When I first qualified in 2003 I found the transition from medical student to junior doctor pretty challenging. Apart from getting used to the increased demands in time and energy of my clinical role, I also had to learn to juggle working full-time with my postgraduate studies and personal life.
I remember being vaguely aware of the fact that I had a contract of employment, but not really being sure of what was contained in it. One thing I do recall clearly however, was the frequent feeling of frustration when there was a mismatch between what I thought my contract said should happen, and what was actually happening in practice.
For example, I didn’t feel particularly confident in standing my ground when it came to what I was entitled to regarding the standard of my accommodation, sick-leave or correcting problems with my payslip. On top of that, I didn’t know where I’d find the time to inform myself of my contractual rights. That’s when I decided to look for guidance on my Terms and Conditions of Service, a complex document that lays out what should and shouldn’t happen regarding my working conditions.
With some assistance I’ve resolved a number of issues over the years, such as an incorrect incremental date on my payslip leading to significant back pay when corrected, and issues with monitoring and re-banding.
As junior doctors in the modern NHS, there are many demands on our time: our day-to-day clinical tasks, our out-of-hours commitments and all the associated activities of training such as appraisal and assessment. There are many provisions within our contract that can help make our working lives a little less stressful and a little more manageable.
Having this information at our fingertips in an easily accessible format can help us all focus on what we really want to do - to practise as doctors, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. If we are well informed of our rights, we can ensure that we get fair treatment for a fair day’s work.
As it stands, there is still much confusion about many contractual issues, such as monitoring hours of work. It will come as no surprise that this is one of the most common queries we get asked about. Currently, most people “pick it up as they go along” when it comes to information about contractual rights. What I would like to see happen is for us to be equipped with this knowledge before we need it. Every final year medical student should be able to start work with a sound understanding of what their contract says, and every junior doctor should know where to get additional information about what they’re entitled to.
I feel strongly about junior doctors asserting their contractual rights and that is why, as chairman of the BMA junior doctors committee negotiating team, I’ve worked hard to put together the key entitlements of the current contract in a way which I hope is comprehensive, accessible and above all, helpful.
The JDC has put together a summary of the key entitlements of the current contract, which explains your rights in a simple and digestible way. Read more here.
Tags: Juniors, Juniors contract
