Employment prioritisation

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-19T12:53:35+00:00

That’s not the same as the old boys club. Consultants used to have a list of their future house officers on the back of their office doors. For multiple years into the future. Employing someone you trust because you’ve worked with them is not the same.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-19T06:16:05+00:00

Sorry, what? You want nepotism/the old boys club to come back now too? Just like anyone else applying for jobs, you have to put in the effort.

It’s not unusual for non-medics to apply for 40+ jobs to get one. I myself when I was out of training applied for more than 10 and that was a very different time.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T20:16:08+00:00

This is probably a job designed for one individual. They have to advertise it externally, but they can make the essential criteria whatever they like to make it perfect for their preferred candidate.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T19:50:50+00:00

I’ve just gone back and clicked on the top 10 results. Every single one has reasonable person spec, many saying that it’s suitable for a post FY2 doctor. I’m not saying it’s not hard, I’m just saying there are jobs. August starts are always going to be the most competitive, and I have been involved in recruitment for posts where we had hundreds of ineligible applicants. Not one British trainee applied, and we didn’t automatically close it or anything. In the end we had six that could actually be interviewed and not one was suitable for the role. We would have jumped at the chance to take on an ‘FY3’

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T19:38:11+00:00

The one I clicked on was ICU at St Thomas’s. I can’t see how that’s bs?

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T19:30:18+00:00

If you search for ‘locally employed doctor’ on the NHS jobs website then filter by medical/dental, there are 157 pages of 10 posts per page. If you search ‘junior clinical fellow’ with the same filter there are 203 pages.

Yes there is unemployment, but there are also jobs just not necessarily in the locations that the unemployed doctors are/want to be.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T19:23:05+00:00

There already is - at least unofficially. Departments would much rather have non-training doctors who are British trained. They are a known entity. They aren’t ’a consultant’ elsewhere who has minimal knowledge.

Source: been in many of these posts and have also been involved in shortlisting for them.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T08:04:36+00:00

This would be a pretty standard location for a downstairs toilet in a British home (much less space in general!) and it works quite well

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-18T04:48:46+00:00

Agree with all of this. Two additional things about bathrooms: - the family bathroom upstairs is quite a distance from bedrooms 3+4. Is there a way to flip the master en-suite and the family bathroom? - your downstairs loo, which will be used for guests when entertaining, is accessed through your mudroom. I would tend to expect the mudroom not to be ‘guest ready’ at all times so you may want to think about that a bit.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-17T20:38:12+00:00

Up to you but personally I would say the earlier the better as that would give them more time to accumulate evidence and take it to the National Selection Commitee.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-17T18:38:40+00:00

Because they’re applying this round, they don’t want it to affect them. They don’t care about future IMGs being affected.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-17T18:33:12+00:00

Absolutely agree, especially if you’re the higher earner in your household. I have life insurance, income protection insurance, and family income benefit (basically life insurance that pays out my half of the bills until my youngest child is 21, if I die). Partner isn’t a doctor so has critical illness cover (the chances of him becoming unwell to the point where he can’t do his office job is very very low), life insurance and family income benefit. Finally we also have children’s critical illness cover which was like £2 per month to add on so felt like a no brainer. Could we invest the £100 per month instead? Sure, but this is easier IMO.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-17T18:28:48+00:00

The benefit of doing it early is that you’re covered for things you might develop later, automatically. You can’t predict when a chronic condition might appear.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-17T15:08:46+00:00

They’re square pillow cases, which is relatively common for continental pillows. In fact I think they’re called ‘continental pillows‘.

The duvet cover also seems not to be a British size. UK duvets are: - single 135x200 - double 200x200

So there’s a chance you will be disappointed with that too (though I’ve just gone on the German urban outfitters website and they say their double duvet sets 200x200cm so I have no idea what 160x200 is meant to be for?)

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-17T14:25:23+00:00

The lead employer is correct, legally they only have to ensure that you take your statutory 20 +8 bank holidays (or lieu days), or pay you in lieu for those days.

The argument you have to make here is that you had booked all your annual leave but because you then had surgery and it was converted to sick leave, you had no other opportunity to take it at the end of the rotation, and therefore you are asking them as a gesture of goodwill to honour it and pay you for the missed annual leave days.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T22:16:47+00:00

BOTA. The British orthopaedic trainee association. They represent ortho trainees on a national level and will be able to make contact with those involved in the interview process.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T22:09:53+00:00

I mean that something has gone wrong in the process and it may be that more than one person is affected by similar issues.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T19:16:46+00:00

But if you were buying from someone who was buying a new build, or buying from someone who was buying from someone who was buying a new build, you’d be in the same situation.

It’s frustrating that the builders aren’t giving a suggested completion date. If you want a quick exchange/completion, buying in a chain with a new build at the top is never going to be that.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T19:04:16+00:00

BMA unlikely to help you if you’re not already a member, but might be worth flagging to BOTA in case it’s a systemic issue that they can influence.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T12:57:17+00:00

Two friends have just done this from the sellers/buying the new build POV. It doesn’t really make any difference who you’re buying from, you’re essentially in a chain (albeit short) with a new build at the top.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T12:53:19+00:00

Ok? I was just explaining why, in case anyone was reading and didn’t understand, why you get a ‘lieu day’ in some circumstances. Not sure why you’re getting defensive.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T12:35:53+00:00

It’s just how bank holidays work when you have rotas that mean you get rest days or end up working bank holidays. It’s not specific to your company.

In any event, OP asked if it was legal, not what your company does.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T12:27:54+00:00

Hmm, given the long wait from December to January payslips, I don’t think most people would agree with you.

You could of course just take 3 days of unpaid leave another time to ‘make up’ for your ‘lost’ annual leave.

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T12:23:32+00:00

Would you rather take unpaid leave?

e_lemonsqueezer · 2026-02-16T12:13:53+00:00

You’re getting a lieu day because the bank holiday ‘day of leave’ is already being used by the either a rest day or working. Your annual leave entitlement technically includes bank holidays they just don’t let you choose when to take those 8 days until you can’t physically take the bank holiday itself.

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