BMA reports junior doctor recruitment bodies for breaching regulations - 13 May 08
- Extract from : http://tinyurl.com/3pdzlo
Following a request from the BMA’s legal department, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) has stated that the 15 postgraduate medical deaneries in England are legally classed as employment agencies.
The unprecedented decision means that deaneries have a statutory duty to provide accurate information to junior doctors when they offer them a post, such as when and where they will start, what hours they will be working, and how much they will be paid.
The BMA has reported all the deaneries in England to EASI for not meeting these requirements in the past.
Mr Ram Moorthy, Chairman of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, says:
- “This is a very significant development. It’s hard to imagine another profession where you could start salaried employment without knowing how much you’ll be paid in six months’ time. That’s been the reality for junior doctors for years, but it may be about to change.”
It also means that doctors currently going through the recruitment process will be entitled to more information about the jobs they are applying for. The main recruitment window closes this Friday (16 May, 2008) but competition is high and many will need to apply again through one of the secondary recruitment rounds starting next week.
The BMA has held talks with health officials at 10 Downing St to push for improvements in the secondary recruitment rounds. It is calling for junior doctors to be allowed longer than the current 48 hours between being offered a job and having to accept it.
Notes
1) In addition to the 15 deaneries in England, there are five in Scotland and one each in Wales and Northern Ireland. The BMA’s enquiries have so far covered those in England - it is looking into the situation in the other nations.
2) EASI is the governmental body that regulates employment agencies.
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