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Job Planning Guide
Introduction
A system of joint Job Planning and annual review (supported by a joint appraisal
system) has been being introduced by universities and their partner NHS Trusts, as
part of the implementation of the national Clinical Consultant Academic Contract
(2003) and the new Senior Academic General Practitioner contract (2005). Job Plans,
reviewed annually, will set out an individual’s duties, responsibilities and objectives
as agreed with both her/his relevant UCL manager and a representative of the NHS
partner Trust, at which the member of staff will hold their honorary clinical contract.
The aim of the Job Planning Guidance is to provide information and advice to support
the job planning process at UCL and to assist Clinical Academics and their managers,
to undertake job planning successfully.
Scope
This guidance applies to Clinical Academic staff appointed on the terms of either (i)
the Consultant Clinical Academic contract or (ii) the Senior Academic General
Practiotioner contract. Such staff will hold a substantive contract of employment with
UCL and an honorary NHS contract. This guidance is also applicable to substantively
employed NHS staff holding honorary academic contracts with UCL. Clinical
Academics hold honorary NHS contracts for reasons of clinical governance and to
protect their interests by making clear the nature of their relationship with the NHS
organisation(s) under whose aegis they work with NHS patients. Job planning is a
joint activity with the NHS and consideration is given to the substantive and honorary
contracts together and their interface with each other.
What is Job Planning?
The purpose of job planning is to review the range of work activities of Clinical
Academics and record the balance of academic and clinical duties undertaken in order
that workloads can be better planned and appropriately rewarded. The review of the
integrated Job Plans will be an annual process through which the Clinical Academic
and their Head of Department (or his/her nominee) will agree individual programmes
of work that contribute to the achievement of departmental objectives and the
elements of NHS service provision in which they are involved. The plan should
contain reference to the resources that are required to achieve agreed objectives and
the review of integrated Job Plans informs decisions regarding eligibility for pay
progression.
UCL’s position in terms of Job Planning
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UCL supports the full process of integrated, joint job planning to ensure that
integrated Job Plans take account of both UCL and NHS commitments setting
out main duties, responsibilities and objectives – both academic and clinical in qualititative and quantitative terms.
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There will be clear delineation regarding when a Clinical Academic is
working for which employer and clear accountability for academic and clinical
duties, with staff aware to whom they are accountable for the separate facets
of their job.
Commitments regarding service requirements, attendance, activity and
workload will be agreed and recorded for future reference and planning
purposes.
Those involved will be treated fairly and reasonably throughout the process.
The annual integrated Job Plan review will be supported by the joint appraisal
system.
UCL and its NHS partner Trusts will ensure that Clinical Academics have the
facilities, training, development and support needed to deliver agreed
commitments.
Job Plans will reflect current duties, responsibilities and objectives with an
interim Job Plan review if these need to change significantly during the year.
The Job Plan will reflect
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Job content
Time and service commitments
Appropriate personal objectives
The Job Planning process
Objectives
Objectives will set out a mutual understanding of what the Clinical Academic will be
seeking to achieve over the coming 12 months – based on past experience and
reasonable expectations of what might be achievable. Objectives must be appropriate
and can be qualitative or quantitative.
Objectives will be an integral part of the integrated Job Plan, although not
contractually binding in themselves. Clinical Academics will be expected to work
towards the delivery of the objectives set out in the Job Plan, recognising the impact
of local circumstances and resources on delivery. Progress against objectives and
factors affecting their delivery, will be considered at the annual Job Plan review.
Agreeing a Job Plan
Job Plans must be the result of a 3-way discussion between the Clinical Academic,
his/her UCL Head of Department (or nominee) and the Medical Director/Clinical
Director/ lead clinician (or nominee), as nominated by the Medical Director of the
NHS Trust at which the Clinical Academic holds their honorary clinical contract. In
instances where a member of Clinical Academic staff is required to hold more than
one honorary clinical contract (as a term of their UCL appointment), a lead honorary
NHS Trust will be nominated by the UCL Head of Department. For the purpose of the
annual integrated Job Plan review process, the lead NHS Trust will represent and act
on behalf of all the honorary NHS employers.
