Specialists, associate specialists and specialty (SAS) doctors have accepted an improved pay offer from the government, following months of negotiations.
The doctors, who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA), will see a basic rise of between 6.1 and 9.22% of their current pay, which is equivalent to a 10.4% to 19.4% increase since 2022.
Those employed under the closed 2008 contracts will also benefit from a consolidated £1,400 increase, which will be applied along with the 6% already awarded in response to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendations for 2023/24. The increases will be backdated to April.
The referendum on the offer, which took place between 31 May and 14 June, saw 79.3% of members voting to accept the deal, ending the threat of strike action by SAS doctors in England. They voted to reject a previous offer from the government in January this year.
According to the BMA, it hopes the deal will address pay erosion, unfavourable discrepancies between old and new contracts, boost career progression, and improve terms and conditions.
Ujjwala Mohite, UK chair of the BMA’s SAS committee, said: “We entered this dispute with the government almost a year ago, and today’s result shows just how far we’ve come in the fight to restore SAS doctors’ value in the NHS. A combination of burnout, eroded pay, and being taken for granted by the government has seen many forced to reduce their hours or leave the NHS altogether.
“That’s why, even though today marks significant progress in helping to keep more SAS doctors in the health service, the fight for pay restoration is far from over. The next step is seeing what the next pay round brings, and whether it brings us any closer to giving all SAS doctors, on all contracts, what they deserve.”
