NHS GP pay scales in Northern Ireland – explained | IMG Connect Ltd - International Medical Recruitment Specialists (2023)

Understanding your NHS job salary is essential for overseas doctors who are new to the UK and Northern Ireland in particular.

Doctors are a fundamental part of delivering high quality patient care within HSC Northern Ireland and as such are rewarded with competitive rates of pay and benefits.

NHS pay scales can be confusing, especially for overseas doctors. Here we hope to provide some clarity to help you understand NHS grades and how they fit into the various NHS pay scales in Northern Ireland.

In this article we will take a look at the following topics:

• Standard NHS GP Salary in Northern Ireland
• Special education (ST1 – ST8)
• Special doctor
• Vicespecialist
• Advisors
• Where do I fit on the salary scale?
• Salary scale for medical education
• Salary scale for specialist doctors
• Salary scale of a special nature
• Consultant Pay Scale

Go to the relevant section if you know what you are looking for.

Trust the positions of the doctors and the salary of the IMGs

It is important to note that the majority of overseas doctors will start their career in the UK in a fixed-term Trust medical post (also known as a service post) before taking up a training post. Doctors of all ranks can enter a service position, which means that they neither train nor enter specialist training.

Therefore, most of our temporary or permanent job advertisements will be jobs, these are usually Doctor, SAS Consultant, SHO or Trust Doctor positions inequivalentof FY2, ST1/2, ST3+.These can be attractive due to the improved salaries that can be negotiated on fixed-term contracts based on experience and demand.

The salary scales we have included in this article should be used as a guide or starting point for negotiating the role of Trustee (or service position).

Standard NHS GP Salary in Northern Ireland

PE1 & 2. ET

In the most junior Foundation Year 1 (FY1) hospital trainee position, your basic salary is £26,713. In the second year this rises to £33,133.

As a medical trainee you earn a basic salary for 40 hours per week, plus overtime pay, 37% night pay, weekend pay for weekend work, on-call pay and other possible bonuses.

Special education (ST1 – ST8)

If you are a doctor starting your residency, your basic salary starts at £35,405 and can rise to £46,842.

As a medical trainee you earn a basic salary for 40 hours per week, plus overtime pay, 37% night pay, weekend pay for weekend work, on-call pay and other possible bonuses.

Special doctor

Specialist doctors currently earn between £51,000 and £80,000 basic salary.

The basic contract is for 40 hours. As a specialist doctor, you can get paid for additional tasks, overtime, weekend work and on-call.

Specialist grad

A central element in the latest SAS contract reform is the introduction of a new grade, called Specialist grade oo Associate Specialist, which will provide career paths for highly experienced specialists. Associate Specialist Doctors can earn a base of between £81,500 to £92,500.

Adviser

Consultants currently earn between £88,799 and £119,723 basic salary.

As a consultant, you may be paid for additional tasks and may be eligible for Clinical Excellence Awards, which reward outstanding performance. The basic contract is for 40hours a week.

If you take on additional responsibilities (eg management or training), you can also expect to receive additional allowances.

So where do I fit on the pay scale?

There are a few key points when considering where you fit on the pay scale:

• Jobtitel
• Experience
• Working hours
• Trust can be different

Jobtitel

The first thing to consider is the title of your paper.

At consultant level, it's simple, you become a consultant. But at the practitioner level, you can work as an SAS doctor, specialist doctor or doctor with a degree of trust. As an ST or SHO, you can also work at several levels.

Each may have a different pay scale depending on the level of work and experience required.

Take some time to review the job title you're applying for and interviewing for, and then the salary range you can expect.

Experience in your chosen field

Next, you need to consider the number of years of experience you have in your specialty, this is crucial to where you stand on the salary scale.

This is important as the NHS Trust will calculate your doctor's fee by deducting two of your years of experience to compensate for the foundation years of UK training. Please note that for some specialties this is not the case. Please contact an IMG consultant for more information.

Hours you will work

The other thing to consider is how many hours you want to work. For both doctors and SAS consultants, hours are usually determined using PAs (planned activities). Each PA is worth 4 hours of your week and a typical week is 40 hours. A typical salary is based on a full working week of 10 PA (40 hours). If you work over 10 PA, you will earn extra pay on top of your basic pay.

NHS trusts may be different

The last thing to consider before we look at pay scales is that some NHS trusts may interpret pay scales and a doctor's experience in different ways. but that is not always the case!

This blog is a guideline and if you are not sure how to approach this discussion with an HR department, it can be very helpful to have an IMG Connect consultant assist in the negotiations to ensure that your experience is always taken into account.

NHS pay scales in Northern Ireland

Doctors in training

Service level jobs are in high demand at all experience levels, each offering competitive pay rates. It's also important to remember that once you're in the UK, you'll have the option to apply for training depending on your entry level.

The salary scale below reflects the salary at each level depending on the starting points of the training, which are FY1/F1, ST1/CT1 and ST3/4.

The salary is based on a standard working week of 10 PAs (40 hours), if you work extra hours, shift or weekend work, your take-home pay will increase accordingly.

As above, use the following as a salary guide for service level positions. It is worth checking with your IMG consultant about the best salary options for you, it is very likely that you can earn more than the salary scales below depending on experience and demand.

SAS Medical salary scale

SAS stands for Staff Grade, Associate Specialist and Specialty Doctor. They must have at least four years of full-time further education, of which two are in the relevant specialisation. GPs and GPs in Scotland have their own contracts for GPs, these contracts are based on full-time work for 10 scheduled activities per week and have a timetable of four hours worth. The new pay structure will give SAS doctors access to the top of the pay scale faster than the current system, increasing average career earnings.

It is important to note that your salary will reflect your experience in your chosen field.

The salary code on the left side of the table below correlates with the number of years of experience you qualify for in your chosen specialty and the number of years HR will award you.

Remember to deduct any years you have worked in an internship. And if you work in a medical specialty, subtract any key years of education.

At the first threshold, for each year of experience you gain, this entitles you to a salary increase. At the second threshold you will receive an increase every two years and at the third every three years.

The salary is based on a standard working week of 10 PAs (40 hours), if you work extra hours, shift or weekend work, your take-home pay will increase accordingly.

As above, use the following as a salary guide for service level positions in England. It is worth checking with your IMG consultant about the best salary options for you, it is very likely that you can earn more than the salary scales below depending on experience and demand.

Scale for consultant fees

Service level consultancy jobs in Scotland are in high demand at all levels of experience, each offering competitive rates of pay.

At the consultant rank, HR departments will look at your many years of experience within your specialty as a consultant.

In the table below, you can see that all you have to do is count the total number of full years of experience (12 months each) as a consultant and then count back the rows to determine your salary position.

As above the salary is based on a typical 10 PA (40 hour) work week, if you work extra hours, shift or weekend work your take home pay will increase accordingly.

Remember, use the following as a salary guide for service level positions in England. It is worth checking with your IMG consultant about the best salary options for you, it is very likely that you can earn more than the salary scales below depending on experience and demand.

You can find the latest full salary circular for Northern Irelandher.

Additional salary, benefits, pensions and terms and conditions

Current national salary scales for medical and dental staff are published atwages and conditionscirculars on the NHS Employers website.

You may be entitled to additional pay on top of your basic pay if you work more than the standard 10 PA, work shifts and weekends or take on additional responsibilities. All doctors are entitled to NHS pensions and benefits.

Sources

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/health/doh-hsc-tc8-03-2022.PDF

Get started

NHS Trusts may interpret the above NHS consultant fee scales and the experience of an international doctor in different ways, so please use this blog as a guide to understand what you may be entitled to when you come to work in the NHS.

The IMG consultant will be happy to help you with any negotiations related to your work plan to ensure that your experience is taken into account.

For more information on NHS GP benefits and payment schemes in the UK, take a look at our pageIMG resourceslibrary.