For nurses, healthcare assistants, doctors and everyone else working in the NHS. Choose the notice in your contract and the builder works out your last working day, offers a handover and asks about your leave. Free to copy, download as Word or print.
How much notice NHS staff give
Your notice period is in your contract. Most NHS staff are on Agenda for Change terms, and the notice you owe depends on your contract, so check it or ask your HR team or your union rep before you hand in your letter.
Your notice usually starts the day after you hand your letter in, so the builder counts from there.
Who to send it to
Address it to your line manager or ward manager, and copy in HR if your trust asks you to. Many trusts also have a leaver's form or an online process: your letter starts your notice, the form deals with the paperwork.
Leave, shifts and handover
Ask how leave you have built up and not taken will be handled: taken before you go or paid in your final pay.
Offer a handover: your patients or caseload, and anything you are the named contact for.
Moving to another NHS employer? Under Agenda for Change, previous NHS service counts towards your annual leave entitlement when you return to NHS employment.
NHS resignation letter examples
NHS resignation letter, staff nurse
Notice from the contract, a handover and a question about leave.
21 October 2026
Dear Claire,
Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from my position as Staff Nurse, Ward 7 at Northbank Hospitals NHS Trust. I am giving one month's notice, in line with my contract, so my last working day will be 12 November 2026.
Before I leave, I will do everything I can to make the handover smooth, including documenting my work and helping to train whoever takes over my responsibilities.
Please could you confirm how any holiday I have accrued but not taken will be handled, whether taken before I leave or paid in my final salary.
Thank you for the opportunities I have had during my time at Northbank Hospitals NHS Trust. I have valued the experience and the support I have received.
I wish you and the team every success in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Priya Shah
NHS resignation letter for a new post
Moving to another trust.
21 October 2026
Dear Claire,
Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from my position as Staff Nurse, Ward 7 at Northbank Hospitals NHS Trust. I am giving two months' notice, in line with my contract, so my last working day will be 12 December 2026.
I have accepted a new role, and this was not an easy decision to make.
Before I leave, I will do everything I can to make the handover smooth, including documenting my work and helping to train whoever takes over my responsibilities.
Please could you confirm how any holiday I have accrued but not taken will be handled, whether taken before I leave or paid in my final salary.
Thank you for the opportunities I have had during my time at Northbank Hospitals NHS Trust. I have valued the experience and the support I have received.
I wish you and the team every success in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Priya Shah
Short NHS resignation letter
The facts only.
21 October 2026
Dear Claire,
Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from my position as Staff Nurse, Ward 7 at Northbank Hospitals NHS Trust. I am giving one month's notice, in line with my contract, so my last working day will be 12 November 2026.
I will make sure my work is handed over properly before I leave.
Yours sincerely,
Priya Shah
Questions people ask
How much notice do NHS staff have to give?
The notice in your contract. It varies by role and contract, so check yours or ask HR or your union before you resign.
Do I lose my NHS service if I move trusts?
Under Agenda for Change, previous NHS service counts towards your annual leave entitlement when you return to NHS employment. Ask HR how it applies to anything else in your contract.
Can I use annual leave during my notice?
You can ask. Your employer can agree leave during your notice or pay you for leave you have built up and not taken. Asking in your letter avoids surprises.
Do I need to give a reason?
No. A resignation letter only needs to say you are resigning, your notice and your last working day.
More letters for work
Resignation letter: Notice to leave, with your last working day worked out.
Retirement letter: Formal notice that you're retiring, with your last day worked out.
Character reference: For a job, a tenancy or court, written from real examples.
Job offer letters: Accept, decline or ask for more, with your resign-by date.
Reference letters: Ask someone to be your referee, or write a reference.