Job Planning Guidance

Many of you may already have seen that the College has recently published updated UK-wide guidance on job planning, which was featured in the most recent RCPsych Newsletter (29 October 2026). For those who have not yet had an opportunity to read it, we would encourage you to take a look.

This guidance, CR245, is intended for psychiatrists across all specialties and career stages throughout the UK and replaces the previous guidance, CR207. Developed in response to feedback from College members regarding the challenges that can arise when agreeing realistic and achievable job plans, it provides overarching principles alongside specialty-specific guidance and advice for different areas of practice.

Importantly, the guidance will be maintained as a living document, enabling it to be reviewed and updated as services, legislation, technology and workforce models continue to evolve.

We would also encourage you to share this resource with colleagues involved in medical staffing, recruitment and job planning within your organisation.

To further support members in Scotland with job planning requirements, we have developed a free online resource, now available via the Webinars section of the RCPsych in Scotland website. As this content is exclusively for members, access now requires a member login. The recording on Job Planning and Appraisal is presented by Dr Alastair Palin, Medical Director for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism at NHS Grampian, and is based on his highly regarded presentations delivered at previous StartWell events. These resources will also form part of a new Career Support section on the RCPsych in Scotland website, which will bring together practical career development and professional support resources for members. We look forward to adding further training, career and workforce-related resources to this area over the coming months.

In addition, and timely in the context of these discussions, BMA Scotland has recently published new safe working guidance, Safe Working for Consultants and SAS Doctors in Scotland. This guidance provides practical advice on consultants' and SAS doctors' rights and responsibilities in relation to safe working. It also sets out the BMA's position on acceptable working practices and helps clarify the distinction between individual professional responsibilities and those that sit with NHS systems and employers.

We hope these resources prove helpful in supporting you to develop sustainable, realistic and rewarding roles, and we encourage you to make use of them as part of your ongoing job planning discussions.