Pay When Rotation Has Been Cancelled

News, Organising, Pay

Author: Emma Runswick

For many doctors, the cancellation of April rotations did not just mean loss of training, it also represented significant loss of expected pay. Those doing jobs without out-of-hours work in March would lose thousands by not moving into high-intensity jobs, through no fault of their own.

Colleagues who made financial decisions on the basis of expected pay, or reliant on this for childcare, stood to be particularly badly affected.

Several Broad Left supporters who are Local Negotiating Committee representatives* have won pay increases for trainees at multiple hospitals and we are involved in helping other reps secure this.

In these trusts, doctors are being paid the highest salary from:

  • The rota they are working
  • The rota they were expected to be working from April and had a work schedule for
  • The emergency Covid rota

For some trainees, this is worth £3700. Many more have gained over £2000.

We have argued for this on the basis of Schedule 2 of our contract.

71. Where changes to the work schedule are required by the employer and total pay would be decreased as a result, the doctor’s total pay will be protected and so remain unchanged until the end of the particular placement covered by that work schedule. This protection will not extend to any subsequent placement, including a placement where the doctor returns at a later date to the same post.

2016 Junior Doctor Contact in England, Version 8

Or 21h in the 2002 Contract, which says similar.

If you had a work schedule for April-August rotation before they announced rotation was cancelled, then you have experienced “changes to the work schedule” “required by the employer” “and total pay would be decreased as a result”. As such, you are entitled to the pay “until the end of the particular placement covered by that work schedule” (April-August).

If some trainees in your trust had a work schedule and some did not – i.e. a department didn’t get their work schedule out in line with the guidelines – then you have an argument that the department’s failure to send out work schedules should not disadvantage those trainees.

We gained support by emphasising our contractual rights, sharing the stories of doctors who were badly affected, building alliances with supportive members of management, and later by using examples of other trusts who had agreed this.

If you would like support to negotiate with your workplace or want to know more about becoming an effective BMA representative, contact us!

*Local Negotiating Committees (LNCs) are your local BMA representation. We encourage all Broad Left supporters who are hospital doctors to become LNC reps.

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