Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2019 to Question 256964, what assessment he has made of the effect of NHS Employers’ decision to make a contractual offer to (a) consultants and (b) associate specialist (SAS) doctors on (i) enhanced occupational rates of pay for shared parental leave contingent on contractual terms and (ii) redundancy terms and conditions.

NHS Employers have proposed to medical trades unions the adoption of a set of common provisions set out in the NHS Handbook. These terms and conditions include, but are not limited to, shared parental leave and redundancy. Medical trades unions have been invited to discuss the proposed changes in partnership through the established negotiation forums for the consultant and specialty and associate specialists (SAS) doctor contracts.

This is the same protocol as has previously been followed for proposing provisions agreed under the non-pay schedules in the NHS Handbook to consultants and SAS doctors.

In 2015, the NHS Staff Council agreed new redundancy provisions for the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service. The British Medical Association (BMA), who are part of the Staff Council, did not agree to amend the national terms and conditions which their members are employed upon. This resulted in redundancy terms being different for doctors compared with other National Health Service staff. In 2016 the new contract for doctors and dentists in training introduced schedules which brought them in line with the shared provisions for other NHS staff, including redundancy. However, as it stands, other grades of doctors still have anomalous redundancy arrangements compared with the rest of the NHS workforce.

The effect of the proposal to accept a set of common provisions on consultants and SAS doctors will be that these non-pay elements of their terms and conditions will be brought into line with doctors and dentists in training and Agenda for Change staff, bringing equity across staff groups.

The BMA have responded that whilst they are keen to incorporate the new provisions on shared parental leave, they do not wish to accept the set of common provisions from the NHS Handbook as they wish to maintain distinct terms and conditions of service for the groups they represent. The Government see no basis for maintaining separate terms and conditions for these groups of doctors in relation to the shared schedules.