Junior doctors face longer working weeks if a new Labour Court directive is adopted.The Court has issued a ruling on the working hours of junior doctors, which recommends that their working day and working week should be extended, and which severely limits the opportunity for doctors to earn overtime pay. Junior doctors are currently rostered to work from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9 am to 4 pm on Friday. Any work they do at night and at weekends is considered overtime, reports irishhealth.com.
The recommendation, if implemented, will lead to major savings for the HSE in junior doctor overtime pay at a time when it is trying to cut payroll costs. The IMO is to meet later this week to discuss the proposal and will ultimately ballot its members on it. In excess of €260 milliion per annum is spent on junior doctor overtime.
