GOC clarifies daily fee for committee work

The General Optical Council has refuted claims that it is offering the minimum wage for three vacancies on its committees.

The allegations were made in a letter to Optician (14.05.10), by practitioner Ian White.

He complained that the GOC was offering £50 for a day's work and £25 for less than four hours, but the Council has confirmed that this is incorrect.

'We are happy to clarify that GOC committee members and FTP panellists actually receive a daily fee of £270 plus reasonable expenses,' the Council said in a statement.

The GOC is also recruiting for volunteers to participate in two stakeholder reference groups and will pay £50 for any full day spent attending focus groups or meetings and £25 for a period of less than four hours to compensate for time out of work.