Pay deal offer up for consultation

SAS doctors in Scotland will decide whether to accept a pay deal offer in a consultative ballot to be held in the New Year.

Members will vote to endorse or reject a formal offer from the Scottish Government which would see a 6 per cent uplift to pay for specialty and associate specialist doctors, as well a pay point increases for specialist doctors.

The offer, which comes following months of negotiation between BMA Scotland and Holyrood, would also see a commitment to introducing a process to allow specialty doctors to become specialist grades.

In announcing the plans to move to a ballot, BMA Scotland’s SASC chair Sine Steele (pictured above) outlined in a blog to SAS doctors that the terms of the offer relating to pay fell far short of what many SAS doctors believed to be appropriate or fair.

While declining to either endorse or reject the offer, Dr Steele said she was eager to see doctors express their views at the ballot box.

She said: ‘Despite our best efforts, this is not an offer we can recommend our members support.

‘As your committee our concern is that we have been offered a pay award that is some way short of that which has been provided to colleagues – with both residents and consultants getting double-digit uplifts. To be clear, they are fully deserving of their reward, but so are we.

‘The impact of this offer is that it may reduce the attractiveness of SAS [grades] as a career, in particular given the new resident doctor pay scale.’

She added: ‘Although the current offer is not as positive as we would have liked, we do feel that it is time that we, and government, hear directly from you to decide next steps.

‘The power is in your hands, and we will continue working to achieve the best deal for you, whatever the result of the consultative vote.’

Under the terms of the offer, a 6 per cent uplift in pay would be applied to all doctors employed under the 2022 and 2008 specialty doctor contracts and associate specialists on the 2008 contract.

By contrast, resident doctors in Scotland managed to secure an 11 per cent uplift in pay in a deal agreed last month following a ballot of members.

Meanwhile, specialist grade doctors would have their rate of pay brought into line with their colleagues in England, with a 10.07 per cent increase to the first point and a 7.14 per cent increase to the second and third points of their pay scale.

If the offer is accepted, uplifts in pay will be backdated to 1 April 2024.

Non-pay elements of the offer would see NHS Employers work with BMA Scotland to create a mechanism by 1 August 2025 which would enable specialty doctors to enter the specialist grade.

SAS doctors in Scotland would also be included as part of the task and finish group under the Joint Negotiation Committee between Scottish Government, BMA Scotland and NHS Employers to look at agreeing a national rate for internal short-term cover to improve continuity of care and help alleviate agency and locum spend in NHS Scotland.

SAS doctors in Scotland would also be included in the Joint Negotiation Committee’s task and finish group for agreeing a national rate for internal short-term cover roles in the health service.

There would also be an agreement to continue to engage with the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration on pay reviews, with the proviso that BMA Scotland would reserve the right to withdraw from the review body process and negotiate directly with the Government on pay.

Voting is set to open on 13 January with the poll closing at midday on 27 January.

To participate in the ballot, doctors must be registered as BMA members no later than 22 January.

Find out more about the offer