Average Doctor Salary in the UK 2026/27: How Much Do Doctors Earn?

In 2026/27, a UK doctor's basic NHS salary in England ranges from £41,226 for a first-year foundation doctor (FY1) to £150,569 at the top of the consultant scale. What an individual doctor takes home depends on their stage of training, how many nights, weekends and on-call shifts they work, and their job role. Below we break down doctor pay at every stage for 2026/27, per year, per month and per hour.

Doctor pay has been one of the most contested issues in the NHS since 2022. Resident doctors (the official name for junior doctors since September 2024) took repeated strike action over pay restoration. In June 2026 they voted to accept a government deal which, with the 3.5% pay review body award, gives an average 4.9% rise in 2026/27 and, by the BMA's figures, 6.6% by April 2027. So how much do doctors earn now?

Doctor pay is often misunderstood, so this article sets out how much resident doctors, consultants and GPs earn in the UK and how pay changes through a career.

We also explain the 2026/27 pay award and the June 2026 deal, what the rename from junior to resident doctor means, take-home pay after tax, and the debt involved in becoming a doctor.

👉🏻 Read more: Resident Doctor & Junior Doctors' Strikes in the UK

How Much Do Doctors Make - Summary:

Doctors in the UK make different amounts of money per year based on their level of training following graduation from medical school.

These are 2026/27 basic salaries for doctors in England, taken from the NHS Employers pay and conditions circular (M&D) 1/2026 R2 of 24 July 2026 and the BMA pay scales. Monthly figures are basic pay divided by 12, and hourly figures assume a standard 40-hour week. All are before tax and before extra pay for nights, weekends, on-call work and London weighting. The GP partner figure is NHS England's average for contractor GPs in England in 2024/25 and includes part-time GPs.

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What Is A Junior Doctor?

A junior doctor (officially renamed a resident doctor in September 2024) is a fully qualified medical professional who has completed 4 to 6 years of medical school, sometimes after a prior undergraduate degree. The term changed but the role and pay scales did not: a resident doctor is any doctor in postgraduate training who has not yet reached consultant or GP level.

It is often misinterpreted that “junior doctor” refers to medical students in their university training, however, this is not correct. Junior doctors have graduated from medical school, and are in their postgraduate training, whilst working full time as a doctor.

The term 'junior doctor' describes any doctor who is on the path to becoming a consultant or a GP but hasn't reached that level yet.

There are several categories of junior doctor based on their experience and seniority:

• Foundation Year 1/2 Doctors (FY1/FY2): These are doctors in their initial two years after graduating from medical school, rotating through different specialities every four months each year.
• GP Specialist Trainees (GPSTs): After completing their foundation years, GPSTs undergo a three-year specialized training program, rotating through specialities pertinent to general practice before becoming fully qualified GPs.
• Core Medical/Surgical Trainees: These individuals are in the early stage of specialized training, focusing initially on a broad medical or surgical foundation before narrowing down to a specific field.
• Specialist Trainees: Doctors in this group are either in the latter stages of specialised training or engaged in a continuous training program that spans from the post-FY2 stage to becoming a consultant.
• Other Paths: There are also more complex routes, including positions like FY3/4/5, and clinical fellows, among others, indicating the diverse career paths within medicine.

How Much Do Foundation Doctors (FY1 and FY2) Earn in England in 2026/27?

Foundation doctors in England earn a basic salary of £41,226 (FY1) to £47,610 (FY2) in 2026/27.

After 4, 5 or 6 years at medical school, a first-year doctor (FY1) receives a basic salary of £41,226 in 2026/27. That is about £3,436 a month before tax, or £19.77 an hour for a standard 40-hour week before any extra pay. The figure includes the 3.5% pay award for 2026/27 and the extra pay point investment agreed in the June 2026 deal, which together lifted FY1 basic pay by 6.2% from £38,831 in 2025/26.

When the doctor completes their FY1 year, they will become an FY2 doctor.

An FY2 doctor has a higher basic salary of £47,610 in 2026/27, about £3,968 a month or £22.83 an hour.

