FY1 job hours

**pmp** · 21-06-2012, 09:47 PM

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has any advice about problem.

Due to start F1 in July/Aug and my job is an unbanded 9-5 Mon to Fri in Medicine. Though I have been told by my consultant that Ward rounds start at 8 and I'll be in way beyond 5. Now while I'm happy to put in extra hours out of my own good will, I feel a little unhappy about the prospect of the additional hours with no recognition on my contract.

The current F1 states that they work often in excess of 48 hours and have had that documented by HR.

What to do?

Thanks

**algy_lacey** · 22-06-2012, 02:18 AM

Assuming you are a member of the BMA, they offer guidance on this, including how to try and get your post rebanded. They also offer a free contract-checking service (You'll probably have to log-in to view this page.)

I haven't been given my contract yet though (my hospital say they don't have to give us our contracts until 8 weeks after we start, which seems a bit dodgy to me... Though not as dodgy as the fact that the cost of our CRB checks is being deducted from our first pay cheque rather than being borne by the trust like it used to be!) so I don't have any direct experience of this.

**GTT** · 22-06-2012, 03:21 AM

As an F1, are you allowed to opt out of on-call?

**pmp** · 22-06-2012, 03:30 AM

I can't believe they are making you pay for your CRB. I have worked in other roles for NHS for nearly 6 years and never had this sort of problems.

**pmp** · 22-06-2012, 03:31 AM

No I don't believe you can opt out.

**algy_lacey** · 22-06-2012, 03:58 AM

Originally Posted by pmp

I can't believe they are making you pay for your CRB. I have worked in other roles for NHS for nearly 6 years and never had this sort of problems.

I know, I've never had to pay for one before either. That's an extra £44 gone from the first pay cheque... Hmm, between that and potentially being expected to work for 8 weeks without a contract, maybe I should be contacting the BMA!

**algy_lacey** · 22-06-2012, 04:22 AM

Originally Posted by GTT

As an F1, are you allowed to opt out of on-call?

I think that if you get a job with on-call commitments, it would be difficult to opt-out. Some hospitals/specialties don't have F1s on-call overnight, but I think most places have F1s on call at other times. Not all jobs include on-call though. A friend of mine is doing her foundation training part-time and has been given jobs with no on-call for the whole of F1 (but she's trying to negotiate doing some on-call shifts so that she doesn't lack experience once she gets to F2). It's probably something that's easier to arrange with your deanery before you rank jobs, though I think it may be possible to negotiate different hours once you've accepted a post. I think you'd need a good reason (like children or personal health issues) but employers have to allow some flexibility. The earlier you raise it (I think you're still a student, based on your old posts?), the more likely you are to get a work pattern that's suitable for your needs.

At my medical school, we had seminars with the local foundation school (Yorkshire & Humber) around the start of fourth year. They were able to answer a lot of questions/give advice then. Obviously, it will be trickier if you're planning to apply to a different region, but it's probably worth making enquiries as soon as you know which foundation school you're aiming for.

**NV05** · 22-06-2012, 12:51 PM

I would have thought because it's unbanded that you wouldn't have much in the way of on call commitments?

algy_lacey I'll be working at the same trust; are we not getting contracts for two months?! Do you know anything about rotas/pay or when we'll find out?

**algy_lacey** · 22-06-2012, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by NV05

I would have thought because it's unbanded that you wouldn't have much in the way of on call commitments?

That's a different person

Ah, back in the days when everyone had big shiny avatars, this place was easier to navigate... I've barely been on here the whole time I've been at medical school so it's strange being back now - much quieter.

Originally Posted by NV05

algy_lacey I'll be working at the same trust; are we not getting contracts for two months?! Do you know anything about rotas/pay or when we'll find out?

A fine choice of trusts! At Sheffield, we've recently finished a post-finals 6 week long student assistantship where we shadowed an F1. For those of us taking jobs in the region, we were matched up to the F1 we'll actually be taken over from. In this trust, they decided to take the opportunity to do lots of our job induction stuff with us early (which will hopefully mean less sitting around for people coming from outside come July). The contract thing was just something mentioned in passing when we did all our form filling with medical personnel. They didn't say it wouldn't be issued until 2 months after we started, but that they didn't have to supply it until then. I checked the BMA website last night and it seems that is technically correct, even though there are lots of drawbacks to working without a contract. Hopefully it won't take that long to get them though. We may have had to sign a form saying we give them permission to charge us for our CRB checks - it's bad that I don't remember, but we had to fill in about 30 forms that morning (something to look forward to!)

Knowing STH as I do, I imagine details about rotas/pay/everything else may not come until the start of our induction. The package we do get handed at induction will probably be really organised, beautifully presented and contain lots of info we could have done with three months earlier

I think most STH posts are banded though and usually Band 1B (which is what I expect to be on based on what I've been told by the current F1) as it's unlikely you won't have on-call/overnight commitments. As for rotas, on my ward the current F1's rotas only ran until their last day. However, since it's a midweek changeover, knowing what they (and you, since we will be shadowing!) are doing on Monday/Tuesday will at least let you know if you're starting on days or nights. There can't be too many F1s on nights at any given time though, so your odds of starting on days are pretty good (though that's what I thought until the current F1 said, "You're not going to like this, but...")

Congratulations on getting an academic job. A couple of my friends got them too and I gather the interviews were pretty tough. What will you be starting on/which hospital? (PM me if you want)