Specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors in England have accepted a pay deal that will see their wages increase by up to 19.4%.
Seventy-nine per cent of SAS doctors who voted in a ballot organised by the British Medical Association said they would accept the government’s pay deal, which was the second offer presented to the union’s specialist and associate specialist committee.
The doctors, who have finished their junior doctor training but have not yet progressed to consultant level or work as GPs, had not taken any strike action but had been threatening to do so.
Doctors pay deal
SAS doctors on 2021 contracts in England will see an annual increase of 9.5-19.4%.
Doctors on 2008 contracts will receive a consolidated uplift of £1,400 to each pay point, on top of the 6% awarded for 2023-24, as recommended by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB).
The offer also includes proposals to improve career progression and the contracts of doctors employed by hospital trusts on local terms and conditions, rather than nationally agreed terms.
The BMA said the deal meant its dispute on behalf of SAS doctors in England was now formally over, but it would still continue to push for improvements to pay and career development after the general election.
Dr Ujjwala Mohite, chair of the BMA’s SAS UK Committee, said: “We entered this dispute with the government almost a year ago, and today’s result is a step in the right direction in restoring SAS doctors’ value in the NHS.
“A combination of burnout, eroded pay, stunted career progression, and being taken for granted by the government has seen many forced to leave the NHS altogether. Many SAS doctors also suffer from grade-ism – the idea that, because they don’t fit into the traditional pathways, they are somehow not as important.
“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 and improving the working lives of SAS doctors is far from over. The next step is seeing what the next DDRB pay round brings, and whether it brings us any closer to giving all SAS doctors, on all contracts, what they deserve.”
Junior doctors in England are still in dispute with the government over pay. They are planning to strike for five days next week – their 11th walkout in the current dispute – with the BMA seeking a 35% pay increase.
Consultants accepted a similar pay deal to SAS doctors earlier this year.
BMA council chair Professor Phil Banfield said: “Although this marks significant progress helping to retain more SAS doctors in the health service, the fight for pay restoration and improving the working lives of SAS doctors is far from over.
“This deal shows that it is possible to negotiate a successful end to the doctors’ disputes with the right investment, right offer and improvements to working conditions. The prime minister should now do the same for junior doctors. It’s not too late for Rishi Sunak to take this opportunity to be known as the PM that successfully settled all the hospital doctors’ disputes in England.”
The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), which also represents SAS doctors, said it would continue to campaign for a better deal on pay, terms and conditions after the BMA reached agreement with the government.
HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan warned that the career barriers faced by many SAS doctors and locally employed doctors would not disappear.
He said: “HCSA is going to be closely scrutinising developments in the non-pay elements of this deal. We’re clear on the issues which matter to SAS doctors in England and if there’s no progress we will be the first to call this out.
“We can’t allow these issues to be kicked into the long grass or get bogged down in endless working groups where they are watered down. These points are non-negotiable and the least that we need to get a fairer deal for SAS doctors.”
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The six policies suggested by the HCSA include better educational and professional development opportunities, automatic promotion opportunities, expanded opportunities in management and education, and a commitment that any locally employed doctors working as de facto SAS doctors should become SAS grade within two years.
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