Resident doctors in England took repeated strike action from 2023 over pay and working conditions. The dispute ended when they accepted a government deal in June 2026, which we explain further down.

👉🏻 Read more: Junior Doctor Contract and Controversies

How Much Do Resident Doctors and Registrars Earn in England?

Resident doctor pay in England is set by the 2016 contract using a system of nodal points. Instead of rising every year, your basic salary rises when you move up a stage of training, for example from FY2 into core or specialty training. Under the June 2026 deal the five nodal points were restructured into ten from 1 April 2026. The 2026/27 basic salaries are: FY1 £41,226; FY2 £47,610; CT1-2 and ST1-2 £55,355; CT3 and ST3 £67,325; CT4 and ST4-5 £67,998; ST6 £76,582; and ST7-8 £77,348.

These are basic salaries only. Most resident doctors earn well above these figures once banding and additional payments are added for nights, weekends and on-call work, which we explain further down.

A resident doctor in core or specialty training in England earns a basic salary of £55,355 to £77,348 in 2026/27.

Following their foundation years, a resident doctor enters core or specialty training. Doctors in the senior years of specialty training are commonly called registrars.

As a registrar, a doctor’s salary no longer increases yearly, but rather at different “nodal points” of training.

What Are The Different Types Of Registrar Doctors And How Much Do They Earn?

How Much Do Junior Doctors Earn In England: Summary

The BMA's resident doctor pay scales for England list the same 2026/27 figures, along with the older 2002 contract scales that a small number of doctors are still paid on.

Do Doctors Earn the Same in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

No. Each UK nation sets its own doctors' pay, and the figures in this guide are for England. In Wales, resident doctors began moving to new terms from 1 August 2026, with basic pay of £41,400 for F1, £51,750 for F2 and £56,925 to £80,730 for registrars (BMA pay scales for Wales). Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own scales, so check the figures for the nation where you plan to train.

How Much Do NHS Consultants Earn in 2026/27?

How Much Do SAS and Specialist Doctors Earn?

Not every senior doctor becomes a consultant. Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors are experienced doctors working at a senior level outside the traditional consultant pathway. In 2026/27 a specialty doctor in England earns a basic salary of £63,696 to £102,689, while a specialist grade doctor earns £104,401 to £115,341. Like consultants, SAS doctors can increase their take-home pay through additional and on-call work.

The basic salary of a consultant in 2026/27 ranges from £113,565 to £150,569, depending on years of service. That is about £9,464 to £12,547 a month before tax.

A consultant in the NHS is a highly specialised doctor, with an average of 8 - 10 years of postgraduate training.

Consultants received a 3.5% pay award for 2026/27, recommended by the DDRB and accepted by the government in March 2026.

Consultants in England have since voted for strike action over pay and working conditions, and our guide to the consultant strikes and the ethics of doctors striking explains what they are asking for and why.

Consultant pay rises with years in the grade and with extra programmed activities, evening and weekend work. Consultants can also apply for National Clinical Impact Awards, which the government agreed in 2026 to uplift (backdated to April 2025). The older Local Clinical Excellence Awards are closed to new applicants and their values are frozen.

Consultants may also enhance their take-home pay through private practice outside the NHS.

Consultants reached a pay agreement with the Government in 2024, ending their formal dispute, though the BMA continues to argue for further pay restoration.

How Much Do GPs Earn in the UK in 2026/27?

Salaried GP vs GP Partner: What Is the Difference in Pay?

The biggest factor in a GP's income is whether they are salaried or a partner. A salaried GP is employed by the practice on a fixed salary (£78,699 to £118,759 full-time in 2026/27) with predictable hours and no business risk. A GP partner is a part-owner of the practice who shares in the profits, which averaged £164,200 before tax for contractor GPs in England in 2024/25, and who takes on financial and management responsibility. Partner income has been squeezed in recent years, partly because of the wider NHS GP shortage and funding pressures, a major topic at medical school interviews.

The pay range for a salaried GP in England is £78,699 to £118,759 in 2026/27, whilst a GP partner will usually earn more.

