Whether nurses and midwives can work during an NMC fitness to practise investigation, when interim orders restrict practice, employer disclosure, income protection, and how to use the investigation period productively
One of the first questions any nurse or midwife asks when they receive an NMC investigation letter is whether they can carry on working. The answer — in most cases — is yes. But understanding when restrictions arise and what obligations exist is essential for protecting both your practice and your registration.
Receiving an NMC investigation letter does not restrict your ability to practise as a nurse or midwife.
Your NMC registration remains current and you can continue working unless and until a formal restriction is imposed through a separate process. An investigation gathers evidence — restrictions on practice are a legally separate step requiring a formal order.
Many nurses and midwives assume they should stop working when they receive an NMC letter. This assumption is almost always wrong.
Stopping work without a legal obligation to do so creates unnecessary professional and financial disruption. The NMC investigation process explains where restrictions do and do not arise within the overall framework.
The NMC can restrict a nurse or midwife's practice through two main formal mechanisms:
CPD Certified — Online — Immediate Access
Absent one of these formal orders, you can continue practising. The full range of formal outcomes is set out in the NMC sanctions guide.
Whether to tell your employer about an NMC investigation depends on your employment contract. Most NHS employment contracts and bank staff agreements include provisions requiring disclosure of regulatory proceedings.
Your trade union representative can advise on your specific contractual obligations — check your contract and take advice before making any disclosure. Do not deliberately conceal something you are contractually required to disclose, but do not disclose without advice either.
Where a formal order includes notification conditions, disclosure to your employer before resuming work is mandatory.
Failing to comply with notification conditions is a serious breach with significant consequences. Understanding NMC interim orders and what they require is important if any formal restriction arises.
The position for nurses and midwives working through agencies or on bank contracts is the same as for employed staff — absent a formal interim or final order, you can continue working. However, NHS trusts, health boards, and
nursing agencies conduct NMC register checks. A formal order will appear on those checks immediately. Most nursing agencies also have their own disclosure requirements — check your agency contract terms and take advice before making any disclosure.
The most productive approach to an NMC investigation is not passive — it is intensive evidence-building. Complete CPD from day one specifically addressing the concern. Start a reflective practice log. Engage with any supervision arrangements available. Build the evidence file that will be presented at the case examiner stage.
Nurses and midwives who use every week of the investigation period to build genuine professional development evidence consistently achieve better case examiner outcomes than those who wait for the process to unfold. Every week of CPD completed,
every reflective note written, every supervision session documented is a week of evidence that cannot be assembled retrospectively. The guide to demonstrating remediation covers exactly what evidence is needed and how to present it.
Where an NMC interim order restricts or prevents nursing or midwifery practice, income protection becomes an urgent practical concern. Options include: RCN and RCM income protection support for members; NHS sick pay provisions in your employment contract; trade union financial guidance; and personal income protection insurance where held.
Early financial planning — at the beginning of any investigation — is more effective than crisis management after income is lost. Non-clinical nursing roles — education, management, administration — may be possible during some forms of restriction; legal advice on what the specific order permits is essential before taking up any work.
UK-registered nurses and midwives can access professional ethics training through Healthcare Ethics Courses.
Professionals with connections to New Zealand can consult professional development in New Zealand.
Those with connections to Australia can review ethics training in Australia.
10 CPD-certified courses for £500. Start CPD from day one of any NMC investigation — demonstrating genuine professional engagement at every stage of the process.
Bulk Buy 10 Courses →Yes — in most cases. An NMC investigation letter does not restrict your registration. You can continue working unless and until a formal interim or final order is imposed.
A temporary formal restriction imposed before the investigation concludes — either interim suspension (preventing all nursing practice) or interim conditions (restricting practice in specified ways). Applied urgently where immediate patient safety risk is identified.
Only through a formal interim or final order. An investigation letter itself does not restrict practice. Restrictions require a separate formal legal process.
Check your employment contract. Most NHS contracts include disclosure requirements for regulatory proceedings. Your trade union can advise on specific contractual obligations.
Yes — absent a formal order. NMC register checks will reveal any formal order. Check agency contract disclosure requirements.
Not unless a formal order requires it. Stopping work without legal obligation creates unnecessary disruption.
Continue working, complete targeted CPD from day one, start a reflective practice log, engage with available supervision, and build the evidence file for the case examiner stage.
The investigation itself does not appear on NMC register checks — only formal orders are publicly recorded. An open investigation does not prevent you from working or appear in register searches.
RCN and RCM income protection support; NHS sick pay provisions; trade union financial guidance; personal income protection insurance. Plan early — before income is affected.
A criminal offence. Working in any NMC-regulated nursing or midwifery capacity during an interim suspension is a criminal offence and a serious additional fitness to practise matter.
Absent a formal order, yes. Continue practising to your normal professional standards and document your practice carefully.
Building remediation evidence — CPD, reflective accounts, supervision. The nurses and midwives who achieve the best case examiner outcomes are those who use the investigation period proactively.
The RCN, RCM, Unison, and Unite all provide regulatory support to nursing and midwifery members as a standard membership benefit.
This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Seek independent legal advice from a solicitor experienced in NMC regulatory proceedings.
