How much do doctors in training earn? Salary, earnings and pay scales explained

NHS junior doctors have worked the picket lines several times over their pay, leading to the cancellation of thousands of appointments and operations across England.

It is also estimated that the cost of bringing in senior staff to cover striking workers has led to NHS trusts spending millions of pounds on extra wages.

The action, orchestrated mainly by the British Medical Association (BMA) union, has impacted the lives of thousands of people waiting for much-needed NHS care after backlogs increased during the pandemic.

The toxic dispute has led to a war of words with doctors and the various ministers who have come and gone over the course of the long-running dispute.

In turn, the BMA is campaigning for a 35 percent pay increase, which they say will signal a ‘recovery’ for the profession.

The union claims huge pay rises are needed to cope with more than a decade of below-inflation pay rises and to stop an exodus of doctors leaving Britain for better-paying jobs abroad.

But the government claims such demands are unrealistic given the country’s finances.

So what exactly are trainee doctors paid, and what are they asking for?

Health Secretary Maria Caulfield described the British Medical Association’s demands as ‘unrealistic and unachievable’

Junior doctors have been in a formal standoff with the government since October 2022

What is a junior doctor?

Junior doctors have completed medical training but continue in clinical training, and they make up roughly half of the country’s medical workforce.

They work under the supervision of experienced doctors during their practice experience.

All medical graduates must complete a two-year general training program before beginning specialist training, which can take up to eight years.

Junior doctors have completed medical training, but remain in clinical training for a maximum of eight years

How much do doctors in training earn?

The lowest paid junior doctors earn an annual salary of £32,398 in their first foundation year.

BMA pay formulas put this at around £15.53 per hour.

This is the basic level and does not take into account working on weekends or nights, or earning overtime, which can increase the hourly rate by as much as 30 percent.

The basic salary of the most senior junior doctor – in the final years of his specialist training – is £63,152 per year.

Again, as in other sectors, junior medics can also receive the London Weighting, which for NHS professionals is set at between £1,136 and £7,377, depending on whether employees live in the inner city or on the outskirts.

The lowest paid junior doctors earn an annual salary of £29,384, which equates to £14.09 per hour

What are the salary requirements of doctors in training and why are they notable?

The BMA says the working population has suffered a real pay cut of 26.1 per cent since 2008/09.

It says addressing this will translate into a 35 percent pay increase.

If ministers gave in, some medics would receive more than £20,000.

BMA officials have suggested that the union would be willing to negotiate a deal that would see this recovery completed over several years, rather than in one big leap.

Junior doctors at the BMA and health workers at Unite the Union strike at Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester on June 14

How many times have trainee doctors been on strike?

Junior doctors have been on strike 10 times since first joining the picket lines in early 2023.

The combined action, the longest of which was a record-breaking six-day strike, means the NHS has missed 28 days of junior medics’ work.

Unions and the health care industry generally agree to provide a minimum level of service, sometimes called “life and limb care” or waiver, to keep patients in the emergency room and already in the hospital safe.

Senior doctors may also be called upon to ‘step down’ and take over the work of junior doctors to maintain safe staffing levels, freeing up junior doctors to attend picket lines.

However, the NHS cannot hire agency workers to fill the gaps left by strikers due to a High Court ruling.

This does not apply to a hospital’s own ‘bank’ staff, and trusts have received advice on this from the NHS.

What pay increases has the government offered to trainee doctors?

Ministers have consistently said that the demands of trainee doctors are unrealistic in the circumstances.

Doctors in training were offered an average pay increase of 8.8 percent for the 2023/2024 financial year.

However, the increase was larger for first-year doctors, who received a boost of 10.3 percent.

While ministers initially insisted this was the final offer, new Health Minister Victoria Atkins offered doctors an additional 3 percent on top of this increase.

But the BMA said this improved amount was still ‘completely insufficient’ and still amounted to a pay cut compared to inflation.

It is worth highlighting that trainee doctors still got the 8.8 per cent pay rise when the deal was imposed on them, but the dispute has not yet ended.

The BMA is still sticking to its original ‘wage recovery campaign’ of 35 percent.