Resident doctors — the grade formerly called junior doctors — are paid on a national basic pay scale of nodal points in England. The figures below are the new scale agreed in June 2026 (the accepted government offer: the 3.5% DDRB award plus nodal point reform, backdated to 1 April 2026), showing what each stage actually pays after income tax, National Insurance and the tier-accurate NHS Pension. Rota enhancements for nights, weekends and on-call are on top of these figures.
Take-home pay at every training grade
| Grade | Basic pay | Pension tier | Take-home / year | / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY1 — Foundation Year 1 | £41,226 | 9.8% | £29,970 | £2,498 |
| FY2 — Foundation Year 2 | £47,610 | 9.8% | £34,066 | £2,839 |
| CT1/ST1 – CT2/ST2 — Core / specialty training years 1–2 (nodal 3) | £55,355 | 10.7% | £38,942 | £3,245 |
| CT3/ST3 — Registrar (nodal 4a) | £67,325 | 10.7% | £45,284 | £3,774 |
| ST4–ST5 — Registrar (nodal 4b) | £67,998 | 12.5% | £44,896 | £3,741 |
| ST6 — Senior registrar (nodal 5a) | £76,582 | 12.5% | £49,231 | £4,103 |
| ST7–ST8 — Senior registrar (nodal 5b) | £77,348 | 12.5% | £49,618 | £4,135 |
NHS Pension contributions are tiered by pensionable pay, and the tier applies to your whole basic salary. That produces this table’s strangest row: moving from CT3/ST3 (£67,325) to the new ST4 step (£67,998) is a £673 basic pay rise that cuts take-home by about £387 a year, because £67,998 sits £330 above the 12.5% pension tier threshold (£67,669) while £67,325 stays in the 10.7% tier. The extra pension is not lost money — it buys more CARE pension — but the payslip really does shrink. Tier thresholds move each April, so this quirk may shift at the next uprating.
One thing most “salary after tax” calculators get wrong here: the NHS Pension Scheme is a net pay arrangement, so the contribution comes off your pay before income tax is worked out. Relief is automatic at your top rate and there is nothing to claim back — but it also means your taxable pay is lower than your headline salary, so the take-home figures above are higher than a calculator that taxes the full salary and then subtracts the pension would tell you.
Basic pay is the floor, not the ceiling: almost every resident doctor rota adds substantial extra pay on top — a percentage enhancement for nights (37%), weekend frequency allowances, and on-call availability supplements. Depending on the rota these commonly add 20–50% to basic pay, and they are deliberately not included in the figures here. Enhancements are also not pensionable, so they do not change the pension tier either.
Is a resident doctor the same as a junior doctor?
Yes. “Resident doctor” officially replaced “junior doctor” in September 2024 — it covers every doctor in training from FY1 to ST8, some of whom have a decade of experience. Same doctors, same pay scale, new name.
What was the June 2026 pay deal?
After the March 2026 offer was rejected and further strike action, the government made an improved offer in June 2026 which BMA members accepted: the full 3.5% DDRB recommendation plus reform of the nodal point structure, giving cumulative rises of roughly 4.5–7.1% depending on grade, backdated to 1 April 2026. FY1 rose 6.2% to £41,226 and FY2 7.1% to £47,610; a further award follows in April 2027.
Figures based on the resident doctor basic pay scale agreed in the June 2026 government offer (DDRB 3.5% plus nodal point reform, accepted by BMA members and backdated to 1 April 2026) and the NHS Pension member contribution tiers effective 1 April 2026, at 2026/27 tax rates. A further pay award is due in April 2027 when the DDRB next reports. Actual take-home depends on your exact tax code, student loan plan (most doctors carry Plan 2 and often a postgraduate loan — not included here), and pension membership. Sources: Government offer to resident doctors, June 2026 · BMA guide to the June 2026 offer · NHS Employers — pension contribution tiers
Your actual take-home may differ because of your tax code, student loan (Plan 2 and postgraduate loans bite hard at these salaries), rota enhancements or pension opt-out. Put your real numbers into our free salary calculator — it handles all five student loan plans — nothing is recorded.
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