The Clinical Academic should prepare for the integrated Job Plan meeting by
maintaining a record of how they have carried out their existing Job Plan (see Clinical
Academic checklist). Job planning is separate from (but is closely linked to) the
process of Clinical Academic appraisal and agreement of personal development plans.
Job planning may help provide a record of the Clinical Academics practice that could
form part of the evidence for such processes as appraisal, revalidation, Clinical
Excellence Award applications etc.
Agreeing duties and responsibilities
The special nature of a Clinical Academic job derives from its academic and clinical
components, which are of equal importance and together make up the integrated
workload. The integrated Job Plan should set out the main duties and responsibilities
of the post and the service to be provided, for which the Clinical Academic, or group
of Clinical Academic’s, will be accountable. A checklist for managers agreeing Job
Plans is available to assit in this process as is a Job Plan template. Clinical Academic
staff should be directed to one of the following Dept/Institute specific Job Plans
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Eastman Dental Institute
Institute of Child Health
Institute of Neurology
Institute of Ophthalmology
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Royal Free and University College
Medical School
The working week
Work undertaken by Clinical Academics is expressed in Programmed Activities
(PAs). The working week will be expressed in terms of timetabled PA’s and each
could involve a combination of duties.
The basic working week for full-time UCL Clinical Academic will normally be 10
PA’s per week, plus one Additional PA (APA), each with a notional value of 4 hours,
based on the ability of the individual to justify this in the Job Plan. In certain instances
one or more APA’s may be offered by the NHS Trust for service to the NHS, in
which case inclusion of these would be subject to approval by the Dean, on the
principle that they should not compromise academic activity. The timetabled PA’s
and / or APA’s may be programmed as blocks of four hours or in half-units of two
hours each.
Clinical Academic staff working part-time will agree with both their UCL and
honorary NHS line managers the number of PA’s which will make up their core
working week. During the hours of 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm
Saturday and Sunday all PA’s will be paid at plain-time rates. Where clinical duties
are required to be undertaken in Premium Time (outside 0700 – 1900 Monday to
Friday), one PA will constitute 3 hours’ work.
The working week for Clinical Academics
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A minimum of 5 PAs must be attributed to academic related work.
The NHS related PAs should be split in a ratio of 3:l between Direct Clinical
Care (DCC) and Supporting Professional Activities (SPA).
It may be advisable in some areas to agree service level agreements between
academic departments and the partner NHS Trust to take account of the
variable responsibilities of academics and to develop a 'team' approach to
service delivery.
A. Programmed activities for the University could include for example:
Activity
Code
Research
U1
Teaching preparation, delivery, assessment and examining of undergraduates
U2
Teaching preparation, delivery, assessment and examining of postgraduates
U3
Departmental research seminars, journal clubs, etc
U4
Conferences or work at other centres for academic purposes
U5
Academic departmental, faculty or UCL administration or management activity U6
Preparation, and delivery of lectures, including travel time
U7
UCL/Medical School committees
U8
Other Department/Faculty/UCL wide roles
U9
Preparation of research grant applications
U10
Staff development activity
U11
Other academic related duties, specify in Job Plan
U12
It is important to note that undergraduate medical student teaching is regarded
as a University PA for Clinical Academic staff, but is an NHS PA for
substantively NHS employed consultants holding an honorary academic contract
at UCL.
B. Programmed activities for the NHS could include:
Direct Clinical Care
Activity
Code
Emergency attendance
C1
Out-patient or other clinic
C2
Operating session (including anaesthetists)
C3
Ward round
C4
Other patient treatment or relative consultation
C5
Telephone advice to hospital
C6
Multidisciplinary meeting about direct patient care
C7
Investigative, diagnostic or laboratory work
C8
Public health duties
C9
Travelling time between sites, not to usual place of work
C10
Patient administration
C11
Supporting professional activities
Undertaking Training
S1
Continuous Professional Development
S2
Teaching
S3
Audit/Clinical Governance
S4
Job Planning/Appraisal
S5
Research
S6
Clinical management
S7
Additional responsibilities
Duties as a Caldicott guardian
A1
Audit lead or clinical governance lead
A2
Clinical tutor
A3
Medical/clinical directors' and lead clinicians' PAs by substitution or
additional remuneration
A4
Other additional responsibilities
A5
Other duties
BMA duties
D1
AAC external member
D2
NCAA, GMC CHAI
D3
Work for Royal Colleges
D4
Undertaking inspections for the Commission for Health Improvement
D5
Specified work for the General Medical Council
D6
Other, specify in Job Plan
D7
Additionally remunerated work
Private practice
P1
Category 2 work
P2
Other additionally remunerated work, specify on Job Plan
P3
Non work activity
Absent from work (annual or sickness leave)
N1
Other (i.e. time spent not working)
N2
On-call status
Predictable on-call
1
Unpredictable on-call
2
Annualisation of work activities
Job Plans may cover a week or where a weekly cycle is not appropriate, a month or a
year, where such a period is agreed by all parties as appropriate.
Signing off Job Plans
Job Plans for UCL staff are subject to approval by Department Heads who hold the
authority to agree an integrated Job Plan containing up to 11 Pas per week. Heads
may however, assign this role to a senior Clinical colleague who is more closely allied
to a particular clinical area, but in that case a clear line of reporting back to the Head
of Department will be established. In the event that UCL is only able to meet the costs
of a 10 PA week where an 11 PA Job Plan has been agreed, UCL has the right to limit
its salary commitment to 10 PAs. The additional PA(s) will remain detailed in the
integrated Job Plan so that if additional resources become available these can be
applied at a later stage. Job Plans will be ‘signed off’ by the Dean of the Clinical
Faculty or the Directors of the Postgraduate Institutes who will approve any proposed
additional PAs.
Following the annual integrated Job Plan review, the Head of Department (or his/her
nominee) and the appropariate representative of the honorary NHS employer will
submit a report confirming whether Job Plan commitments have been met and jointly
recommend a decision about pay progression to the Dean of the Clinical Faculty or
Director of a Postgraduate Institute. This will be copied to the individual and the NHS
partner Trust where the honorary contract is held. The completed Job Plan must be
forwarded (via your local representative) to the Dean/Director no later than two
months prior to the date it is due to become effective, in order that (where
applicable and approved) pay progression may be implemented in a timely
manner.
The Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Science and the Directors of the PGIs, will make
the final decision on pay progression, having consulted with NHS partner Trust(s).
Where one, or more, of the criteria for pay progression is not achieved in any year,
UCL will have the discretion to decide, where appropriate (for example because of ill
health), that the individual should nonetheless be regarded as having met the Job Plan
commitments for that year.
There will be a right of appeal against a decision that an individual has not met his/her
Job Plan commitments in any given year. In the event of an appeal, it will be UCL’s
responsibility to show why this decision was taken, drawing as necessary on the views
of the relevant NHS Trust.
Job Plan reviews
The appraisal process and Job Plan review produce the information on the quality and
quantity of the Clinical Academic’s work over the previous year. Both processes
involve
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discussion of achievement against service and personal objectives
consideration of whether factors outside the control of the individuals’ control
have affected delivery of objectives
reviewing current workload
agreeing any changes to the Clinical Academic’s duties and responsibilities,
agreeing a plan for achieving a Clinical Academic’s personal objectives
agreeing what support the Clinical Academic will need from UCL and the
NHS and from colleagues, to help achieve these objectives.
reviewing the relationship between academic duties, NHS duties and any
private practice (in line with the Code of Conduct for Private Practice).
Appraisal is designed to facilitate review of a Clinical Academic’s work and
performance, to enable consolidation of good performance and identification of
development needs which will be reflected in the personal development plan for the
coming year. Job Plan review will take into account the outcome of appraisal
discussion on working practices, including the role of the individual in the clinical
team, clinical governance responsibilities and completion of continuing professional
development activity as set out in the agreed personal development plan.
