It would appear that the dispute between Jeremy Hunt and the BMA fails to take account of a legally binding judgment of the European court of justice (Pujante Rivera; 11 November 2015). This states that in a situation where an employer,unilaterally and to the detriment of the employee, makes meaningful changes to fundamental elements of his or her employment contract for reasons not related to the individual employee concerned, and that fact falls within the definition of redundancy in accordance with the EU rules. In accordance with the principle of the primacy of EU law,as a member (pro tem) of the EU, the UK is precluded from adopting any degree that conflicts with directly applicable EU provisions. That being the case, or it is manifestly clear that the UK government’s room for manoeuvre is restricted by the legal framework imposed upon it under directive 98/59 as interpreted and applied in the above case.
David Black
Edinburgh• Your article (Hospitals may refuse to impose Jeremy Hunt’s new contract on junior doctors,13 February) reveals a enormous opportunity for the NHS in these adverse times. Central control squeezes the lifeblood out of the NHS; it is engaged, frontline staff who will determine the success or failure of the NHS model.
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Source: theguardian.com