PUBLIC HOSPITAL (CAREER MEDICAL OFFICERS) (STATE) AWARD

CLAUSE 1. CONTENTS (Arrangement) [This is a Clickable Index]
PART A

PART B

PART A

CLAUSE   2. DEFINITIONS                                Return to CONTENTS Page

"Service" for the purpose of Clause 4, Salaries, means service before and/or after the commencement of the Award in one or more hospitals or in the other institutions approved from time to time by agreement between the parties to this Award. It shall include service as a qualified medical practitioner in the Australian Armed Forces and service, whether continuous or not, in other hospitals within the Commonwealth of Australia.

"Area Health Service" means an Area Health Service constituted pursuant to Section 17 of the Health Services Act, 1997.

"Hospital" means a pblic hospital as defined under Section 15 of the Health Services Act, 1997.

"Corporation" means the Health Administration Corporation.

"Association" means the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (New South Wales) or the Health adn Research Employee's Association of New South Wales.

"Higher Medical Qualifications" means such qualifications obtained by a medical officer subsequent to graduation and includes -

(a) post-graduate University degrees and diplomas recognised by the Medical Board of New South Wales as qualifications; or

(b) membership or fellowship of the Royal College or Royal Australasian College of Physicians or fellowship of the Royal College or Royal Australasian College of Surgeons or membership or fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; or

(c) such other post-graduate qualifications obtained by examination and recognised by the Medical Board of New South Wales and acceptable to the Corporation, including fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

"Medical Officer" means a person licensed or registered by the Medical Board of New South Wales pursuant to the Medical Practice Act, 1992, employed in a position covered by this Award.

"Career Medical Officer" means a Medical Officer who is employed and/or appointed to a position, not being that of a medical officer in training, in a hospital, who may be required to undertake such duties and at such places as directed within such hospital.

"Authority" means the Public Employment Office established under Division 2A of the Public Sector Management Act 1988.

"Officer" means a Career Medical Officer employed on a full-time or permanent part-time basis at a hospital, area health service or health facility.

CLAUSE   3. SALARIES                                 Return to CONTENTS Page

Salaries for Career Medical Officers shall be set out in the Health Professional and Medical Salaries (State) Award.

Medical Officers in receipt of a salary higher than that of Senior Registrar in the Public Hospital (Medical Officers) Award are to have penalty, overtime and public holiday payments calculated on the salary ascribed to Senior Registrar, as varied from time to time.

Part B -

(a) For the purpose of calculation of payments to officers pursuant to the provisions of this Award, one hour's pay shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

One Hour's Pay  =  Annual Salary divided by 52.17857 divided by 38

and one day's pay shall be calculated by multiplying "one hour's pay" (as calculated in accordance with the above formula) by 7.6.

(b) Officers shall be eligible to progress to the next higher step in the scale on the anniversary of the date on which they were appointed.

Part C -

Permanent Part-Time Career Medical Officers -

(i) A permanent part-time employee is one who is permanently appointed to work a specified number of hours which are less than those prescribed for a full-time employee;

(ii) Employees engaged under Part C of this clause shall be paid an hourly rate calculated on the basis of one thirty-eighth of the appropriate rate prescribed by Part A, and where applicable one thirty-eighth of the appropriate allowance prescribed by Clause 5 (4), Qualification Allowance, with a minimum payment of two hours for each start and one thirty-eighth of the appropriate allowances prescribed by Clause 16 (15), Uniform and Laundry Allowances, if applicable but shall not be entitled to an additional day off or part thereof as prescribed by Clause 7 (6), Hours of Work.

(iii) Employees engaged under Part C of this clause shall be entitled to all other benefits of this award not otherwise expressly provided for herein in the same proportion as their ordinary hours of work bear to full-time hours.

(iv) Employees engaged under Part C of this clause are entitled to contribute to the appropriate superannuation scheme subject to the requirements of relevant legislation.

CLAUSE   4. QUALIFICATION ALLOWANCE                Return to CONTENTS Page

An allowance per annum as set out in Item 1 of Table 1 - Allowances shall be paid to officers who obtain an appropriate higher medical qualification subsequent to graduation.

Provided that this clause shall not apply to an officer who has salary equal to or in excess of the Senior Registrar rate of pay contained in the Health Professional and Medical Salaries (State) Award.

Provided further that where an officer in his/her 5th and subsequent years of training is expected to meet the formal requirements of a higher medical qualification in that year he/she shall be paid half the qualification allowance.

CLAUSE   5. IN CHARGE ALLOWANCE                      Return to CONTENTS Page

An allowance as set out in Item 2 of Table 1 - Allowances shall be paid to officers for each twelve hours of duty or part thereof of continuous in-charge duty for responsibility for after hours medical services.

CLAUSE   6. HOURS OF WORK                                Return to CONTENTS Page

(i) The ordinary hours of work shall not exceed an average of 38 hours per week. This shall be achieved by rostering officers for duty over either forty hours in any period of seven consecutive days or eighty hours in any period of fourteen consecutive days and, in addition, then granting officers roster leave additional to that prescribed in subclause (ii) of this clause to the extent of one additional day per calendar month. Such additional roster leave may accumulate to a maximum of twelve days and shall be granted in multiples of one day for periods ranging from one day to two weeks. Upon termination of employment an officer shall be paid the monetary value of any untaken additional roster leave, calculated at the officer's ordinary time rate of pay as prescribed by Clause 3, Salaries.

(ii) Officers shall be free from ordinary hours of duty for not less than two days in each week or where this is not practicable, four days in each fortnight. Where practicable, days off shall be consecutive and where possible additional rostered days off shall be combined with other rostered time off.

