Supporting Information from Employers (SIFE) FAQ

SIFE is additional supporting information from an employer that certain applicants to the NMC register can provide as part of their evidence that they meet our English language requirements.

In September 2022, our Council agreed that SIFE could be used as additional supporting evidence of English language competence, for those people who have working for 12 months (or FTE equivalent if working part-time) in non-registered practice in a health and social care setting in the UK and who either:

• Trained in English but in a country where English is not the majority spoken language, as evidence of their clinical interaction skills. They will still need to provide evidence that their training and assessment was in English.

OR

• missed the required score by 0.5 (IELTS) or half a grade (OET) on one of the four language domains, as long as they had exhausted all test combining options.

As of 27 May 2023, all prospective applicants who haven’t yet submitted their NMC Online applications can now use SIFE via the NMC Online application process.

Applicants trained in English in a country where English is not the majority spoken language can use SIFE to evidence listening and speaking competence, demonstrating their ability to interact clinically in English with people who use services, their families, carers, and other healthcare professionals. The applicant still needs to provide evidence that their training and assessment was in English. This can be in the form of a transcript from the educational institution that delivered the training, as evidence of writing and reading competence.

Applicants who narrowly missed out on the required test score by 0.5 (IELTS) or half a grade (OET) in one of the four language domains and who have exhausted test combining options will be able to use SIFE as additional evidence of the language domain where the score was missed, to support their application.

SIFE can be used as additional supporting evidence of English language competence, for those people who have working for 12 months (or FTE equivalent if working part-time) in non-registered practice in a health and social care setting in the UK and who either:

• Trained in English but in a country where English is not the majority spoken language, as evidence of their clinical interaction skills. They will still need to provide evidence that their training and assessment was in English.

OR

• missed the required score by 0.5 (IELTS) or half a grade (OET) on one of the four language domains, as long as they had exhausted all test combining options.

To use additional supporting information from employers, applicants must have:

• worked in a non-registered role in a health or care setting in the UK for at least 12 months full time or full time equivalent if working part timeat the point they submit their application
• had an NMC registrant as their line manager
• had the same line manager for at least 6 months (we will accept supporting information from up to two NMC-registered line managers to cover 12 months or full time equivalent)

Their line manager will be asked to provide information via a link to NMC online to confirm direct experience of their English language competence. Their line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. This information also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.

The counter signatory provides us with assurance that there is a clear and robust process that they are overseeing.

If the line manager or counter signatory are unable to provide a band or band equivalent, we suggest that they review the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) bands to understand what their band equivalent would be. 

We’ll also ask the applicant for evidence that their training and assessment was in English.

If the applicant is unable to meet any of the requirements above, they will need to provide an alternative type of evidence such as a language test.

Now the process is fully automated, applicants will access SIFE as part of the application process on NMC online. We will automatically send the applicant’s line managers and counter-signatories a link to provide SIFE via their NMC Online accounts, based on information the applicant provides.

We will send you (the employer) a link to NMC Online to provide information of the applicant’s English language competence.

We give you examples of what we mean by competence in the relevant language domain. You need to review the examples and confirm that you have seen them in practice.

They will be sent a link to NMC online where they can sign off the SIFE information.

The applicant will ask you for your PIN and will pass this on to the NMC. This will allow us to verify that their line manager is a registrant.

Using the PIN enables us to verify the identity of the line manager.

It also helps us to ensure that the line manager is the person providing the SIFE information as we will send a link to NMC online directly to the line manager using the email address linked to their NMC Online account.

We ask for NMC registered professionals to provide evidence for SIFE as we want line managers to consider seriously whether the applicant has the necessary level of English to engage in clinical interactions as a nursing or midwifery professional. The line manager will practise in line with the Code that will apply to successful applicants, so they are well placed to make this judgement.

If a manager does not think that an applicant has the necessary knowledge of English language, they should outline their concerns to the applicant. They should not provide SIFE if the applicant does not meet the necessary language requirements.

We believe that NMC registered professionals will use their knowledge and judgement to make appropriate decisions and answer the SIFE questions truthfully. If, once on the register, future referrals are made against the applicant, these will be investigated thoroughly and in line with our Fitness to Practise procedures. If they are found to be impaired by not having the necessary knowledge of English language, we may need to look at the circumstances of their joining the register. However, the most likely circumstance in which the NMC would have concerns about a line manager and/or counter signatory would be if there were an indication that a SIFE was completed dishonestly or in bad faith which would result in the NMC taking action against their registration.

