Junior Doctors: Working Hours

(asked on 28th March 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) proportion of junior doctors who work on average more than (i) 48, (ii) 56, (iii) 72 and (iv) 91 hours a week.


Answered by
Steve Barclay Portrait
Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This question was answered on 17th April 2018

The Department does not hold this information. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that working hours comply with the limits in legislation and in contracts of employment.

Under the new (2016) contract for doctors and dentists in training limits on working hours and patterns go beyond those in legislation. Average weekly hours are limited contractually to 48 (and to 56 where a doctor chooses to opt out of the Working Time Regulations). There is a contractual limit of 72 hours in any single week (compared to the 91 hours permissible within the legislation). There are also limits on shift length and the number of consecutive shifts (long shifts and night shifts); and requirements relating to minimum rest periods. Prior to the introduction of the contract, trusts reviewed all rotas to ensure compliance with these limits.

The new contract also introduced a robust system of safeguards. Doctors can raise exception reports if their work varies significantly or regularly from that in their work schedule, either in terms of working patterns or educational opportunities. Each trust has a Guardian of Safe Working Hours responsible for reviewing the outcome of exception reports and addressing any concerns relating to hours worked. The Guardian is required to provide reports to the trust board at least once per quarter on all work schedule reviews relating to safe working hours, including data on all rota gaps on all shifts; and trusts are required to publish consolidated annual reports on rota gaps and the plan for improvement to reduce them. The Director of Medical Education is responsible for addressing concerns relating to educational issues and reporting to the trust board annually.

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