Overview
This guidance is intended for dentists employed in the CDS in England. We are aware that some CDS employers have sought to extend clinic opening hours, requiring dentists to work evenings and weekends, often without prior consultation or additional pay. This represents a significant shift from established working patterns and raises concerns around wellbeing, fairness, and employment rights.
The advice below provides a framework to support local negotiations, and it is intended to promote consistency and to protect our members.
It is important to note that some CDS providers hold separate contracts for out-of-hours urgent or emergency dental care. These services are usually delivered under separate, sessional arrangements and participation is typically voluntary. This advice does not apply to those arrangements. It focuses solely on changes to the scheduling of working hours in your substantive employed role as a salaried CDS dentist.
We give our definition of unsocial hours, and how this may be different to contracted hours and flexitime. We also give our view on how unsociable hours requests should be approached and implemented, and the limitations on what dentists should reasonably be expected to do.
On this page you will learn about your rights if you wish to decline the offer of working unsocial hours, or negotiate different terms if you are considering taking up the offer but are unhappy with it as it stands.
If you are considering working unsocial hours, you can read our recommendation of pay enhancements for unsocial hours and how to calculate your hourly rate of pay. You should be satisfied with the conditions regarding remuneration and other non-monetary compensation, for example days off, if you decide to work unsociable hours. You can also learn what to do if you have additional requirements regarding unsocial hours because you are disabled.
