Recruiting a new GP partner is a two-way legal transaction, not a hiring decision. The incoming partner is buying into the business, taking on a share of its liabilities as well as its profits, and both sides need proper due diligence before anyone signs anything. Getting this wrong, either by rushing the process or by relying on goodwill instead of documentation, is one of the most common sources of GP partnership disputes we see.
This guide sets out what a practice should do before offering partnership, what an incoming partner should ask to see, and what the partnership agreement needs to cover once terms are agreed.
Why Recruitment Is a Legal Process, Not Just an HR One
Bringing in a new GP partner is fundamentally different from hiring an employee. A partner becomes a co-owner of the business, sharing in its profits, its debts and, depending on how the partnership agreement is drafted, potentially its historic liabilities too. Under general partnership law, incoming and outgoing partners can each face exposure connected to the partnership’s obligations, which is precisely why the due diligence process, and the partnership agreement that follows it, needs to be treated with the same rigour as any other business acquisition, not as a formality once the clinical interview has gone well.
Due Diligence: What the Practice Should Provide
The British Medical Association’s own guidance on taking on new GP partners is clear that a prospective partner should be given a proper due diligence pack before being asked to commit. At a minimum, this should include:
- Three years of partnership accounts, so the incoming partner can see the practice’s actual financial position and realistically assess likely returns, rather than relying on verbal assurances about profitability.
- The current partnership agreement, checked to confirm it is up to date, properly signed by all existing partners, and fit for purpose rather than a legacy document nobody has looked at in years. If your own agreement needs a health check before recruiting, 8 Signs Your GP Partnership Deed Needs Updating is a useful place to start.
- Full premises documentation. Where the practice leases its premises, the incoming partner should see the lease term, rent and service charge provisions, rent review terms, repair and dilapidations obligations, and any break clauses. Where premises are partner-owned, they need to know the share they are expected to buy, from whom, how it will be valued, and by when. GP surgery leases carry features that catch out anyone expecting a standard commercial lease, covered in GP Surgery Leases: Why They’re Different from Ordinary Commercial Leases.
- A list of known liabilities, including any live disputes, whether with the landlord, staff, patients, or other partners, so the incoming partner is not blindsided by a problem that predates their arrival.
What the Practice Should Check on the Incoming Partner
Due diligence runs both ways. The BMA’s guidance recommends obtaining a full employment and training history, an explanation for any gaps, and personal and professional references, ideally from individuals or practices who can speak to how the candidate actually works, not just their clinical competence. Any conditional offer should say explicitly that it is subject to satisfactory verification, and that it can be withdrawn if information provided turns out to be false or misleading. This protects the existing partners without creating unnecessary friction, provided it is handled as a standard, transparent part of the process rather than introduced awkwardly after an offer has already been made informally.
Structuring the Offer: Probation, Parity and Capital
Three commercial points tend to need the most careful thought when structuring a new partnership offer.
| Element | Common approach | What to get right |
|---|---|---|
| Probationary period | Not a statutory requirement, but common practice, often with a short notice period of around one month for either side | Set this out explicitly in the partnership agreement; without one, the Partnership Act 1890’s default position gives neither side an easy exit |
| Profit share and parity | Full parity from day one, or a phased build-up over an agreed period | Decide and document this before the offer is made, not after the new partner has started |
| Capital contribution | Lump sum, phased payment, or funded from undrawn profits over time | Softening the requirement, for example by allowing payment from undrawn profits, is often more attractive to newly qualified GPs facing existing debt |
Salaried GP, Fixed-Share Partner, or Full Partner
Practices sometimes use “salaried partner” and “fixed-share partner” as though they mean the same thing, but the legal distinction matters. A salaried GP is an employee, entitled to the full range of statutory employment protections and paid through PAYE, with tax and National Insurance deducted at source. A full equity partner is self-employed, sharing in the practice’s profits and risks, with far more limited statutory employment protection but the tax and pension treatment that comes with partnership status. A fixed-share partner sits in between: still a partner for most legal purposes, but typically without full profit-sharing rights and often without the same exposure to capital risk as a full equity partner. Getting the classification right in the agreement matters, both for the individual’s tax position and to avoid inadvertently creating employment rights the practice did not intend to grant, a risk our employment law team regularly advises GP practices on. We explain this distinction in full in Salaried GP vs Partner: Understanding the Legal Distinction.
Getting the Agreement Right From the Start
Every point negotiated during recruitment, probation length, profit share, capital contribution, restrictive covenants, needs to end up properly reflected in a signed partnership agreement before the new partner starts, not sketched out in an email exchange and left to be formalised later. Practices that delay this step, intending to “sort out the paperwork” once the new partner has settled in, are exactly the practices we see relying on the Partnership Act 1890 by default a year down the line, with none of the protections either side thought they had agreed. We cover what a comprehensive agreement needs to include in GP Partnership Agreements: What Every Partner Should Know.
What This Means for Your Practice
Recruiting a new partner is one of the moments most likely to expose gaps in a practice’s existing legal documentation, precisely because it forces everyone to look closely at what was actually agreed rather than what everyone assumed. We advise both GP practices and individual incoming partners on recruitment due diligence and partnership agreement drafting, and because we act for both sides of these arrangements across our client base, we understand what each party genuinely needs from the process. If this affects your practice and you would like to talk it through, get in touch with our healthcare team or call us on +44 207 566 1188. You can also reach us by email at info@gurvelegal.com.
