[1] Qualified teachers are not permitted to work permanently in state-maintained schools unless they have completed or are completing the induction for newly qualified teachers.
They are, however, permitted to perform supply work in state-maintained schools for the first five years after gaining Qualified Teacher Status.
This has led to the misconception that the NQT induction year must be completed within five years of gaining QTS; there is in fact no statutory time-scale within which a teacher must complete the NQT induction, but after five years they will be unable to do supply work in state-maintained schools.
[1] From 1 September 2021, the terminology "newly qualified teacher (NQT)" was replaced with "early career teacher (ECT)", with the programme being increased from twelve months to two years.
This was changed to two years with the introduction of the new "early career teacher (ECT)" programme in 2021.