Roles and Responsibilities in the Lead Employer Model
The Scottish Association of Medical Directors (SAMD) ensures that clinical governance issues continue to be the responsibility of the placement Board.
The BMA is working in partnership with NHS Scotland in implementing the lead employer arrangements.
You should contact the medical staffing/ HR department of your placement board in the first instance.
A list of placement board contacts can be found here.
When in hospital placements, your employment will be subject to the Hospital Contract and the Terms and Conditions of Service of Hospital Medical and Dental Staff and Doctors in Public Health Medicine and the Community Health Service (Scotland) as amended from time to time (“the Terms and Conditions of Service”). You will be provided with a new Placement Details letter in advance of each hospital placement which will confirm your place of work, working pattern and the banding of the rota.
When rotating into General Practice your employment will be subject to the terms and conditions, or no less favourable terms and conditions set out in the BMA Model Contract for GP Specialty Registrars working in General Practice (COGPED) as amended from time to time.
If you are an A4C Public Health trainee your employment will be subject to the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service as amended from time to time.
In accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996, previous employment with the Employing Board immediately prior to taking up this appointment counts as part of your period of continuous employment. However, for the purpose of certain NHS conditions of service, previous NHS service not treated as "continuous” under the provisions of the above Act, may be reckonable for certain purposes under the Terms & Conditions of Service.
If you have a grievance in connection with your employment, you should normally notify your supervisor who will take such steps as necessary and who will follow the employing Board’s grievance procedure (as amended from time to time). The nature of the grievance will have a bearing on who leads the grievance. When the grievance pertains to pay or terms and conditions, the placement Board will lead the grievance process. When a grievance relates to a local issue, the placement Board/ practice may lead the grievance process, feeding back information and outcomes to the employing Board.
Disputes relating to education and training will still be referred to the Director of Postgraduate General Practice Education and Director of Medical Education from the employing board as appropriate.
Banding appeals will be led by the placement Board.
People providing an NHS service may identify risks of harm or wrongdoing, such as malpractice, patient safety issues or regulatory breaches, and wish to speak up about them. This is whistleblowing, which may be defined as someone within an organisation raising concerns about a risk of harm or wrongdoing in the public interest.
Concerns should be raised at an early stage with the Employing Board or Placement Board as appropriate.
Further details on Whistleblowing including policies and processes, and confidential contacts of the Employing Board and the Placement Board can be found here. This does not affect your rights under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
Medical staffing colleagues across placement Boards and employing Boards will work collaboratively to ensure that the lead employer model delivers an improved employment experience for trainees and reduced duplication of administration. Placement Board medical staffing colleagues will discharge employment responsibilities on behalf of the lead employers as detailed in Once for Scotland Policies and the Employment Responsibilities Agreement.
The National HR Medical & Dental Workforce Group will continue to meet bimonthly to discuss operational aspects of the employment of doctors and dentists in training, including the development and application of Once for Scotland policies, with a remit of ensuring consistency and transparency across Boards.
Directors of Medical Education will continue to have responsibility for the delivery in placement Boards of medical education for doctors and dentists in training.
The Scotland Deanery, NES, will continue to have responsibility for postgraduate medical education and training as set out in the GMC Quality Improvement Framework, and Standards. The full scope of NES’ responsibilities are described in the Service Level Agreement: Arrangements to Support the Delivery of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education and Training in Scotland.