We are not just a professional body; but a community run by dentists, for dentists. One of the most critical things we do to support that is providing a model associate agreement that works for everyone in the practice. It has evolved over the years by listening to our members, working with our committees, and having a thorough understanding of the relevant legal framework.
Here is a look at the philosophy behind our agreement and how we are evolving it for the future.
The DNA of a fair agreement
An associate agreement is not a stack of "legal-ese" that sits in a drawer. It only works if it is a functional roadmap for a successful relationship between associates and practices.
1. NHS and practice incentives
We mirror the incentives in the NHS contract in our model associate agreement so that members understand what is required of them. We work hard to ensure the provisions regarding private practice gives associates freedom to control their workload and income, whilst giving the practice commercial protection.
2. Fair for associates and practice owners
Since most associates are self-employed, they do not have standard employment rights so the contract is the primary remedy for associates. We work hard to ensure the agreement and our accompanying advice is neutral, pragmatic and fair.
3. Simple and workable
Members have long complained about the Units of Dental Activity (UDA) system, and we have worked hard to represent our members in discussions with government and the press. That said, from the perspective of paying associates, the mechanics of the UDA system are relatively simple to operate. The new care pathways and payments for unscheduled courses of treatment introduce new complexities. We believe our model associate contract must be both easy to operate and based on numbers and measurements that both parties can actually see and verify.
4. Protecting your self-employed status
We know from speaking to our members, practice owners and associates, that you value associates’ status as being self-employed. Our model supports self-employed status by ensuring associates have genuine control over their work. This means having the autonomy to manage how you work and the ability to profit through your own efforts - whether that is through NHS delivery or expanding your private work.
Next is understanding the new NHS contracts
The dental landscape is shifting again, and we are not standing still. We are currently working on an updated associate agreement specifically designed to help members navigate the latest changes to NHS contracts.
Our goal is to take the complexity out of the new system so you can focus on what matters most: your patients.
