Can pharmacies close for staff training now?

Can a pharmacy close for training today?

No, not as a contractual right. On 22 June 2026 the NHS terms of service still require you to provide pharmaceutical services for every core opening hour. That is 40 hours a week for most pharmacies. Pharmacies that opened under the old 100-hour exemption must open for at least 72 hours, or 100 if they have not applied to reduce.

The rule sits in Schedule 4, paragraph 23 of the NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. The only closures it forgives are the ones you cannot control. Paragraph 23(10) covers a temporary suspension "because of illness or another reason beyond the control" of the contractor. You must notify NHS England as soon as practicable, and wherever possible before the closure starts. You must use your business continuity plan and reopen as soon as you can.

Paragraph 23(11) then closes the obvious loophole. Planned refurbishment "is not a reason beyond the control" of the contractor. A planned training session is no different. If you lock the door at 2pm for a Pharmacy First refresher, you are in breach.

There is one lawful route today. Paragraph 23(1) lets NHS England "agree a temporary suspension of services for a set period", but only where it has received three months' notice. In practice you deal with your integrated care board (ICB), which runs pharmacy contracts under delegation from NHS England. Few pharmacies have used this route for training. Three months' notice for a half-day session is not a workable model.

The 2026/27 contract changes the position. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Community Pharmacy England (CPE) published the settlement on 29 May 2026. It commits to "enabling pharmacies to close for up to 4 hours in a day up to once a month for learning and development purposes". The change is listed among those to be "progressed from autumn 2026". Until the regulations are amended, the old rules apply in full. For the rest of the deal, see what the 2026/27 pharmacy contract actually pays.

What did the 2026/27 contract agree?

The settlement agreed the principle and the limits, and left the mechanics to the regulations. The GOV.UK settlement page lists four regulatory changes to be progressed from autumn 2026. Training closures come first on that list. The table below gives the four items in the order GOV.UK publishes them.

CPE's briefing 009/26, issued in May 2026, adds the detail owners need. It says: "Changes will be introduced to enable pharmacies to close during core or supplementary opening hours for periods of staff training and development". Next: "There will be a notification procedure for pharmacy owners to follow, and the closures will be limited to a maximum of four hours in a day up to once a month". Then the caveat: "Certain restrictions will apply with the detail to follow in due course".

Read those three sentences carefully, because they are the whole rulebook so far. Three things are settled: the four-hour cap, the once-a-month frequency and the fact that core hours are included. Three things are not: the notification procedure, the restrictions, and the definition of training. The table below separates the two.

How many hours can you close, and how often?

Up to four hours in a single day, and no more than once a month. Both documents use the same limits. The GOV.UK page says "up to 4 hours in a day up to once a month". CPE says "a maximum of four hours in a day up to once a month". The table below sets out what those words allow and what they leave open.

Two practical readings follow. First, "in a day" means the four hours run in a single block or within one calendar day. You cannot spread them across two mornings. Second, "once a month" is a ceiling, not an entitlement to bank. If you skip March, you do not get eight hours in April. Neither document says otherwise, so plan on the strict reading until the regulations say more.

Four hours is enough for a structured session. It covers a Pharmacy First pathway update, a supervision briefing and a safeguarding refresher, with time for questions. It is not enough for a full study day. Pharmacies wanting more will still need to train outside opening hours or stagger staff.

When do the rules take effect?

Autumn 2026, with October 2026 as the working date. GOV.UK says the four regulatory changes "will be progressed from autumn 2026". CPE's implementation timeline is more specific. Its October entry reads "PLPS: Revised PLPS regulations (Terms of Service introduced)" and "Closures for staff training and development: Notification procedure to be established". The Pharmaceutical Journal's 3 June 2026 summary also puts the detailed guidance in October 2026.

Treat October as a target. An amending statutory instrument has to be drafted, laid before Parliament and brought into force. The last two rounds of changes to Schedule 4 show the lag. The 2023 amendments came into force on 25 May 2023 and 31 July 2023. The 2025 hub and spoke amendments came into force on 1 October 2025. If the October 2026 date holds, the first lawful training closure could be in the same month. If it slips, so does your first session.

