NHS consultants in England have backed a fresh pay deal, ending their dispute with the government.
Under the new deal for members of the British Medical Association and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, some consultants will receive a pay increase of nearly 20% for the financial year 2023-24.
The unions said 83% of members voted in favour of the pay offer, which was made last month. The previous pay offer put to BMA members in December was narrowly rejected.
Consultants received a 6% pay rise in April 2023 and were then offered an extra sum worth nearly 5% on average at the end of last year.
The new offer included an extra 2.85% for those between four and seven years into their consultant careers – the group that was receiving the smallest rise under the previous offer.
This pay rise will be backdated to January, which means over the course of 2023-24, some senior doctors will have seen their pay increase by nearly 20%.
On top of this, consultants will be eligible for a separate pay rise for the 2024-25 financial year, which is just starting.
Junior doctors in England remain in dispute over pay, and have a fresh mandate to strike.
Consultants in England last went on strike on 2-4 October – the longest period of action by consultants so far. The three days of strike action coincided with a walkout by junior doctors. The action followed strikes by consultants that took place on 24-26 August and 19-20 September.
Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chair, said the fight was not yet over. “This is only the end of the beginning, and we have some way to go before the pay consultants have lost over the last 15 years has been restored.”
In Wales, BMA Cymru Wales has rejected a 2023-24 pay offer of 5% – below the Doctors and Dentist Pay Review Body-recommend 6.5%. Consultant doctors have voted in favour of strike action, the first of which has been scheduled for 48 hours from 7am on 16 April to 18 April.
The BMA in Scotland calling for a similar pay offer from the Scottish Government to that offered in England and has raised the possibility of strike action.
Eighty-six per cent of consultants cast their ballots in favour of an industrial action mandate that will last until September 2024.
Consultant doctors in Northern Ireland will be balloted on industrial action, the BMA has announced. The decision to move to a formal dispute and balloting members was taken following an indicative ballot of members where 77% of consultants who responded said they were willing to take industrial action.
The government and BMA remains a long way from solving the junior doctors’ pay dispute. The BMA has a fresh six-month strike mandate after talks collapsed late last year. However, no new strike dates have been announced yet.
Junior doctors in Northern Ireland and Wales remain in dispute with the government over pay and have taken strike action.
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Browse more human resources jobs
