hours.
NB you cannot work more than 45.5 hours per week, with your breaks deducted.
Log these extra hours on your online time sheet e.g. InPlace

During theory weeks

You can arrange to work a maximum of 8 hours clinical placement during a theory week on an area you have previously visited with the agreement of the placement manager. Please record these hours on the ‘make up hours form’ (below).

During Annual leave (48 hours or less to make up)

If you have 48 hours or less to make up you can arrange to make this up during your annual leave on a placement you have previously attended with the agreement of the placement manager. During annual leave weeks you can work a maximum of 48 hours per week.

Please record these hours on the ‘Making Up Hours Form’.

Can I make up time I have missed during clinical placements?

In this situation it is likely that you have had a significant issue which has led to more than 48 hours away from the clinical learning environment. It is essential that you discuss this with your Personal Academic Tutor. They will signpost you to further support if required e.g. the course leader, hhs-guidance team, wellbeing and support services. If it is appropriate for you to make up time during your annual leave this will be arranged via the placement unit team.

You should record these hours via the online time sheet e.g. InPlace.

NB significant time away from the placement learning opportunity may affect your ability to complete the associated practice module. This may impact your ability to complete the course within the normal time frame.

Holiday Entitlements

Am I entitled to Bank holidays while on Placement?

YES. When on placement, nursing learners are not expected to work Statutory Bank Holidays i.e. the hours you are expected to work in a bank holiday week are reduced.

7.5 hours are allowed for each Bank Holiday e.g. In a week with 1 bank holiday the learner will normally work 30 hours, when in the practice learning environment, after the breaks have been deducted. See example time sheet below.

Ward D

Week 1	Shift start time	Shift end time	Total hours in practice area	Break must be taken and deducted from total hours claimed	Practice hours claimed
Monday	BH**	BH			0
Tuesday	Day off				0
Wednesday	19.30	07.30	12	30 mins	11.5
Thursday	19.30	07.30	12	30 mins	11.5
Friday	Day off				0
Saturday	07.30	15.00	7.5	30 mins	7
Sunday	Day off				0
	**Bank Holiday			Total for Week 1	30

Can I take my own religious holidays off such as EID, Christmas Day?

Please refer to the University Policy and Guidance regarding this issue.

Can I schedule personal holidays whilst on placement?

If you wish to take annual leave, in exceptional circumstances ONLY, this must be discussed with the course leader. Authorised absence will not normally be given. If the annual leave is taken as ‘unauthorised absence’, following discussion with your course leader, you will have to make up the missed placement hours at some point in the programme. Your practice assessor and supervisor will also consider this absence when assessing you against the professional values in your practice portfolio.

Frequently Asked Questions

Attendance and Absence Policies

Scheduling and Shifts

Holiday Entitlements

Timekeeping and Documentation