APA (APA) and Spare Professional Capacity
Clinical Academics will not be expected to undertake, on average, any more than 10
PAs per week to meet the relevant criterion for pay thresholds.
UCL has agreed that APAs for clinical work may be offered by the relevant NHS
partner on a mutually agreed annualised basis, as part of the integrated job planning
process. Agreeing to undertake APAs will be voluntary on the part of the Clinical
Academic.
Where a Clinical Academic intends to undertake private practice other than such work
specified in his or her integrated Job Plan, s/he must first consult with her/his
manager.
Where a Clinical Academic undertakes privately remunerated work that has not been
expressly agreed in the integrated Job Plan, s/he may be asked by either the NHS
Trust or UCL to undertake one APA. Agreeing to undertake an APA, if asked to do
so, will form part of the criteria for pay progression. If UCL offers an APA and this is
accepted by the individual s/he will have the right to engage in private practice for
personal gain. In the event that UCL does not offer the APA the Clinical Academic
still has the right to engage in private practice for personal gain outside the integrated
Job Plan.
The requirement to offer an APA because a Clinical Academic undertakes private
practice does not apply where the profits from that work are retained by, or used for
the benefit of, the substantive employer. Where such privately remunerated work is
undertaken, it should be agreed as part of the integrated Job Planning process.
Part-time Clinical Academics who wish to use some of their non-contracted time to
undertake private practice will not be expected to offer any more than one extra PA in
addition to their normal working week
If a Clinical Academic declines the opportunity to take up any further PAs (above 10
per week) that are offered in line with the provisions above, and the Clinical
Academic subsequently undertakes remunerated clinical work, this will constitute one
of the grounds for deferring a pay threshold. If another Clinical Academic
(substantively NHS or University-employed) in the group accepts the work, there will
be no impact on pay progression for any NHS consultant or Clinical Academic in that
group.
Honorary Job Plan
Programmed Activities (PA) under the honorary contract may be scheduled either as a
single block of four hours, or sub-divided into smaller units of time.
The precise length of a PA worked within the integrated Job Plan under the honorary
contract may vary from week to week around the average assessment set out in the
integrated Job Plan. Any variations in scheduled weekly commitments should be
averaged over 26 weeks, so that the average commitment is consistent with the
provisions of the Working Time Regulations.
Clinical Academics Employed By More Than One NHS Organisation
In some cases a Clinical Academic may undertake honorary clinical work for a
number of NHS Trusts under the provisions of a single honorary contract. Where this
is the case, the lead NHS employer will hold the honorary contract and represent the
other NHS Trusts involved, for the purposes of the integrated Job Plan review
On-Call Availability Supplement
If you are required to participate in an on-call rota as part of your honorary clincal
duties for the NHS, UCL will pay you a supplement (in addition to your basic salary)
on behalf of the NHS Trust. The supplement will be paid in accordance with, and at
the appropriate rates according to, the terms and conditions of the contract. Although
entitlement to this allowance can be identified from the Job Plan, a separate
instruction from the appropriate NHS trust is required for payment to be made.
In some cases a Clinical Academic’s duties for UCL may comprise an on-call
commitment, for example as part of a patient-based research project. This should also
be recognised as a commitment in the integrated Job Plan.
Out - of - hours - work
All programmed activities (including additional activities) between 8am – 10pm
Monday to Friday and 9am – 1pm Saturday and Sunday, and any emergency work
arising from on-call commitments during these times; will attract equal recognition
within the Job Plan. Clinical Academic’s will be given equivalent time-off for all
work on statutory and public holidays.
Location of duties
Clinical Academics will normally be expected to be in the workplace for all their PAs
during the working week, except where agreed in the integrated Job Plan.
Arrangements to work off-site or at home at specified times could be agreed in the
integrated Job Plan in relation to specified duties. Clinical Academics may however
be required to work at any site belonging to UCL, one of its collaborator institutions
or those of its partner NHS Trusts. Travelling between work sites will count as
working time but travel between home and work or between work and private practice
premises will not be regarded as part of working time.