Revised offer for the SAS doctor workforce
After further negotiations between government and the British Medical Association (BMA), a revised and final offer has been made. BMA members will vote on this between 31 May to 14 June. Strike action will continue to be paused during this time.
The offer has been designed to address the imbalance between old and new contracts, speed up the delivery of some of the key objectives of the 2021 deal and encourage more existing SAS doctors to take up the new contracts. If accepted, this deal will prevent industrial action by BMA SAS members.
The offer in summary is set out below.
Pay scale reform
To address the imbalance between old and new contracts, government has offered a pay uplift to specialty doctors and specialists on the 2021 contracts which will take effect from 1 April 2024 if the offer is accepted.
Specialist (2021)
Proposal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Pay scale code | 23/24 salary (current) | Uplift % | New salary from April 24 |
| MC70-01 | £83,945 | 9.0% | £91,500 |
| MC70-02 | £83,945 | 9.0% | £91,500 |
| MC70-03 | £83,945 | 9.0% | £91,500 |
| MC70-04 | £89,610 | 6.1% | £95,079 |
| MC70-05 | £89,610 | 6.1% | £95,079 |
| MC70-06 | £89,610 | 6.1% | £95,079 |
| MC70-07 | £95,275 | 6.1% | £101,089 |
Specialty doctor (2021)
Proposal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Pay scale code | 23/24 salary (current) | Uplift % | New salary from April 24 |
| MC75-01 | £52,530 | 6.3% | £55,825 |
| MC75-02 | £52,530 | 6.3% | £55,825 |
| MC75-03 | £52,530 | 6.3% | £55,825 |
| MC75-04 | £60,519 | 6.3% | £64,315 |
| MC75-05 | £60,519 | 6.3% | £64,315 |
| MC75-06 | £60,519 | 6.3% | £64,315 |
| MC75-07 | £67,465 | 6.3% | £71,696 |
| MC75-08 | £67,465 | 6.3% | £71,696 |
| MC75-09 | £67,465 | 6.3% | £71,696 |
| MC75-10 | £74,675 | 6.3% | £79,359 |
| MC75-11 | £74,675 | 6.3% | £79,359 |
| MC75-12 | £74,675 | 6.3% | £79,359 |
| MC75-13 | £82,400 | 9.2% | £90,000 |
| MC75-14 | £82,400 | 9.2% | £90,000 |
| MC75-15 | £82,400 | 9.2% | £90,000 |
| MC75-16 | £82,400 | 9.2% | £90,000 |
| MC75-17 | £82,400 | 9.2% | £90,000 |
| MC75-18 | £82,400 | 9.2% | £90,000 |
Closed contracts
The government acknowledged feedback that the previous offer, made in December 2023, only offered a pay uplift for SAS doctors on the 2021 contracts. This revised offer now includes a consolidated pay uplift of £1,400 to the non-2021 contracts (pro-rated where appropriate, including for those on hospital practitioner and clinical assistant contracts).
