This document is in the public domain and therefore I will take the liberty of making my own personal opinionated statements.
Click here if you dare to see the document I speak of.
My first impressions are somewhat sceptical ... Queensland Health forcing locum agencies to act as "employers" so Queensland Health can pretend to not be responsible as the employer !!? A few places may well have a better pay rate, but most will have less ... some quite substantially so. Now that aint going to bother the locums - the work is there elsewhere and if this goes badly (ie. lcoums work outside the QHS system) it will be the Queensland health consumer who may well be the loser.
Medical Indemnity no longer Queensland Health's responsibility ?? yeah sure .. betcha "Slater and Gordon" aint going to be suing the locum agency instead of Queensland Health if something goes badly wrong with a locum and the aggrieved wants retribution.
So now the base rate payable for each position now has all costs deducted and issued as a taxed salary if you opt for the employer/employee relationship with your locum agency. The locum agency is required to set up a "third party" to deal with all this ... and with such little notice both the hospital admin staff and locum agencies are in a spin. There is an option to be a "sub contractor" and not have income provided as taxed income - this may be a viable option especially for those who may have issues with deductibility of personal superannuation contributions.
All I can say is that I am glad I am on pre-1st July contracts for another month and should be six weeks before contemplating a position under the new system.
Just a head's up for those contemplating further work with Queensland Health ... "buyer beware" .. check the details of what you actually get in hand for the service you provide, make sure your oncall services are clearly defined and what is being paid for in addition to your "daily" base rate (for hours up to 12 hours per day) - don't get ripped off not clearly defining your payments for oncall/call-back hours, make sure you triple check what your medical indemnity changes will be and finally don't get screwed by being under classified for the job you are expected to do.
Workcover no longer Queensland Health responsibility ? possibly .. that too comes out as costs from your "base rate", along with the actual costs of the infrastructure around paying you (stated to be about 9.75%) AND the commission the locum agency will charge you. Don't think the rates listed in that document anywhere represent the actual payment you receive for your services.
Superannuation ... if you enter an employer/employee relationship the locum agency is going to take 9% and put it into super for you .. that is the law. This has the potential to royally stuff up any personal superannuation contributions you make if you don't get additional financial/taxation advice. Consider "sub contractor" arrangements.
Now let me indulge by making a totally unsubstantiated assertion.
It is my firm belief that the health bureaucrats (or dare I say the health ministers' offices ?? ) have colluded and nominated Queensland Health to be the trial location for a new system that attempts to get away from perceived responsibilities and liabilities as direct "employers" of locums.
Final comment :- this rant is based on first impressions, both from reading the document and from dealing (or at least attempting to) with the people who have to implement this new policy. I reserve the right to change my opinion as things evolve and/or after I do more than just the first "male look" at the document.
3 comments:
Hrmm......I suspect this change in policy will result in an exodus of locums from QLD and an acute staffing shortage, especially since current QLD health employees will now be prohibited from locuming within the QLD health system.
I've been trying to find other people discussing this on the net -- you're the first.
It has already been a struggle at Gladstone to get locums - Gladstone was one of the best pay rate in Qld and now it is not. Interestingly Bundaberg has been allocated, until mid 2010, a (very significant) regional loading to try to attract locums .. perhaps because of recent (not to be mentioned here in public) turmoil being a disincentive for working at Bundaberg. I also find it interesting no one else seems to be discussing it yet ... dare I say that employees of QHS would be protective of their jobs and not be speaking out. The locums ? .. why would they bother, they can find work elsewhere. I guess as I seem to now have some emotional attachment to the Gladstone team and locals I feel the need to say something. I hope that this does not go bad for QHS, but only time will tell.
When I heard about QHS going down this pathway, I wondered how many people this would effect, who were part time at one facility and locums at another. I did a run in Rockhampton where I was the only locums not otherwise employed in QHS - the other 3-4 people I worked with regularly flew up from Brisbane, and with this change are now high and dry without work. I suspect they are pissed off since it will cut off their gravy train. I know I would be.
It really is a supply and demand market out there. If there isn't much demand for locums, or if there is oversupply, such a policy would work well. But (at least in the field I practice, and especially for specialists) it is the opposite - lack of specialists and great demand for locums cover means that there will be trouble on the horizon. If they aren't going to pay more than NSW, I'll locum there (or go out to WA/NT/TAS, where they still over the good compo.
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