As I was reflecting on Ontario’s Proposed Clinic Regulation, I considered possible solutions. Regulation can be an expensive process requiring lots of oversight and reach. Measuring its effectiveness in actually dealing with the problem could be difficult.
What if the profession could influence the RMT culture in a broader way, a way that would give practitioners more agency in their interactions with employers/landlords/practice brokers?
In an article published in Massage Therapy Canada, Spring 2016, I outline such an idea:
“Massage therapists are among a number of regulated health professionals that work as contracting “freelancers,” tenants under a larger business, or employees. Cross-contamination of the different working arrangements is common in our profession, and creates confusion, tension and corruption of business models, as well as risk of misclassification by Canada Revenue Agency.
The solution? Ask regulatory colleges and professional associations to hire legal counsel to draft employment, tenant and contractor/freelancer contracts, complete with all provisions regulated health professions must adhere to. Financial compensation, hours of employment and other non-regulatory variables specific to the common employment contract would be added as an addendum to further define the relationship.
Employers are already complicit in privacy legislation and mandatory reporting – if their employed regulated health professionals demonstrate incompetence, incapacity or abuse. A common contract containing all regulatory requirements legally bind both practitioners and the employers they work for, extending regulator influence beyond the practitioners they regulate.”
Read the whole article at: