How Much Do Doctors Earn in the UK in 2025/26? A Complete Guide to NHS Doctor Salaries

If you've ever wondered how much doctors really earn in the UK, you're not alone. It's one of the most searched healthcare career questions—and one that often comes with misconceptions.

While headlines frequently focus on NHS pay disputes and doctors' strikes, the reality is that a doctor's salary varies considerably depending on their stage of training, specialty, location, and the number of nights, weekends, and on-call shifts they work.

In this guide, we'll break down NHS doctor salaries for 2025/26, explain how pay progresses throughout a medical career, discuss the recent pay awards, and look at the additional payments that can significantly increase take-home earnings.

Decline and changes over Years

UK Doctor Salary at a Glance (2025/26)

These figures represent basic NHS salary only and do not include additional earnings such as weekend enhancements, on-call payments, London weighting, or locum work.

What Is a Resident Doctor?

Since September 2024, the term "junior doctor" has officially been replaced by "resident doctor" across NHS England.

The change reflects the fact that many so-called junior doctors have years of clinical experience and significant responsibility. The name changed—but the training pathway, contracts and pay scales remained exactly the same.

Resident doctors are fully qualified doctors who have graduated from medical school and are completing postgraduate specialist training before becoming consultants or GPs.

How Much Do Foundation Doctors Earn?

Following medical school, every doctor completes the two-year Foundation Programme.

Foundation Year 1 (FY1)

• Basic salary: £38,831
• Equivalent to approximately £18.60 per hour for a standard 40-hour week before enhancements.

Foundation Year 2 (FY2)

• Basic salary: £44,439

Although these are the published salaries, most foundation doctors earn considerably more due to additional payments for:

• Night shifts
• Weekend work
• On-call duties
• London weighting (where applicable)

How Much Do Resident Doctors and Registrars Earn?

After completing foundation training, doctors enter specialty or core training.

Rather than receiving annual pay rises, salaries increase at specific training nodal points.

Doctors in the later stages of training are commonly referred to as registrars.

Again, these figures represent only basic salary. Most registrars earn substantially more once shift enhancements are included.

Consultant Salaries

Consultants are the most senior hospital doctors and have typically completed between 8 and 10 years of postgraduate specialty training.

In 2025/26, consultant basic salaries range from:

£105,504 to £139,882

Consultants can also increase their earnings through:

• Additional programmed activities
• On-call commitments
• Clinical Excellence Awards
• Private practice

Many consultants therefore earn significantly more than their published NHS basic salary.

How Much Do GPs Earn?

General Practitioners follow a different employment model.

Salaried GP

A full-time salaried GP typically earns:

£73,000–£110,000

GP Partner

GP partners are business owners rather than employees.

Because they share practice profits, earnings often exceed:

£110,000–£140,000+

Income varies depending on practice size, workload and profitability.

Additional Payments That Increase Doctors' Salaries

Basic salary is only one part of a doctor's earnings.

Many doctors receive additional payments for working unsocial hours, including:

• Weekend allowances
• Night shift enhancements
• Resident on-call supplements
• Flexible Pay Premia for shortage specialties
• London weighting
• Extra locum shifts

For many hospital doctors, these enhancements add several thousand pounds per year.

What About Locum Work?

Doctors can substantially increase their income by working locum shifts, either through NHS staff banks or agencies.

Rates vary depending on:

• Experience
• Specialty
• Geographic location
• Demand

Senior doctors working agency locums in hard-to-fill specialties may earn £80–£100 per hour or more.

How Much Student Debt Do Doctors Graduate With?

Medicine is one of the longest university degrees in the UK.

Most medical graduates leave university with student loan debt of approximately:

£70,000–£100,000

Despite relatively strong long-term earning potential, newly qualified doctors often spend many years repaying these loans.

Estimated Monthly Take-Home Pay

Approximate monthly take-home pay after tax and pension deductions:

Actual take-home pay varies depending on pension contributions, tax code, rota pattern and additional enhancements.

The 2026 Resident Doctor Pay Deal

Doctor pay continues to be a major political issue.

Following industrial action over several years, the Government proposed a new pay package in June 2026 worth an average uplift of approximately 6.6% by April 2027, alongside reforms to the current nodal pay structure and an increase in specialty training places.

As of June 2026, resident doctors are voting on whether to accept the offer.

Final Thoughts

Doctors in the UK enjoy strong long-term earning potential, but salary progression is gradual and comes after years of intensive education and postgraduate training.

While consultant and GP salaries can exceed six figures, newly qualified doctors begin on salaries of around £39,000, often carrying significant student debt and working nights, weekends and on-call shifts to supplement their income.

Understanding the full picture—including pay progression, enhancements and career pathways—provides a much clearer view of what doctors actually earn throughout their careers.