The UK Government made a revised offer to resolve the dispute over jobs and pay. The UK RDC executive committee voted to call off the strike action that had been scheduled to take place 15 – 19 June and give members the opportunity to have their say on the offer.
The UK Resident Doctors Committee have decided to present this to you neutrally and factually. You can make your decision on how to vote.
The referendum will open at 3pm on Thursday 18 June and will close at noon on Friday 26 June 2026. It will be an online vote. It will be open to:
- All resident doctor members who have an NHS Employer in England recorded on their membership record
- Locum residents employed directly by an NHS employer in England
- Final year medical students (expected qualification date 2026) studying at a medical school in England
- All public health registrars in England
- All academic trainees in England
Summary of the offer
Pay
This offer, in combination with DDRB recommendation, offers an average of a 6.6% pay uplift, fully delivered by April 2027.
What this means:
All doctors will receive a 3.5% uplift from the 2026 DDRB award, backdated to April 2026. As part of this offer doctors will receive an additional average 3.1% uplift across the next 10 months, delivered as part of this deal. In addition to these uplifts, the Government has committed to implementing the DDRB recommendation due in April 2027.
All doctors would receive backdated pay to 1st April 2026 worth an average of 4.9% (DDRB + additional investment into nodal point reform for 2026/27) with the uplifted payscales applied going forward.
Depending on the nodal point, pay increases for doctors from April 2026 are between 3.5% and 7.1%, and from April 2027 between [the 2027 DDRB]% and 5.3% plus [the 2027 DDRB]%.
Overall, across the nodal points, this means an average 6.6% uplift delivered across the next 10 months, in addition to the 2027 DDRB recommendation.
Clinical Academics Flexible Pay Premia
From April 2027, the academic FPP will increase to £10,000 (currently set at £5,614).
Some additional detail:
A number of these jobs will be new national training numbers, a number will be created using repurposed funding from elsewhere (e.g. overspend in agency), and a number of these will be created by LED contracts coming to an end which, will be repurposed.
No LED contracts will be terminated to facilitate conversion.
A distribution group will decide the split of jobs geographically and in which specialties and the BMA will be part of that group (as part of this offer). The group will also consider the distribution of additional specialty training posts in 2027 and 2028 and give the BMA data to protect LEDs.
None of the 4,500 jobs will be in general practice.
There will be a minimum of 4,000 jobs and a maximum of 4,500.
See FAQs for more information on the new training places and core/ higher split.
Jobs – locally employed doctors
This offer includes 2016 terms and conditions adjusted to remove references to training, as part of a new national contract, being offered to all LEDs.
This offer includes substantive (permanent) contracts for LEDs to ensure job security.
Some additional detail:
New pay protection will be devised for residents who wish to transfer from 2002 terms to 2016 terms.
From August 2026, employers shall transition LEDs to substantive contracts (i.e. not short, fixed-term contracts), except where there is a legitimate reason (e.g. employing cover for maternity, paternity, or adoption leave, or long-term sickness).
Transition agreements will be managed nationally. LEDs do not need to negotiate changes locally to their contract should they wish to transition. Residents can decide to stay on the 2002 contract if they wish.
Exam fees
The first two attempts of each Royal College exam for resident doctors in training and LEDs in England will be funded. These include relevant dental exams for dentists and OMFS trainees.
Some additional detail
These will be paid by reimbursement for exams sat from 1 April 2026 for all doctors.
Portfolio fees
Portfolio fees will be covered for doctors in training and for LEDs from April 2027.
Some additional detail:
These will be paid by reimbursement for exams sat from 1st April 2027 for all doctors.
Royal College (membership) and faculty fees
Royal College (membership) fees will be covered for doctors in training and for LEDs from April 2027.
Where residents require multiple Royal College memberships they will both be covered.
Some additional detail:
Where residents require multiple Royal College memberships they will both be covered.
These will be paid by reimbursement for exams sat from 1st April 2027 for all doctors.
LTFT progression
Less than full-time doctors will have ARCPs set at 12 months by default, with the ability to progress at the same rate as full-time doctors if they meet their competencies. Doctors have the decision to delay this if they do not feel ready to progress.
Some additional specific detail:
The gold guide already states that competency-based training should be the norm, but many deaneries automatically extend training of LTFT. This will be stopped.
If a LTFT progresses through the nodal points by achieving all of their curriculum competencies, they should CCT at the same time as a full-time doctor.
Future working arrangements
An Industrial Relations Committee (the RDIRC) will be set up to enforce all elements of the offer. The membership will comprise of DHSC, NHS England, NHS Employers and BMA UKRDC.
Some additional specific detail:
This will ensure we can hold the Government and employers to account on all aspects of terms and conditions (for example recruitment issues or contractual negotiations)
Protecting and renaming the GP flexible pay premia
The GP FPP will be renamed to the General Practice Registrar Enhancement, and it will be separated from the hard to fill section of the pay circular, thereby decoupling it from GP-training fill-rates. It will keep all contractual pay protection and continue to be uplifted in line with DDRB recommendations.
Some additional specific detail:
This was an ask of the BMA GP Registrars Committee.
The next steps
The BMA received this offer on Friday evening. The UK Resident Doctors Committee Executive Committee voted and decided to call off industrial action and put this offer to you, our members.
The UK Resident Doctors Committee has voted to present this offer neutrally.
This referendum allows all members to democratically have your say on whether sufficient progress has been made on pay and jobs.
If this offer is accepted
This offer would end the current formal pay and jobs disputes in England. It would not end the campaign for full pay restoration. Full pay restoration remains BMA policy, and resident doctors would retain the ability to enter into a future dispute, and ballot for industrial action. The BMA could enter dispute (and ballot) or on any issue affecting the profession at any time.
If the offer is rejected we will need to escalate industrial action
This would mean escalated action across July, followed by commencing the reballot process which would lead to further industrial action, if successful.
Ultimately, you, our members, will now decide.