Overview
There are many reasons why you may decide to terminate your associateship with your current practice – you may want to develop more skills or gain more experience in a different sector, or move to another part of the country, or become a practice owner or simply retire from dentistry.
You will need to give your practice owner notice of your intention to leave and follow the notice period outlined in your associate agreement and abide by any requirements that the agreement might stipulate, including any post-termination restrictions. If you do not have an agreement, you should give the practice owner fair notice that you intend to leave.
The financial aspects of terminating an associateship can be challenging. You must discuss how the arrangements will work in practice and appreciate fully the impact on the amount due to you.
Key learning points
This advice describes your obligations when you leave a practice where you are an associate and possible implications imposed by your agreement with the practice owner. It explains:
- What might affect your intention to end your associate position – for example, being bound by a tie-in period
- How to end the arrangement and what to include in your letter to the practice owner giving notice of your intention to leave
- The implications of post-termination restrictive covenants included in your agreement
- The practicalities of completing courses of treatment for your patients before you leave the practice
- Your indemnity or insurance cover when you have left the practice
- Your responsibility for repairs and replacement of failed treatment when you have left the practice and how this might be managed.