(iii) No shift shall be less than eight hours in length on a weekday or less than four hours in length on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

(iv) No broken or split shifts shall be worked.

(v) All time worked in excess of ten hours in any one shift shall be paid as overtime.

(vi) Where in any pay period, an officer is not employed by a hospital for the whole of the pay period, the ordinary hours of work for the purpose of calculating salary for that pay period (i.e., 38 or 76 hours) will be adjusted by the following factor, rounded to the nearest whole number -

Number of calendar days employed divided by Number of calendar days in pay period

(vii) Officers shall be given at least two weeks' notice of rosters to be worked in relation to ordinary hours of work and also where practicable, in relation to additional (overtime) rostered hours of work, provided that a hospital may change the rosters without notice to meet any emergent situation. This subclause shall not apply in respect of the granting by hospitals of additional roster leave pursuant to this clause.

CLAUSE   7. PENALTY RATES                                Return to CONTENTS Page

Any ordinary hours worked between the following hours shall be paid at ordinary time plus the appropriate penalty rate:

(i) Hours worked between 6.00 pm and midnight, Monday to Friday - 12.5%.

(ii) Midnight and 8.00 am, midnight Sunday to midnight Friday - 25%.

(iii) Midnight Friday and midnight Saturday - 50%.

(iv) Midnight Saturday and midnight Sunday - 75%.

CLAUSE  8. TIME WORKED                                Return to CONTENTS Page

Time worked means the time during which an officer is required by a hospital to be in attendance at a hospital for the purpose of carrying out such functions as the hospital may call on him to perform, and it shall include times when the officer, in waiting to carry out some active functions, is studying or resting or sleeping or engaged in any other activity.

Provided that time worked does not include uninterrupted breaks allowed and actually taken for meals.

Provided further that where an officer attends of his/her own volition outside of hours rostered on duty, or where an officer remains in attendance when formally released from the obligation to perform professional duties, the hospital shall not be liable to make any payment for such attendance.

CLAUSE   9. OVERTIME                                Return to CONTENTS Page

(i) All time worked by officers in excess of the ordinary hours specified in clause 6, Hours of Work, shall be paid at the rate of time and one half for the first two hours, and double time for the remaining hours worked provided that all overtime performed on a Sunday, shall be at double time.

(ii) All time worked by employees employed pursuant to Part C, Permanent Part-Time Career Medical Officers, of clause 3, Salaries, in excess of the rostered daily ordinary hours of work prescribed for the majority of full-time employees employed on that shift shall be paid at the appropriate overtime rate prescribed herein. Time worked up to the rostered daily ordinary hours of work prescribed for a majority of the full-time employees employed on the shift concerned shall not be regarded as overtime but an extension of the contract hours for that day and shall be paid at the ordinary rate of pay.

(iii) An officer who works authorised overtime and was not notified on or prior to his/her previous shift of the requirement to work such overtime shall be paid in addition to payment for such overtime:

(a) as set out in Item 3 of Table 1 - Allowances, for breakfast when commencing such overtime work at or before 6.00 am;

(b) as set out in Item 3 of Table 1 for an evening meal when such overtime is worked for at least one hour immediately following his/her normal ceasing time, exclusive of any meal break and extends beyond or is worked wholly after 7.00 pm;

(c) as set out in Item 3 of Table 1 for luncheon when such overtime extends beyond 2.00 pm on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays;

Or shall be provided with adequate meals in lieu of such payments. The rates prescribed in this sub-clause shall be varied pro-rata to any variations in the rates payable under Clause 35 of the regulations under the Public Sector Management Act, 1988.

(iv) Provided however that an officer employed in a community health facility shall be granted time in lieu of overtime payments. Such time in lieu shall be taken within three months of accrual and at ordinary time. If such accrued time in lieu is unable to be taken within the three month period, it is to be paid out at the end of the three month period in accordance with subclause (i) above at the current rates of pay then applying.

CLAUSE   10. ON-CALL AND CALL-BACK                          Return to CONTENTS Page

(i) An "on-call period" is a period during which an officer is required by the employer to be on-call.

(ii) For the purposes of calculation of payment of on-call allowances and for call-back duty, an on-call period shall not exceed 24 hours.

(iii) An officer shall be paid for each on-call period which coincides with a day rostered on duty an allowance as set out in Item 4 of Table 1 - Allowances and for each on-call period coinciding with a rostered day off an allowance as set in the said Item 4 with a maximum payment as set out in the said Item 4 per week.

(iv) An officer who is called back for duty shall be paid for all time worked at the appropriate overtime rate, with a minimum of 4 hours at such rates.

(v) The amounts specified in subclause (iii) shall be taken to include expenses incurred in taking telephone calls at one's own residence and other expenses incurred being available for emergency duty.

CLAUSE   11. ANNUAL LEAVE                                Return to CONTENTS Page

(i) All officers shall be allowed four calendar weeks leave of absence on full pay in respect of each twelve months service as defined in this Award plus one day on full pay in respect of each public holiday occurring within the period of such leave.

(ii) Officers who are required to work on Sundays and/or public holidays during a qualifying period of employment for annual leave purposes shall be entitled to receive additional annual leave in respect of each complete period of eight hours so worked as follows:

(a) if 35 or more such periods on such days have been worked - one week;

(b) if less than 35 such periods on such days have been worked - leave proportionately calculated on the basis of 38 hours leave for 35 such periods worked;

(c) work performed by reason of call-backs pursuant to clause 9(10), Overtime, shall be disregarded when assessing an officer's entitlement under this subclause.

(d) The calculations referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this sub-clause sh