How much will you earn as a doctor in the UK?

Find out all about: basic pay; banding; taxes, national insurance and pension; take home pay; GP/consultant pay; overtime; cost of living. 

 

Fixed basic pay for basic hours: 

Foundation Year 1: £28,243 💰 

Foundation Year 2: £32,691 💰 

Speciality Registrar (Core Training 1 & 2): £38,694 💰 

Speciality Registrar (Core Training 3): £49,036 💰 

Speciality Registrar (ST1 & ST2): £38,694 💰  

Speciality Registrar (ST3 & ST4 & ST5): £49,036 💰  

Speciality Registrar (ST6 & ST7 & ST8): £52,036 💰 

Once qualified, you will be paid by an NHS trust, and you may be able to negotiate your pay based on your experience 🤝 

 

Banding: 

Gross pay = basic pay + banding/enhancements  

Banding is additional pay which reflects: the number of additional hours worked on average; the type of working pattern (nights?); extra duty frequency; antisocial work 🌙  

A doctor who works Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm will have no banding

If you work night shifts and are on call, you can expect to get 30 to 40% additional pay (banding) 📞  

 

Taxes, national insurance & pension: 

PAYE (pay as you earn): tax, national insurance and NHS pension will be automatically deducted from your salary 💷  

Your tax code should be 1250L if you are in a fixed term contract with an NHS trust

Complete a p46 form to ensure you are on the correct tax code

If you opt in to the NHS Pension Scheme, your employer pays a contribution equivalent to 20.68% of your salary towards your pension (tax free) 👵  

 

Take home pay: 

Taking tax, national insurance and pension contribution into account, your take home pay can be difficult to calculate 💷  

Ask HR at your hospital for your work schedule so you can calculate it 🏠 

This salary calculator will help you determine your take home pay 🏠 

 

GP and medicine/surgery consultant pay: 

When accepting a consultant or GP job, you will negotiate pay based on your experience and tenure  

This makes the pay highly variable 💷  

 

Overtime: 

Overtime hours are mostly locum shifts

You cannot accept locum shifts when you are scheduled to work your fixed hours ❌  

If locum shifts are available in your free time, you can accept them ✅  

The hourly rate is higher than your fixed hourly rate, meaning it can be a good way to earn additional money 

 

Cost of living: 

This will vary depending on where you work 🌎  

The cost of living in London is 55% higher than Manchester and 64% higher than Liverpool for example 

It is important to consider location and cost of living before applying for a job 

 

Summary:

1. Salary is based on the NHS pay scale 
2. Gross pay = basic pay + banding 
3. Once qualified there is potential for negotiation of salary 🤝 
4. As a GP/consultant salary varies significantly as it is negotiated based on experience/tenure 
5. Take home pay = gross pay – (tax + NI + pension) 
6. Locum shifts are one way of earning more money 💰 
7. It is important to consider the cost of living 🌎