A GP is a consultant-level doctor in the UK, with a minimum of 5 years post-graduate training.

The salary of a GP depends on how they are employed. Many GPs work as salaried GPs, employed by a practice, within a pay range of £78,699 to £118,759 for full-time work in 2026/27.

Salaried GP pay is pro rata to the number of sessions worked each week. A session is a morning or afternoon of clinics and paperwork, and most salaried GPs work part-time, so their actual pay sits below the full-time range.

A GP who takes on the practice as a business owner, known as a GP partner, can earn more. NHS England's GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates put the average income before tax in England in 2024/25 at £164,200 for contractor GPs, £74,800 for salaried GPs and £121,700 across both groups. These averages include part-time GPs, so a full-time partner will often earn more.

👉🏻 Read more: The Medical Training Pathway For Doctors In The UK

What Pay Enhancements Do Doctors Get?

What Is the 2026 Resident Doctor Pay Deal?

Resident doctors campaigned for pay restoration from 2022, arguing that their pay had fallen sharply in real terms over the previous 15 years, and took repeated strike action from 2023. In June 2026 the government made a revised offer and the BMA called off strikes planned for 15 to 19 June so that members could vote on it. Resident doctors accepted the deal, which the government records as accepted on 29 June 2026. Together with the 3.5% DDRB award it gives an average 4.9% rise in 2026/27, backdated to April 2026, and the BMA values it at an average 6.6% by April 2027, before the 2027/28 award. FY1 basic pay rose 6.2% to £41,226 and FY2 7.1% to £47,610, the five nodal points became ten, and the first two attempts at each Royal College exam are now funded. The government released the first 350 or so extra training posts in August 2026, starting from February 2027. You can read more about the wider dispute in our guide to the resident doctor and junior doctor strikes.

What Does the Resident Doctor Rename Mean?

In September 2024, the term "junior doctor" was officially replaced with "resident doctor" across the NHS in England. The change was made because "junior" was misleading: many so-called junior doctors have a decade or more of experience and significant responsibility. The rename did not change pay scales or contracts, only the job title. If you want to understand why retention is such a concern, see our guide on why so many resident doctors are leaving the UK.

There are a number of pay enhancements that doctors receive which increase their take home pay.

The above figures indicate the basic salary of a UK doctor. However, the take-home pay by doctors will vary based on pay enhancements which will be individual to each doctor’s rota.

Weekend Allowance

Doctors receive a weekend allowance based on their point in training and the frequency of weekends worked.

This is paid as a percentage of full-time basic salary and ranges from 3% to 15%. For an FY1 in 2026/27 that is worth £1,237 to £6,184 a year.

Doctors working fewer than 1 in 8 weekends will not receive any allowance.

Oncall Allowance

Doctors who are rostered to work in an on-call capacity will receive an allowance for this. This allowance again is determined by the level of seniority of the doctor.

Flexible Pay Premia - For Hard-To-Fill Training Programmes

Doctors training in programmes which are typically hard to fill will receive a salary uplift.

In 2026/27 these premia include £4,679 a year for psychiatry core training and £5,614 for histopathology from ST1. GP trainees receive a separate General Practice Registrar Enhancement of £11,508 a year during their general practice placements, renamed as part of the June 2026 deal.

There are criteria that the doctor will have to meet to be eligible for this.

London Weighting

Doctors working in London receive London weighting of £2,162 a year on top of basic pay, or £149 a year in the fringe zone, as set out in the 2026/27 NHS pay circular.

How Much Do Locum Doctors Earn?

Locum rates vary widely by grade and region, but internal (NHS bank) locum work is paid at set hourly rates while agency locum shifts can pay considerably more per hour.

Doctors may be able to enhance their salary through “locuming”, where they fill in empty rota gaps at an enhanced rate outside of their currently rostered working hours.

The pay for a locum doctor varies with experience level. The BMA publishes recommended minimum locum rates, and external agency rates for senior doctors can reach well over £80 to £100 per hour for hard-to-fill shifts.

How Much Does It Cost to Become a Doctor in the UK?

