The Speach Language and Hearing (SLH) Board has received requests for clarification regarding employment contractual issues. As a general rule, practitioners are advised to read their employment contract before signing. On the issue of contractual fee sharing, we advise the following.
Ethical Rule 18 (1) of the HPCSA’s “Ethical Guidelines for Good Practice in the Healthcare Professions” states that:
“A practitioner shall accept a professional appointment or employment from employers…only in accordance with a written contract of appointment or employment which is drawn up on a basis which is in the interest of the public and the profession.”
While the submission of an employment contract by the employer is no longer required to be approved by Council prior to the employment of a healthcare practitioner, the onus is on the healthcare practitioner to check that his/her contract is compliant with the ethical rules of his/her profession. If in doubt, the contract may be submitted by the practitioner to Council for checking.
When, for example, a school employs a healthcare practitioner to provide a service to children during school hours at a fixed salary, and allows these healthcare practitioner to provide private speech therapy on the school premises during the afternoons, Ethical Rule 7 (3) applies:
“A Healthcare practitioner shall not accept any…material consideration which is calculated to induce him/her to …over-service patients.”
The temptation to over service might occur when the employer of the school sets a percentage of the speech therapist’s fee income to cover administrative costs. These costs might include, but are not limited to, premises, a secretary, equipment and resources, electricity, bathrooms, secure parking, stationery and printing, and cleaning.
The provider of premises and services for private therapy as in the above instance, may charge a fixed administrative fee, that is not reliant on, nor a percentage of, the income from the private fees of the practitioner.
Last Updated on 21 September 2023 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs