Consultant CME/CPD
Following our recent email on Consultant CME/CPD, several members go in touch with the IMO Member Advisory Service and asked if we could answer some further questions on the topic.

This week’s email answers some of the questions that were raised:

Total Funding
A total funding amount of €3,000 per annum per Consultant will apply. The €3,000 is available irrespective of whether the Consultant holds a whole time or part time post. Consultants that work only part of a year are entitled to claim the funding amount pro-rata for the duration of the appointment.

Registration Fees
Annual registration fee for enrolment in recognised Professional Competence Scheme in Ireland is eligible for reimbursement

Funding Rollover
Funding will not normally rollover except in exceptional circumstances. In no circumstances will funding rollover for more than 3 years.

Laptops / Hardware
HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) may directly fund site purchase of computer hardware for CME / CPD purposes. Such funding will be in line with national medical education and training policy and final decision on allocation will rest with NDTP.

Refusal of Funding
A Consultant may appeal a decision to refuse funding to the Hospital CEO or General Manager. Should a further issue arise regarding non-payment of an item specified as eligible for reimbursement in this document, the matter can be referred to the Consultants’ Grievance and Disputes procedure.

For your further information, please find a link to the policy document here

As you may know, the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) suspended incremental progression, for a period of three years, for those on salary scales that start at over €100,000. While the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) made commitments in terms of pay restoration, it was silent on allowing for a restart in incremental progression for individuals whose salary scales start at over €100,000.

Just over a year ago, in direct talks with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), the IMO had it confirmed that it was intended to resume incremental progression for affected individuals. However, DPER were unclear as to the method by which this would be done and indicated that a graduated restart to incremental progression was being considered, but that this may still push the freeze out to 2019 (i.e. 30th June 2016 – the final day on which the HRA was to apply -  plus up to three years) for some individuals.

Clearly, this was not acceptable to the IMO.

Following representations by the IMO, it was confirmed from DPER that the incremental freeze would instead come to an end on 1st July, 2017, and not be pushed as far as 2019, as had been feared.

In practice this means that individuals who have not reached a three year freeze, will have resumed incremental progression on their next incremental date after 1st July, 2017.

Further to our email last week on the different contract types, this week we would like to advise members about the process of changing contract type. 

You are entitled to apply for a change of your contract type having completed 5 years in the role. There is an application form and document to be submitted by the hospital which is available here

In practice you should speak to your clinical director and or hospital manager and express your wish to apply for a change in contract type. Once the application is submitted it will be considered by the Consultant Applications Advisory Committee. They will consider this in conjunction with the employing hospitals views. 

If your application if rejected there is an appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel, which has an independent chair, an employer representative and an employee representative (IMO or IHCA nominated). 

For those applying for change to a Type C contract there is a specific Type C committee who will consider these applications. If this committee rejects the application there is an appeal to the Director General of the HSE. Since 2015 the facility exists to appeal to the decision to the Independent Appeals Panel. 

In considering applications the different committees are cognisant of the overall balance of the contract types and of the potential benefits the change would have to the specific service. In making an application it will be highly advantageous and in fact probably necessary to have your employers backing and to where possible to be in a position to evidence the potential benefits of the change. 

A more detailed summary of the process is available here.

If you have any queries on this please contact IMO member advisory services by emailing: memberadvisoryunit@imo.ieor calling (01) 6767273. 

The B factor payment is to compensate you for your liability to be on call and is tiered for those on more onerous rotas. The rates are the same for all Consultants and are current as of 1^st April 2017.  They are as follows: 

The C factor payments are for the specific call outs and the rates are as follows: 

We would encourage all members to ensure that they are claiming for their entitlement to these, as well as for their rest day entitlement. Local HR should be able to provide a claim form for these. If you are having a difficulty securing your entitlements or have any other queries please contact IMO Member Advisory Services by email to memberadvisoryunit@imo.ie or calling (01) 6767273. 

We have prepared a rundown of the 4 principal contract types for Consultants on the 2008 contract. As you will be aware when you apply for a role this will be specified in the role description and will be in your contract.

Consultant Type A:

• Contract A holders can only engage in practice for a public employer.

Consultant Type B:

• Contract B holders may engage in privately remunerated professional medical/dental practice in hospitals or facilities operated by the employer and in co-located private hospitals on public hospital campuses.
• The volume of private practice shall not exceed 20 % of the Consultant’s clinical workload.

Consultant Type B*:

• Available to Consultants who previously 1997 contract subject to certain provisions.
• Contract B* holders may engage in privately remunerated practice in collocated private hospitals or public hospitals and on sites outside of public facilities in line with the entitlement under the previous category 2 appointment.
• The volume of private practice provided within the hospital may not exceed 20 % of the Consultants clinical workload.

Consultant Type C:

• Contract C holders may engage in privately remunerated practice in

1. Hospitals or Facilities operated by the employer
2. In collocated private hospitals on public hospital campuses
3. In locations outside the public hospital subject to Consultant discharging his 39 hours weeks
4. The volume of private practice within the hospitals may not exceed 20% of Consultant’s clinical workload

Please note that for any of the categories above (including A) that the following work will not be considered private work:

• Professional medical/dental practice carried out for or on behalf of the Mental Health Commission, the Coroner, other statutory bodies, medical/dental education and training bodies.
• The provision of expert medical/dental opinion relating to insurance claims, preparation of reports for the courts and court attendance.

If you require further detail on this or have any queries please contact IMO Member Advisory Services by email: memberadvisoryunit@imo.ie or calling (01) 6767273.

This week we would like to remind our Consultant members of their annual leave entitlements under their contract.

For Consultants appointed prior to 1st April 2012 you have an entitlement to 31 days annual leave, and for those appointed on or after 1st April 2012 you are entitled to 30 days leave.

In addition to this you are entitled to the standard entitlements for the 9 Public Holidays during the year, namely:

(1)    a paid day off on the public holiday; or

(2)    a paid day off within the month; or

(3)    an extra day’s annual leave; or

(4)    an extra day’s pay

In most cases you will receive a paid day off.

You will continue to accrue annual leave during any periods of sick leave (whether paid or unpaid).

We would encourage members to take their annual leave, and where they are unable to take their leave due to service requirements and shortages to apply and seek confirmation that you may carry your annual leave into the next leave year. It is your obligation as an employee to ensure you take your leave, but your employer must be cognisant of your need for rest and to balance family and recreational time in granting you leave.

If you are having difficulty taking your leave, or with any other issues please contact IMO Member Advisory Services by email: memberadvisoryunit@imo.ie or calling (01) 6767273.

We want to remind Consultants about their entitlement to support in respect of Continuing Medical Education (CME). The arrangements governing CME are set out in a 2014 agreement between the IMO and the HSE. This agreement, which emerged from a Labour Relations Commission process, can be read here.  

The main points of the agreement are as follows: 

• A total funding amount of €3,000 per annum per Consultant will apply
• Consultant CME is administered locally, and Consultant choice and discretion is recognised
• Consultant CME funding may ‘roll over’ for a period of up to three years to facilitate Consultant participation in CME events that could not be wholly funded on the basis of the annual funding amount
• Refusals to authorise CME funding can, in the first instance, be appealed internally; the facility also exists for an appeal to the Consultant’s Grievance and Dispute procedure 
• Consultant CME funding is recognised as a discrete budget item and should not be used to offset shortfalls in other funding areas
• Applications to fund the purchase of hardware can be made to HSE MET via the usual channels. 

If you have any queries in this regard, please don’t hesitate to contact the Member Advisory Service here in IMO House on either (01) 6767273 or memberadvisoryunit@imo.ie