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University employment good practice guide

Health Policy and Economic Research Unit

March 2007

The University Employment Good Practice Guide is a new service to clinical academics. It has arisen as a result of representatives at the Conference of Medical Academic Representatives requesting that the BMA produce a clear guide to the employment environment in UK medical schools.

The rationale for this guide is to enable staff to make judgements about the factors important to them in selecting where they wish to work. The guide also provides the opportunity for medical schools to outline their strengths and what they are most proud of in terms of research and teaching outcomes and human resources practices.

This first edition of the guide has been produced by asking questions of Universities about their staff, students and employment arrangements. An invitation to participate was sent to all heads of UK medical schools in August 2006. Each medical school was asked to provide summary information regarding their staff, their medical school and more specific issues surrounding employment terms and conditions. Responses were received from 31 of the 33 UK medical schools and data was submitted from all UK medical schools with the exception of University of Dundee and Brighton and Sussex Medical School. In addition, we have encouraged HEIs to send us information about good employment practice that they wish to be published.

The guide gives details of the individual submissions from each of the UK medical schools. For each school a range of key facts in relation to staff and the medical school more generally are summarised. Information is also provided about key employment terms and conditions issues. A quick compare table of some of the key issues for medical academic staff is provided at the end of the guide.

We hope to update and publish this guide annually and hope that medical schools will find it a useful tool to facilitate the dissemination of revised information about their staff, students and employment practices.

In order to help with this process we would encourage clinical academics and higher education instiutions to comment on and add to the information we have provided. We are particularly interested to hear if the range of information should be expanded or modified. Local experience of employment practice is particularly to be welcomed. Please email the MASC secretariat at info.masc@bma.org.uk with any comments or suggestions.

We hope that this process will encourage good practice and drive up standards of employment.