The Court of Justice of the European Union has found Ireland is in breach of European Union Directive 2003/88/EC (Organisation of Working Time Directive) concerning the working hours of non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs).
The European Commission took the action against Ireland for failing to fulfill its obligations under Article 3, Article 5, Article 6, Article 17(2) and Article 17(5) of the Directive.
In January 2012 the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) signed a collective Agreement concerning the working time of non-consultant hospital doctors. The agreement sets out a standard employment contract for non-consultant hospital doctors.
Under the current conditions, the work of non-consultant hospital doctors is split between time allotted for training and time spent treating patients. However, Clause 3(a) of the Agreement stipulates that:
[...] time spent training as scheduled in the duty roster and at a time when the NCHD is not on call is not to be counted as working time.
Advocate General Bot found non-consultant hospital doctors are entitled to a minimum rest period, and the decision not to include the training time in the calculation of the working time for non-consultant hospital doctors "encroaches on the minimum rest period". Moreover, Advocate General Bot found the time spent training and the time spent treating patients are intrinsically linked.
Ireland incorporated the Directive into national law through the European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Activities of Doctors in Training) Regulations 2004, as amended by the 2010 Regulations.
Although the opinion of Advocate General Bot is not binding, the Court of Justice usually upholds the opinion handed down. The Court of Justice is expected to provide a binding judgment later this year.
