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Date the gap and explain it briefly
Put the break between the relevant posts in your employment history, using month and year dates. For example:
July 2019 to February 2020: career break for family caring responsibilities.
This gives the reader more useful information than “2019–2020: unemployed”. A short entry is usually enough; it does not need a separate explanation elsewhere on the CV.
Check the dates against your application form and employment records. Where a form asks for exact dates, use those.
What to write about the break
Professional examinations
“Career break to prepare for PLAB 2” describes the reason for the period out of work. List any passes and their dates under qualifications. Exam preparation should not appear as a clinical or training post.
Relocation and GMC registration
A move to the UK may involve examinations, relocation and registration at different stages. Give a brief account of what occupied your break rather than attributing the whole period to registration processing. For example: “Relocation to the UK; awaiting GMC registration”. Our IMG medical CV guide covers the presentation of overseas experience and registration status.
Caring responsibilities
You can write “Career break to care for a family member”. If you remained employed during parental leave, keep the post’s full employment dates and note the leave under that post if needed.
Health reasons
“Career break for health reasons” is usually enough for the CV. Keep diagnosis and treatment details separate, and follow the employer’s instructions for any health assessment.
Seeking employment
If you were looking for work, say so. Relevant courses, teaching or other activity can be mentioned alongside it, but there is no need to describe the whole period as professional development because you completed some CPD.
Show any work undertaken during the break
Locum shifts, non-medical employment and voluntary work belong in the chronology too. Give the dates and, for occasional work, its frequency. A few shifts over several months should be presented as occasional work rather than a continuous clinical post.
Courses can remain in the CPD section. Substantial study during a longer break may also merit a short mention in the gap entry. For audit or QI work, include your contribution and what happened to the project; our audit and QI guide gives examples.
Employment gaps on NHS Jobs and Trac
Complete the form’s employment history and gap explanations even if you attach a CV. Keep the dates consistent across both documents, providing exact dates where requested.
A gap explained in the employment history does not usually need repeating in supporting information unless the employer asks for it or it helps address a criterion. Our supporting information guide covers how to organise your evidence against the person specification.
Help with your CV or application
For a review of your chronology and the rest of your CV, compare our medical CV services. If you need help with supporting information for a particular vacancy, see our NHS and Trac application support.
Further guidance
The NHS Employers employment history and reference checks standard sets out how employers check employment and training history, including gaps. Follow the instructions for your own application.
This is CV guidance, not legal or employment advice.