You should speak to the applicant to outline your concerns. We suggest that applicants speak to their line managers about whether they are content to provide additional supporting information before they begin their application.

There are three accepted evidence types for English language that applicants can use when applying to our register:

• Pre-registration nursing, midwifery, or nursing associate qualification in English, or
• Recent nursing or midwifery practice for at least one year in a majority English speaking country, or
• Recent English language tests.

We now accept supporting information from employers as additional evidence to support those taught and examined in English in a country where English is not a majority spoken language, if the applicants meets all our criteria (outlined here Trained in English - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk).

In this case, if this person was trained in English, she can use this as primary evidence as long as she is able to provide the additional supporting information from employers (SIFE). The applicant will need to submit a transcript as evidence to us that they were taught and examined in English, alongside the additional SIFE information from their employer.

 English language requirements - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk)

Test combining calculator - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk)

Provide language evidence - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk)

Consultation on English language requirements - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk)

Our required test scores have not changed. We ask for:

As of 27 May 2023, all prospective applicants that are eligible, who haven’t yet submitted their NMC Online applications can now use SIFE via the NMC Online application process.

We require applicants to demonstrate English language competence to CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level C1 ‘Proficient User’. This means the applicant can:

• understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning
• express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions
• use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes
• produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices

The SIFE form provides examples that outline our expectations around the evidence we are looking for to demonstrate competency. If you are at all unsure you should not provide the SIFE evidence.

To provide objectivity we ask that evidence provided to us using the SIFE form must be verified by a counter signatory, who must also be an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above at the same organisation.

The role of this person is to confirm that the process the line manager has taken to observe the applicant and complete the SIFE form has been fair and consistent. The counter signatory provides us with assurance that there is a clear and robust process that they are overseeing.

Submitting the SIFE form is not a guarantee that a PIN will be issued as our team will need to assess the contents of the form against our criteria. Whilst we are making every effort to prioritise the fully completed SIFE forms, we are managing this manual process along with other applications relying on language tests and practice in English. Our standard Service Level Agreement (SLA) for assessments is 30 days.

SIFE forms will only be forwarded to the line manager’s email address which is registered on their NMC online account. This may not be the same as your work email. This assures us that the person completing the form is an NMC registrant.  

We advise the applicant once the SIFE form has been sent. Please also check your spam folder if you haven’t received the SIFE form.

We ask for evidence from applicants of 12 months employment (or Full Time Equivalent (FTE) if part-time) at the point of application. If the applicant is currently on maternity leave, they are able to apply using SIFE as additional supporting evidence, as long as they have been with their current employer for the time period required.

At the point at which someone is re-joining the workforce, we expect employers to provide the support to help people integrate back into the workforce and practice safely, kindly and effectively.

We ask for evidence from applicants of 12 months employment (or FTE if part-time) at the point of application. If the applicant is currently on sick leave, they are able to apply using SIFE as additional supporting evidence, as long as they have been with their current employer for the time period required.

At the point at which someone is re-joining the workforce, we expect employers to provide the support to help people integrate back into the workforce and practice safely, kindly and effectively.

Applicants should provide the transcript for the qualification that enabled them to register as a nursing or midwifery professional in their country of training.

There is no specified order for applicants in terms of the Test of Competence and other evidence we need as part of an application. An application will only be verified once all this evidence is received.

Our website provides a helpful preapplication checklist for applicants.

During the period of manual processing until summer 2023, an employer will only be able to complete SIFE form after an application has joined our assessment queue. This means the applicant would need to have completed CBT/OSCE, submitted their registration application and we have received all other third party references. Applicants will still have to flexibility to choose the order in which they want to progress their application, for example whether to do TOC or submit a registration application.

Our current online processes will default to this option until it is updated in the summer.

In the meantime, to apply using SIFE we have created a manual process. Applicants should apply as normal. If they encounter this issue, applicants should answer yes to this question. This is strictly for the period of the manual process and is only until the system is updated.

From summer 2023 our system will be fully automated and this issue will not occur. When the systems are updated this question will be replaced with a message saying we will ask for additional information from you in the next screen.