Associate specialist (2008)
Proposal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Pay scale code | 23/24 salary (current) | Uplift £ | New salary from April 24 |
| MC41-01 | £65,837 | £1,400 | £67,237 |
| MC41-02 | £71,130 | £1,400 | £72,530 |
| MC41-03 | £76,421 | £1,400 | £77,821 |
| MC41-04 | £83,409 | £1,400 | £84,809 |
| MC41-05 | £89,465 | £1,400 | £90,865 |
| MC41-06 | £91,978 | £1,400 | £93,378 |
| MC41-07 | £91,978 | £1,400 | £93,378 |
| MC41-08 | £95,257 | £1,400 | £96,657 |
| MC41-09 | £95,257 | £1,400 | £96,657 |
| MC41-10 | £98,536 | £1,400 | £99,936 |
| MC41-11 | £98,536 | £1,400 | £99,936 |
| MC41-12 | £101,814 | £1,400 | £103,214 |
| MC41-13 | £101,814 | £1,400 | £103,214 |
| MC41-14 | £101,814 | £1,400 | £103,214 |
| MC41-15 | £105,093 | £1,400 | £106,493 |
| MC41-16 | £105,093 | £1,400 | £106,493 |
| MC41-17 | £105,093 | £1,400 | £106,493 |
| MC41-18 | £108,375 | £1,400 | £109,775 |
Specialty doctor (2008)
Proposal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Pay scale code | 23/24 salary (current) | Uplift £ | New salary from April 24 |
| MC46-01 | £46,958 | £1,400 | £48,358 |
| MC46-02 | £50,973 | £1,400 | £52,373 |
| MC46-03 | £56,193 | £1,400 | £57,593 |
| MC46-04 | £58,991 | £1,400 | £60,391 |
| MC46-05 | £63,022 | £1,400 | £64,422 |
| MC46-06 | £67,037 | £1,400 | £68,437 |
| MC46-07 | £67,037 | £1,400 | £68,437 |
| MC46-08 | £71,142 | £1,400 | £72,542 |
| MC46-09 | £71,142 | £1,400 | £72,542 |
| MC46-10 | £75,249 | £1,400 | £76,649 |
| MC46-11 | £75,249 | £1,400 | £76,649 |
| MC46-12 | £79,356 | £1,400 | £80,756 |
| MC46-13 | £79,356 | £1,400 | £80,756 |
| MC46-14 | £79,356 | £1,400 | £80,756 |
| MC46-15 | £83,461 | £1,400 | £84,861 |
| MC46-16 | £83,461 | £1,400 | £84,861 |
| MC46-17 | £83,461 | £1,400 | £84,861 |
| MC46-18 | £87,568 | £1,400 | £88,968 |
SAS doctor career development
As part of the proposal to support career development for SAS doctors, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS Employers, NHS England and the BMA will take forward three priority actions:
- To develop advice and guidance specifically to support career progression for SAS doctors.
- Explore what national levers are available to encourage, establish and embed specialist roles in order to provide career development opportunities for SAS doctors, including the creation of guidance recommending that:
- Vacant associate specialist roles are converted to specialist grade vacancies.
- Specialist grade roles are advertised internally within trusts initially to give local specialty doctors more opportunities to progress within their trust.
- SAS advocates have an opportunity to review relevant vacancies and make the case for them to become specialist roles.
- A piece of research into why more specialist grade roles are not being created and establish a project board with the BMA to consider the recommendations. The board would include representation from DHSC, NHS Employers, NHS England and the BMA and aim to be concluded by the end of 2024.
- Ensure that specialty doctors undertaking a specialist grade role are properly utilising the acting up clause, Schedule 19 of the terms and conditions of service.
DHSC, NHS Employers, NHS England and the BMA continue to share a commitment to support career progression opportunities for all SAS doctors and will continue to form a programme of work reviewing how employers can create more specialist roles and agree to:
- Promote job planning to take place to enable SAS doctors to work optimally with access to appropriate opportunities.
- Collaborate on a joint piece of work with the objective of helping SAS doctors to progress through the Portfolio Pathway.
Locally employed doctors
DHSC, NHS Employers, NHS England and the BMA will commit to undertake a joint piece of work to understand how locally employed doctors (LEDs) can be better supported to progress in their careers, building further on NHS England’s LED strategy. This includes understanding the makeup of the LED workforce and enabling LEDs to move to permanent SAS contracts where it is in everyone’s best interest.
It is expected that work will begin in September 2024, if the offer is accepted and conclude in Spring 2025, with implementation to take place within six months.
Changes to the operation of DDRB
As accepted in the consultants deal in April 2024, a number of reforms have been made to the operation of the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Review Body (DDRB) process to ensure the pay setting process operates effectively and independently. It is expected that SAS doctors will be included in the BMA’s materials.
BMA rate card
If this deal is accepted by the membership, the BMA will withdraw the rate card for SAS doctors in England with immediate effect. The BMA reserves the right to re-introduce the BMA rate card for SAS doctors in England if there is a future industrial dispute.
Where ICBs and other groups of employers collaborate on arrangements for securing extra-contractual SAS work, this should be done in consultation with those employers’ Joint Local Negotiating Committees.
Next steps
The BMA will put this offer to its members with voting to take place between 31 May to 14 June. Strike action will continue to be paused during this time.
