The European Working Time Directive was introduced into UK law under the Working Time Regulations 1998. One of the most widely publicized provisions is the limit on average working hours for workers. Currently, most workers are not allowed to work more than 48 hours per week unless they explicitly opt out of this regulation.
There are several exceptions to this rule, one of which applies to junior doctors whose maximum average working hours are 56 hours per week. From Saturday 1 August 2009, this limit will change to bring junior doctors on par with other workers. However, the current swine flu pandemic has raised serious concerns about the impact it will have on the NHS's ability to cope with swine flu.
There are many arguments for and against the rules that will apply to physicians from August 1, 2009 within the medical industry. However, pressure is mounting on the government to delay any future changes until the current pandemic is under control.
The Health Protection Agency estimates that there are more than 100,000 new cases of swine flu in the UK every week. Doctors' pressure group RemedyUK has highlighted the impact on doctors who face an increased risk of contracting swine flu due to exposure to it and the resulting rise in disease levels within the NHS itself.
The Royal College of Surgeons also supports the view that the changes, which are due to take place this weekend, will put further strain on the NHS. But other bodies, such as the Department of Health, argue that in reality most of the additional work is being done by GPs and that changes should not be delayed.
If implementation goes ahead, how can the NHS as an employer reduce the negative impact on response capacity?
You can also opt out of the 48-hour maximum work week. Like other workers, once a physician opts out, they can opt back in. She may withdraw her consent at any time by notifying her employer of this decision in writing three months in advance.
Many employers include language in their employment contracts that makes it easy to opt out. However, if an employer's existing employees have signed contracts that do not include any opt-outs, nothing prevents the employer from distributing opt-out forms to employees to enable them to opt out of the rules. I can't.
The decision to opt out of the maximum working week must be a voluntary decision. Therefore, the NHS could not force doctors to sign an opt-out. Also, due to the large numbers involved, such exercises can be time-consuming to perform. Given that the swine flu pandemic could last for many months, the NHS ultimately decided it had no choice but to devote resources to individually sending opt-out forms to every doctor. I might. In doing so, a significant number of people agree that this is necessary and choose to opt out, even temporarily, increasing working hours and reducing the burden on an overstretched workforce. Our aim and hope is to make this possible.
Pam Locke and Chloe Pereira of niche employment law firm Locke Associates;
