How much money do junior doctors earn in the U.K.? : Understanding Pay-slips

 Most of the figures which you read online are about the salaries of junior doctors before taxes and other deductions. The real salaries are absolutely different to those amounts. Let’s try to understand further!

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Payslip of a Junior Doctor 

I started as a foundation doctor year 2 (FY2) in trauma and orthopedics/ general surgery as my first job in the U.K.

Annual salary before taxes: £29,944

Basic hours contracted for : 40 hours / week 

The payslip consists of two sections: 

A. Pay & Allowances 

1. Basic pay : £2495.42/month (£14.4 / hour)
2. 50% Banding for on-calls ( one on-call day every week + one set of night shift every 6 weeks + 1 set of weekend on call every 6 weeks ) : £1247.71

B. Deductions

1. National Insurance pay : £362.89

( The National Insurance rate you pay depends on how much you earn:

• 12% of your weekly earnings between £183 and £962 
• 2% of your weekly earnings above £962 )

2. NHS Pension : £232.07

(This is 9.3% of your salary. You can opt out of the pension program if want to.)

3. Income tax : £493.60

( You do not pay any taxes up to £12,500. Above £12,501 to £50,000, you pay 20% tax on your income )

4. Payments for the junior doctors’ mess : £10

This is a voluntary pay that goes into a common pool for junior doctor’s mess’ maintenance ( buying food items etc.)

5. Payment for hospital accommodation : £279.62

(This expense can be higher or lower depending on the type of accommodation you are living in )

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Everything added up, this leads to a net pay of :

£2,364.95 / month

Expected salary before taxes and other deductions ( this is the one which you expect after reading figures online) : 

£3,743.13 / month

Deficit from expectation : 

£1,378.18 / month