What notice will you have to give?

You will have to notify, not apply, but the procedure does not exist yet. CPE says "there will be a notification procedure for pharmacy owners to follow". The GOV.UK settlement does not mention notice at all. Nobody has published the form, the recipient or the lead time. The best guide to what is coming is the set of notice periods already in the terms of service, summarised below from Schedule 4 and CPE's opening hours guidance.

The closest precedent is the rest break rule. The 2023 amendments let you add a break of up to one hour by notification, with five weeks' notice, without applying to change your core hours. A training closure is the same kind of change: a fixed, short, planned gap inside your core hours. A notification with a lead time of a few weeks is the likely shape. That is a reasonable expectation, not a published rule.

Two duties will not change. Paragraph 23(4) requires a notice at the premises showing your opening days and times. When you are closed, you must display a notice, legible from outside where practicable, listing other pharmacies and their hours. A training closure will need both. Update your NHS website profile and your Google listing as well, so patients do not make a wasted trip.

What if you close for training before the rules change?

You risk a breach of your terms of service. A planned closure inside core hours is not "a reason beyond your control", and the illness exemption in paragraph 23(10) does not protect it. Under regulation 70 of the 2013 Regulations, NHS England, acting through the ICB, can issue a remedial notice for a breach that can be put right. The notice can authorise withholding your remuneration while the breach continues.

That is a heavy price for a half-day session. There are three ways to train lawfully in the meantime. First, use time outside opening hours: an early start, a late finish or a Sunday. Second, use a rest break. You can notify a break of up to one hour on a Monday to Saturday, with five weeks' notice. It must start at least three hours after opening and end at least three hours before closing. Third, ask the ICB to agree a temporary suspension of services with three months' notice. This is the only route for a longer closure, and it needs the ICB's agreement.

Supplementary hours give a fourth option. Those hours are yours to set, subject to five weeks' notice for any reduction. If your training can fall in supplementary hours, notify the change in advance and notify the return afterwards. It is clumsy, but it is within the rules.

What training should you plan for?

The contract does not define eligible training yet. GOV.UK says "learning and development purposes". CPE says "staff training and development", with "certain restrictions" to follow. Until the regulations are published, assume the closure is for team learning. Do not plan to use it for a stocktake, a refit or a deep clean. Refurbishment is already named as a planned closure that the rules do not forgive.

The autumn 2026 agenda is long enough to fill several sessions. The Pharmacy First service specification requires owners to "keep documentary evidence that pharmacy staff involved in the provision of the service are competent and remain up to date". The NHS prescribing service starts in the autumn. From 10 December 2026, pharmacists will be able to authorise registered pharmacy technicians to carry out, or supervise others carrying out, the preparation, assembly, dispensing, sale and supply of medicines. That change needs every team member to understand who may do what. See the 2026 pharmacy supervision changes for the detail.

Whatever you choose, keep a record. GPhC inspectors assess whether staff have the skills and competence for their role, and they ask for evidence. A register of who attended, what was covered and who led the session is the minimum. New starters should be on it too; see how to onboard new pharmacy staff in the first 30 days.

How should you prepare?

Plan the year now and book nothing until the regulations land. The right is expected in October 2026, so the first realistic closure is late 2026. Between now and then you can choose dates, agree content and prepare the patient communications. The callout below is the short version.

Think about patients as well as paperwork. A closure in the middle of a weekday afternoon hits people collecting prescriptions after work and care homes expecting deliveries. Tell regular patients a week ahead, put the date on the counter, and warn your delivery driver and local surgeries. If a neighbouring pharmacy is open, say so on the notice. The terms of service require that anyway.

Finally, fold the closure into your compliance calendar. Autumn 2026 also brings the prescribing service, the DBS change and the December supervision reforms. A monthly training slot is the simplest way to keep up with all three. For the full list of dates, see the compliance deadlines UK pharmacies face this year.

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