Understanding the Enterprise Agreement and Your Employment Conditions

Congratulations on securing your internship for 2025! We hope you are excited about completing your studies and embarking on your medical career.

On Tuesday 6 August 2024, MSCV and AMA Victoria hosted a webinar to help you prepare for this transition and demystify life as an employee in the Victorian public health system.

In this webinar, AMA Victoria’s Director of Workplace Relations, Grant Forsyth covered your rights and entitlements, their origins, and how they are enforced. We also addressed common issues and questions doctors face during their first year of work, including:

• How much will I earn, and how will I be paid?
• Do I have to work overtime, and will I be paid for it?
• What constitutes bullying or harassment at work, and what can I do about it?
• When should I receive my roster?
• When and how often can I take leave?
• Should I get paid for mandatory training?

Watch the recording to gain valuable insights and prepare for your new role in the Victorian public health system.

I am a student (AMA member)

WATCH THE RECORDING   

Not yet an AMAV member? Join now as a student member (free to join!) to access. 

JOIN NOW   

Enterprise Agreement - Your questions answered

Topic 1 - Penalty Payments - Roster Changes/Late Rosters

Part 1 - Question 1 and 2

Q1: Where can we find further details regarding the penalty payment for not providing a roster 14 days in advance?

Q2: How does the penalty payment work? What is it 2.5% of?

Part 2 - Question 3 and 4

Q3: If our roster is changed last minute, can we ask for the penalty payment?

Q4: What penalties do hospitals face (if any) for not paying out penalties?

Topic 2 - Overtime: Rostered versus unrostered

Part 1: Questions 1 and 2

Q1: Is time and a half (x1.5) for the first 2 hours overtime and then double time (x2) for any hours after gthat, the same for rostered vs un-rostered overtime?

Q2: Is this calculated on the overtime for a single shift or based on the total overtime for the week/fortnight?

Part 2: Questions 3-5

Q3: Where exactly can one find the policy regarding un-rostered overtime?

Q4: Does every hospital have an overtime form and where is it kept?

Q5: If you can't find the appropriate person to sign off on your overtime, do you just submit the form without their signature?

Part 3: Question 6

Q6: While the Enterprise Agreement offers protection, could advocating more assertively for overtime potetially impact retention or future job opportunities within the same health service?

Topic 3: Employment Contracts & ensuring you are paid correctly

Employment contracts

• Q1: If some hospitals are already providing contracts with specified hourly pay rates, will the upcoming pay increase still be applicable?
   
• Q2: I received my internship contract today. Are there specific clauses I should carefully review, or is it more practical to sign it immediately to ensure I have a job next year?

Ensuring you are paid correctly

• Q1: Could you provide recommendations on how we can effectively track our hours and pay to ensure accurate compensation?

Topic 4: Salary packaging on rural rotations

Q1: If we undertake a rural rotation at a rural health service, will we also be eligible for the salary packaging offered by that service?

Topic 5: Taking parental leave during internship

Q1: How is the 47-week completion requirement for internship affected by taking 14 weeks of parental leave?

Topic 6: Continuing Medical Education (CME)

• Q1: As interns, are we entitled to contractual provisions for funding continuing education, such as a Master’s degree?

• Q2: Is the process of claiming CME expenses something we need to initiate, or is it handled automatically?

• Q3: Are CME entitlements for interns automatically granted, or do we need to submit a claim?

Topic 7: Breaks

• Q1: Are meal breaks unpaid, resulting in a 30-minute deduction from our pay? If so, what happens if we're unable to take these breaks?

• Q2: Are there mandated breaks during shifts? While I understand the policy, in practice, it seems that interns often end up working through lunch without a break?

Topic 8: Work Diary

• Q1: Where do I find more info on how to keep a work diary?

• Q2: What are the pros and cons of using a phone or laptop for note-taking compared to a conventional notebook? Specifically, is the metadata and timestamp from digital devices useful in cases where a claim for bullying or harassment needs to be made?

Topic 9: AMA Victoria membership

Q1: Is AMA membership tax deductible? Are there any other tax tips I should know about?

Q2: Why should I maintain my membership during the years when there is no enterprise bargaining?

Q3: When can we join the union, and what are the associated costs?

Q4: I've heard that junior doctors might face disadvantages, like being overlooked for competitive training positions, due to union membership. Is there any truth to this?