Consultant contract (Northern Ireland) - Frequently Asked Questions
August 2006
The following FAQs apply to consultants who transfer onto the new consultant contract under the transitional arrangements as detailed in schedule 13 of the Consultant Terms and Conditions of Service (Northern Ireland) 2004. They do not apply to consultants appointed after after 1April 2004.
Q1 If I commit to the new contract within the prescribed timeframe, how will this affect my current incremental/anniversary date?
A Consultants who make a commitment to move to the new contract before 15 January 2004, move to an incremental date/anniversary date of 1 April, if they opt for the 12 months’ backdated seniority option, or 1 October if they opt for the 6 months’ backdated pay and seniority option.
Q2 - How is seniority calculated?
A On transferring to the new contract on 1 April 2004, a consultant’s seniority is the sum of the number of whole years completed as a consultant plus the point on the salary scale when appointed (on a scale of 1 to 5) plus any additional credited seniority (in whole years) due to non-NHS consultant level experience or flexible training, plus the year he/she is in.
Q3 - What is the effect on seniority of taking the 12 months’ backdated seniority option?
A A consultant who opts for 12 months’ backdated seniority will be treated exactly as if he/she were on the new contract with effect from 1 April 2003. This means that the consultant has to wait one year less for the next pay increment. In effect, he/she is credited with an additional year.
Example 1: A consultant with 12 whole years’ seniority (in his/her 13th year) transfers with 13 years’ seniority, is credited with an additional year and, therefore, transfers with 14 years’ seniority at 1 April 2004.
Example 2: A Consultant on a full time contract with 19 years and 3 months seniority on the 1st April will be credited with 20 years seniority. If he or she takes the one year seniority option they will receive 21 years on the 1st April and it will therefore take three years from 1st April to reach the top of the payscale.
Q4 What is the effect on seniority of taking the 6 months’ backdated pay and seniority option?
A A consultant who opts for 6 months’ backdated pay and seniority is credited with an additional year’s seniority at 1 October 2004.
Example 1: A consultant with 12 whole years’ seniority (in his/her 13th year) transfers with 13 years’ seniority at 1 April 2004 and will be credited with an additional year (14 years’ seniority) at 1 October 2004 and his/her incremental/anniversary date will be 1 October.
Example 2: A Consultant on a full time contract with 19 years and 3 months seniority on the 1st April will be credited with 20 years seniority. If he or she takes the backpay option they will achieve 21 years seniority on the 1st October. It will take 3 years to reach the top of the scale. If they opt for the 1 years seniority backdating it will take 3 years from April.
Q5 What will the effect of taking the 6 months backpay and 6 months seniority mean?
A. If you take this option the additional year of seniority will be awarded 6 months after the 1st of April. Thus someone with 9 years of seniority (including “rounding up” of part years) will be credited with 10 years on the 1st of October.
This is because instead of backdating seniority by a year to a nominal start date of 1st of April 2003 it has only been backdated to October 2003, but with payment for the other 6 months.
An additional effect is the application of the transitional rules for Maximum part timers (MPT). They will be subject to these rules, but backdating for a year eliminates the first year at 1/3 of the difference between the new pay and old pay, whereas 6 months backdating leaves 6 months on the 1/3 rate.
This does not affect the point on the scale to which you move as you progress through the scales.
Access an explanatory flow chart here.
Q6 What will the backdated pay calculation be based on?
A Backdated pay will be based on the agreed new job plan i.e. the value of basic salary and of payments for any additional Prgrammed Activity (PAs), if appropriate.
Q7 What will the transitional arrangement mean for maximum part-time consultants in terms of backdated pay?
A -1 For those consultants who take the option of Seniority only back to April 2003, the date of "notional" assimilation to the new contract is April 2003. Therefore those consultants who are currently MPT will not receive a full new salary until April 2005.
2. For those consultants who take the option of backpay to October, the date of "notional" assimilation to the new contract is October 2003. Therefore those consultants who take this option and are currently MPT will not receive a full new salary until October 2005.
3. For MPT consultants who do not take either option but do subsequently move to the new contract, full new salary will not be payable until 2 years have passed from the date of assimilation to the new contract.
Q8 When will I be eligible for the additional two days annual leave?
A It has been agreed that the new contract will provide extended annual leave entitlement for consultants who have completed seven years of service in the consultant grade, including equivalent service elsewhere (e.g. in the armed forces). The new contract will provide for an extra two days annual leave from April 2005 onwards and one extra day’s annual leave in 2004/05. The Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) continues to support the concept of sabbatical schemes for consultants.