When you weigh up a doctor's salary, it helps to set it against the cost of getting there. Five or six years of tuition fees, living costs and lost earnings mean most graduates start their careers with substantial debt. For a full breakdown of fees, living costs, funding and the realistic total, read our dedicated guide on how much it costs to become a doctor in the UK, and our overview of the medical training pathway for doctors in the UK to see how pay rises at each stage.

It is estimated that the average medical student graduates with around £70,000 to £100,000 of student loan debt, reflecting the length of the degree and higher living costs.

This is significantly larger than for most other degrees because of the length of the medical course, with tuition fees of up to £9,790 a year for home students in 2026/27, up from £9,535.

Most recent graduates are on Plan 2 or Plan 5 student loans, repaid at 9% of income above the threshold: £29,385 a year for Plan 2 and £25,000 for Plan 5 in 2026/27. For an FY1 on basic pay that is about £89 a month on Plan 2 or £122 a month on Plan 5.

👉🏻 Read more: How Much Does It Cost To Become A Doctor In The UK?

What Is A Doctor’s Take-Home Pay?

There are several factors which will determine a doctor’s take-home pay, ranging from the number of hours worked, the unsociability of the doctor’s rota, as well as hidden costs such as hospital parking permits.

The table below estimates monthly take-home pay on basic salary alone in 2026/27, for a doctor in England with a standard tax code who pays into the NHS Pension Scheme and is not repaying a student loan. Pay for nights, weekends and on-call work would add to these figures.

These estimates use 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance rates for England and NHS Pension Scheme contributions of 9.8% to 12.5% of pay. A Plan 2 student loan would take about £89 a month from an FY1's pay, and a Plan 5 loan about £122.

What Doctor Pay Means If You Are Thinking About Medicine

Pay rises in steps through training. An FY1 on £41,226 usually reaches £55,355 two years later in core or specialty training, and after specialty training earns £113,565 or more as a consultant, or £78,699 to £118,759 as a full-time salaried GP. Against that sit five or six years of tuition fees, long hours in the early years and postgraduate exams.

If you are weighing medicine up against other careers, our step-by-step guide to deciding on medicine covers what the job involves, and the NHS and doctors' training guide explains how training is structured. If you decide to apply, our medicine application packages cover UCAT, personal statement and interview tutoring.

Do Medical Students In The UK Get Paid?

Medical students in the UK do not get paid for completing their training and attending hospital training. To learn more about the cost of becoming a doctor in the UK and university tuition fees, check out our guide.

👉🏻 Read more: Why Are So Many Resident Doctors Leaving the UK?

Why Doctor Pay Is In The News (Pay Restoration And Strikes)

Doctor pay has been headline news since 2022. Resident doctors (renamed from "junior doctors" in September 2024) argue that their real-terms pay fell sharply over the previous 15 years, and their pay restoration campaign asked for that lost value to be rebuilt. The dispute led to repeated strikes from 2023 onwards.

In June 2026 the government made a revised offer and resident doctors voted to accept it. The new ten-point pay scale reached pay packets from September 2026, backdated to April, and further pay point reform follows in April 2027 alongside the 2027/28 pay award. The BMA website carries the latest implementation updates.

Doctor pay comes up often at medical school interviews as an NHS hot topic, so it helps to understand both sides. Doctors point to real-terms pay erosion, workload and retention, while the government points to affordability and the wider public-sector pay bill. Knowing the figures and the debate behind them lets you discuss the topic with confidence, and our medicine interview tutors run mock interviews on hot topics like this one.

Related guides

• How Much Does It Cost to Become a Doctor in the UK? - the full price of medical school, from tuition fees to living costs and debt.
• The Medical Training Pathway for Doctors in the UK - how doctors progress from foundation to GP or consultant, and how pay changes at each step.
• Resident Doctor and Junior Doctors' Strikes in the UK - the pay-restoration dispute behind the headlines, explained for interviews.
• Why Are So Many Resident Doctors Leaving the UK? - how pay and conditions are driving doctors abroad, and what it means for the NHS.