NHS Trust refusing to pay for work

chaoticbaker

Hi there! It's my first post and I'd be really grateful for a bit of advice dealing with a hospital I used to work at.

I'm a NHS doctor who finished a permanent contract at the end of February. At all the hospitals I've previously worked at, after finishing my permanent job I'd be put onto a bank list of doctors who could come back and do ad hoc locum shifts to fill in any last minute staff shortages.

After finishing my job in February I did a few locum shifts for the hospital. When I tried to get paid I was told there was a problem. The rules on locums had changed and because I was no longer an official employee of the trust I would have to register with a separate locum agency and be paid through them. This all took a while to set up. I was then informed a couple of months ago that there might be an issue with me getting paid because it was the Trust's policy not to pay shifts that happened more than 3 months ago. I then spoke to someone in the HR department who assured me that everything was fine and they would now be able to process the payment.

Today I called up to find out what is going on. I was told that the HR person I spoke to has now left and that as the shifts happened more than 3 months ago they might not pay me. She said she would seek clarification from her bosses and that everything would probably be fine. However, it's got me worried.

I was never informed about this 3 month time limit at any point until the time had elapsed.

My question is, does the Trust have any legal basis for refusing payment after 3 months or is this just some arbitrary number they've plucked out of thin air? Also, do you have any advice on how I could push them for payment if they refuse?

Thank you!

martinsurrey

chaoticbaker wrote: »

Hi there! It's my first post and I'd be really grateful for a bit of advice dealing with a hospital I used to work at.

I'm a NHS doctor who finished a permanent contract at the end of February. At all the hospitals I've previously worked at, after finishing my permanent job I'd be put onto a bank list of doctors who could come back and do ad hoc locum shifts to fill in any last minute staff shortages.

After finishing my job in February I did a few locum shifts for the hospital. When I tried to get paid I was told there was a problem. The rules on locums had changed and because I was no longer an official employee of the trust I would have to register with a separate locum agency and be paid through them. This all took a while to set up. I was then informed a couple of months ago that there might be an issue with me getting paid because it was the Trust's policy not to pay shifts that happened more than 3 months ago. I then spoke to someone in the HR department who assured me that everything was fine and they would now be able to process the payment.

Today I called up to find out what is going on. I was told that the HR person I spoke to has now left and that as the shifts happened more than 3 months ago they might not pay me. She said she would seek clarification from her bosses and that everything would probably be fine. However, it's got me worried.

I was never informed about this 3 month time limit at any point until the time had elapsed.

My question is, does the Trust have any legal basis for refusing payment after 3 months or is this just some arbitrary number they've plucked out of thin air?

no they don't, plucked from thin air.

I assume they used to class the locums as self employed

chaoticbaker wrote: »

Also, do you have any advice on how I could push them for payment if they refuse?

Thank you!

letter before action, (threaten court).

getmore4less

chaoticbaker wrote: »

After finishing my job in February I did a few locum shifts for the hospital. When I tried to get paid I was told there was a problem. The rules on locums had changed and because I was no longer an official employee of the trust I would have to register with a separate locum agency and be paid through them.

They are saying they let a doctor with no contract(direct or via an agency) work in their hospital.

does that not cause a liability/indemnity insurance issue

How did you agree a rate of pay and the shift you worked?

Comms69

Fairly simple - just go to the local paper. They love a good story of a corporate trust screwing over a doctor treating patients.

Velvet_Glove

You must go to the press about this. Write this in a blog, get it trending on social media.

polgara

Some of these responses

Just contact the Head of HR explaining what has happened and ask for the payment to be expedited- the three month rule isn't unusual
It's to stop agencies waiting until the end of March to put a full years invoice in. I had the misfortune to pick up the pieces of something like that; took ages to verify what shifts had actually been worked and there were many that hadn't (I'll be charitable and say it wasn't deliberate fraud on their part).

However that doesn't mean exceptions can't be processed so escalate it until you get a response.

kingfisherblue

My daughter was told the same thing by an agency a few years ago - she couldn't be paid once three months had elapsed. In her case, they said that she didn't hand in the time sheet. She disputed this, as she had been paid the other hours on the same timesheet. The agency agreed to pay her the following month, but didn't. This went on for a couple more months, until they said that they couldn't pay her as more than three months had elapsed. On my advice, she then told the payroll section (with whom she had been dealing) that she would involve her union, as it was illegal not to pay her the agreed amount. They paid up.

I assume that as a doctor, you are in a union. If the trust won't pay you, get them involved.