I am suprised no one has yet mentioned the potential problems that the EEC
Directive on Working Time under the Working Time Regulations 1998 could
bring. It is supposedly health and safety legislation to protect employees
from working excessive hours. These provide for:
a limit of an average of 48 hours worked per week
a limit of 8 hours worked in every 24 hour period for night work
a weekly rest of 24 hours every week
an entitlement to 11 hours consecutive rest per day
an entitlement to a minimum 20 minute rest break where the working day is
longer than 6 hours
a requirement on the employer to keep records of hours worked
I have been asked to keep a diary by medical staffing for the next 4 weeks
of hours worked. They say the information will be used for the purpose of
ensuring the provisions of the Directive are implemented. Hmm, I wonder
what they will really do, their hands are tied by financial resrtaint and
they know full well what goes on already. The cynic would suggest this is a
wasteful paper exercise.
The recommendations of compensatory rest entiltlement that I have to include
are remarkable:
Add 11 hours to my compensatory rest total for each day where this has not
been awarded
Add 24 hours to my total if I do not receive 24 hours of rest in a week
without significant interruption
Add 48 hours to my total if I do not receive 48 hours of rest over 2 weeks
without significant interruption
Add 20 minutes for each 6 hour work period worked without a 20 minute break.
!!!! So now who's going to the work ? If the above was implemented I'd be
on holiday most of the time ! Either this will get paid lip service (which
I suspect as this certainly is what is happening to a large extent at the
moment or we are going to need a lot more senior A&E docs, in a hurry.)
Dr John M Ryan
Consultant & Senior Lecturer in A&E medicine
Royal Sussex County Hospital
Eastern Rd.
Brighton
BN2 5BE
UK
Ph; 00 44 1273 696955
Fax: 00 44 1273 680627
http://www.pavilion.co.uk/users/ryanj/
http://www.rsch.org.uk/rsch/rschae.htm
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