NHS Doctors In England To Receive Pay Rise This Month

3rd September 2023

the government in England have pressed ahead with the doctors pay increase despite strikes still coming.

Junior doctors will join the strike on 20 September, also with "Christmas Day" levels of cover. They will continue to full walkouts on 21 and 22 September. Both consultants and junior doctors will be striking 2, 3, and 4 October, again with "Christmas Day" levels of cover. Strikes were suspended in Scotland with a pay deal accepted in July 2023 - See details below.

Around 150,000 NHS doctors in England, including doctors in training and consultants, will start to receive their pay rise this month, backdated to April 2023.

Accepting the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies in full means first year doctors in training will receive a 10.3% pay increase, with the average junior doctor getting 8.8%, and consultants will receive 6%
This award is final and the Health and Social Care Secretary has urged the BMA to call off strike action and end disruption to care
This month, around 150,000 NHS doctors will start to receive a pay rise after the government accepted the recommendations of the Independent Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration’s (DDRB).

As part of the award, doctors covered by the review body, which includes doctors in training, consultants, Speciality and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors and dentists, will receive their pay rise backdated to April. This pay rise balances the need to keep inflation in check while giving staff significant pay increases.

First year doctors in training will receive a 10.3% uplift. This means basic pay for a first year junior doctor will increase from £29,300 to £32,300. For a junior doctor in core training with 3 years’ experience, it will increase from £40,200 to £43,900.

Pay scales for consultants are also increasing by 6%, meaning starting basic full-time pay will rise to £93,600. Taken together with on-call payments and other activities, the average consultant’s NHS earnings will increase to £134,000 a year. This is in addition to their 4.5% pay rise last year and significant pension reforms which saw the annual allowance for tax-free pension saving increasing by 50% to £60,000 and removing the £1 million lifetime cap.

Some staff will also benefit from performance pay, overtime, pay progression and pay rises from promotion, alongside the pay uplift.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

I hugely value the work of NHS staff, and we’re giving junior doctors, consultants and senior NHS staff a fair pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review bodies - which is above what most in the public and private sectors are receiving.

We have worked at speed to ensure they will start receiving this in their pay packets this month. I’ve been clear this pay award is final and I urge the BMA to end its callous and calculated strike action - these are only serving to lengthen waiting lists, harm patients and put more pressure on their colleagues.

The government is funding this pay award through prioritisation within existing departmental budgets, with frontline services being protected. More borrowing would add pressures on inflation at exactly the wrong time, risking higher interest rates and higher mortgage rates.

More widely, and alongside the pension tax reforms announced at budget, the government is implementing new retirement flexibilities to help retain experienced doctors, whilst making it easier and attractive for retired staff to return.

From 1 April 2023, restrictions were lifted on the amount of work that staff can do if they return to service after retirement, and allowed staff who retire and return to re-join the scheme and build more pension. From 1 October 2023, a further partial retirement option for staff will be introduced which will allow them to claim a portion of their pension benefits but continue working and building further pension.

This means more clinicians to provide appointments, ease winter pressures and deliver care to patients, as well the retention of crucial knowledge and experience to ensure patients are receiving first class care.

Scotland
Industrial action suspended as Pay Deal agreed in July 23

A record 12.4% pay increase for junior doctors and doctors in training for 2023/24 has been agreed with the British Medical Association.

Following discussions with Health Secretary Michael Matheson this afternoon, BMA Scotland have agreed to suspend strike action while they consult their members on this deal.

Coupled with the pay raise of 4.5% awarded in 2022/23, this amounts to a cumulative increase of 17.5% over two years.

The deal also includes a commitment to future years pay, contract and pay bargaining modernisation.

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said, "Following months of negotiations with BMA Scotland, I am delighted that we have agreed a pay deal for 2023/24 for our Junior Doctors. BMA have agreed to suspend strike action in Scotland while they consult with their members.

"I hope this investment and the significant commitments we have given around pay and contract reform will show Junior Doctors how much we value them, and that we are determined to ensure that Scotland is the place for Junior Doctors to work and train.

“Some patients may have been contacted to say their treatment has been cancelled. We are working hard with health boards to make sure appointments that can go ahead do, and that any others are rescheduled as soon as possible."

This pay deal represents a £61.3 million investment in Junior Doctor pay - the largest in the last 20 years and the best offer in the UK – and means a doctor at the beginning of their career would receive a salary increase of £3,429 in 2023/24. For those at the end of their training the rise would be £7,111 over the same period.