Report of the Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships.

  • Great Britain. Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships.
Date:
[1948]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/22 (page 6)
    made thereafter by further regulations or an amending Act; and Regulation 12 (2) (b) provides that the amount of compensation payable to a prac- titioner practising in partnership who is entitled to compensation shall be such sum as may be determined by such further regulations or an amending Act. 11. In these circumstances, we recommend : — that, notwithstanding that an existing partnership agreement pro- vides for transfers of goodwill amongst the partners, the compen- sation payable to each of those partners who are entitled to compensation shall be ascertained and attributed to him once and for all as at the appointed day by reference to his “annual loss” as computed under regulation 7 of the Compensation Regulations. This provision, however, is not to prejudice the assignability of rights in regard to compensation. Transfer of Goodwill to Operate as Retirement Pro Tanto 12. By Regulation 13 (1) of the Compensation Regulations, the compen- sation to which a practitioner is entitled is generally payable only on his retirement from practice or death (cf. also Section 36 (3) (c) of the Act). Regulation 13 (3) defines “ retirement ” as meaning “ retirement from practice as a medical practitioner providing general medical services under Part IV of the Act or under Part IV of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947”. We are of opinion, for the reasons more fully set out in paragraph 19 hereafter, that the definition should be amended so far as it relates to inside partners and that, where an _ inside partner transfers his share or part of his share of an existing partnership, he should be deemed to have “retired” in respect of the share or part of the share so transferred. 13. We therefore recommend : — that, where in pursuance of an existing partnership agreement the share of an inside partner or any part thereof is transferred to another partner or other partners, the first named partner shall, for the purposes of Section 36 (3) (c) of the Act and Regulation 13 of the Compensation Regulations, be deemed to have retired from practice as regards that share or part of a share and the compensa- tion attributable thereto shall become immediately payable. Preservation of Restrictive Covenant and Other Ancillary Terms 14. As partnership agreements often. contain. restrictive covenants, pro- visions dealing with houses and other property and other ancillary terms coming into effect upon the sale of a share of the goodwill of the partnership practice we consider that it is desirable that such clauses should not be affected by the proposed modifications of the “sale” provisions contained in a partnership agreement. 15. We therefore recommend : — that, where in pursuance of our recommendations a sale of goodwill is converted into a free transfer, any such free transfer shall be deemed to be a sale for the purposes of any existing partnership agreement.