VERDICT CREATING PRECEDENT IN MEDICAL SUIT

There was an unprecedented verdict brought in a Veszprém county lawsuit. The sentence declared that the plaintiff, a family doctor had not been paid his night-duty fee according to EU regulations.

If the verdict comes into effect, several thousand employees in the health service can demand their wages withheld running to several tens of billions of forints. The Labour Court in Veszprém county ruled that the total time spent on duty should be counted as working time. To observe the EU- regulations lots of new doctors would be necessary. This is problematic not only in Hungary but in several other member states, too, that is why the European Commission decided to review its earlier directives.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó