Doctor salary in the UK

Whilst money shouldn’t be your motivation for going into Medicine, it’s undeniable that Doctors do quite well for themselves after their training. They have likely dedicated most of their 20s and 30s to getting where they are and amassing the vast amount of knowledge they possess. Whatever payment received has not been achieved without large sacrifices. It is by no means “easy money”. So how much do Doctors get paid?

How much do Doctors get paid in training?

Foundation year Doctors earn a basic salary for 40 hours per week, plus pay for any hours over the standard 40. There is also a 37% enhancement to overtime pay for working a night shift, a weekend allowance for any work carried out on the weekend, an availability allowance for Doctors working on-call and multiple other pay premia depending on the NHS trust in which they train.

Foundation year doctors are the most junior hospital trainees.

• Foundation year 1 basic starting salary: £27,146
• Foundation year 2 basic starting salary: £31,422

Doctors in specialist training

This includes Doctors in GP training, core medical, core surgical and specialist medical and surgical training. How much Doctors get paid in a specialist training depends on how many years they have been in the speciality training already. It can last from 3 years for GPs up to 8 years for certain medical specialties.

• Specialist training salary starts at £37,191
• Specialist training salary progresses to £47,132 for the most advanced trainees

Specialty Doctors

Specialty Doctors are senior, career grade Doctors working in hospitals. Specialty Doctors must report to a Consultant but have many years of specialty experience and are employed on a similar contract to consultants.

• The basic salary starts at £39,060
• The basic salary progresses to £72,840

Consultants

Consultants are a senior hospital-based Doctor or Surgeon who has completed all their specialist training and has been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty. Consultants accept ultimate responsibility for the care of all patients referred to them.

• Consultant salaries range between £77,913 and £105,042
• Consultants may boost their salaries by applying for local and national clinical excellence awards applied for on a competitive basis
• Consultants can also earn additional money through private practice

How much do GPs get paid?

General Practitioners are community-based doctors who treat all common medical conditions and refer patients to hospitals and other medical services for urgent and specialist medical treatment.

There are two types of General practitioner contract:

• Independent contractors who run their own practice and have autonomy on how their services are run. The salaries for these GPs are typically more than their standard salaried counterpart
• Salaried GPs salaries range from £57,655 to £87,003