After weeks of negotiations between the BMA and Scottish Government, these negotiations have now concluded, and the Scottish Government has now made a pay and contract reform offer to resident doctors and dentists in Scotland, covering the financial years 2025/26 and 2026/27, and in line with the parameters set by the 2023 pay and contract agreement.
The offer, which SRDC is recommending members vote “Yes” to accept, comes in the form of investment into pay and reform of the resident doctors’ contract over this year and next, and would if accepted, make considerable further progress on the continued journey to restore resident doctor pay.
Have your say – VOTE NOW
Have your say on the pay offer – online Consultative vote on the offer will run from Monday 26 January until 12 noon Tuesday 10 February 2026. Look out for your email with link to vote.
Can't find your voting link? Complete the replacement request form - form opens 9am, 27 January and closes 5pm, 2 February.
If you're not eligible to vote please complete the opt out form - form opens 9am, 26 January and closes 9am, Monday 9 February.
- Read the latest from SRDC chair, Chris Smith
- Read detailed FAQs on the pay offer and consultative vote
2025-27 Scottish resident doctors pay offer
From June this year we have been negotiating with the Scottish Government on pay for resident doctors in Scotland. BMA SRDC entered formal dispute with the Scottish Government in protection of the 2023 pay and contract agreement, as we believed the Scottish Government’s original pay offer, after many months of negotiations, did not meet the terms of our 2023 agreement, and would not make the credible progress required to pay restoration.
Following the industrial action ballot of Scottish resident doctors and resultant strike mandate it delivered, we continued negotiations with the Scottish Government, and to hold Scottish Government accountable to the 2023 pay and contract agreement.
These negotiations concluded with the Scottish Government providing a pay and contract reform offer to resident doctors and dentists in Scotland, and your committee voted that this offer should be put to you, BMA Scottish resident doctors, in a consultative vote.
SRDC believes this final offer meets the terms of the 2023 agreement, that it represents substantial progress, with a significant increase in investment, advanced by 2.5x from the original investment by Scottish Government pre-ballot and is the best path forward to achieving full pay restoration for Scottish resident doctors.
Your pay offer in brief
The 2025 – 2027 pay offer to Scottish resident doctors and dentists, which your committee have negotiated, represents substantial progress, is a significant increase in investment to resident doctor pay, and now meets the terms of our 2023 agreement.
The offer has the following key features:
- Total average pay uplifts of 9.9% and 9.4% - for 2025/26 and 2026/6, respectively, through pay uplifts and contract reform.
- The total average increase in pay by the end of each financial year of the offer, which is not a single headline uplift, constitutes a combination of:
- the 4.25% uplift in April 2025, and an additional pay point progression from 1 December 2025, with backpay to December 2025.
- a 3.75% uplift in April 2026, and a further additional pay point progression from 1 December 2026, unless improved pay scales are agreed, which we expect to be, as part of further contract reform discussions.
- Moving up these increment points to be in addition to the 4.25% from April 2025, and 3.75% from April 2026, and will compound these increases.
- The 9.9% and 9.4% figures, above, are workforce averages: individual outcomes will vary individually for resident doctors depending on grade, starting point on the scale, and timing of pay progressions. Please refer to the table to find out specific increases for each pay point. This means that different grades will receive different percentage uplifts in each year covered by the terms of this offer, as the existing pay scale does not have linear progression as you move up pay points.
- Total change in pay will be achieved through incremental movement up the existing resident doctor pay scale points – this will be in addition and sooner to current annual pay progression. As above, resident doctors of different grades and at different points, will experience the pay offer slightly differently – in terms of average percentage uplifts in each year of the offer.
- Pay point increases are being described in this offer as investment into contract reform but are being applied in the form of increased pay, which therefore results in higher total increase in your take-home pay.
- This offer does not change the number of pay points on, or add new pay points to, the pay scale. Permanent change to the pay scale will be subject to full contractual negotiations, which have been ongoing since 2023. The aim is that pay points will be changed in future as part of ongoing contract reform.
- For resident doctors on the top of their respective pay scale, where there are no further pay points to incrementally move to, protections are in place ensuring these doctors will be treated equitably under this offer. These doctors will receive the equivalent value of a consolidated payment to enable further progression and ensure that all doctors are treated equitably. Protection is in place for doctors already at the top of the pay scale. Where accelerated progression would otherwise have no effect, doctors at the top point will receive a consolidated, proportional increase, ensuring they receive the same percentage uplift as those immediately below them on the pay scale.
- For new FY1s joining the profession in August 2026 this group of doctors will benefit from this offer, as BMA have negotiated that these doctors will start one pay point higher than previously (FY1-1, up from FY1-0).
- On acceptance of this offer, it commits to continued progression of contract negotiations ongoing since 2023, and in parallel to establishing a new pay review mechanism, to be agreed by August 2026, with implementation by December 2026. Delivering improvements to resident doctor pay scale and terms and conditions, with furtherance to addressing pay erosion to prevent it recurring in the future. This offer does not replace contract reform; instead, this offer delivers immediate pay improvement while reform negotiations continue in parallel. If resident doctors accept a new contract in 2026/27, this will we expect to include a revised pay scale, which would supersede the second pay point increase in December 2026. You will be fully informed and can vote on whether to accept a new contract, when the time comes.
Investment in resident doctors
The Scottish Government has provided a total of £149m of new, guaranteed investment into resident doctor pay.
This represents a significant increase in total funding, advanced from initial proposed £65m at the start of negotiations (representing previously imposed uplifts of 4.25% and 3.75% for 2025/26 and 2026/27 respectively), and significantly advanced from the combined total investment of £125.4 in 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.
Resident doctors have won a significant increase in investment as a result of their strong support for industrial action. We entered this dispute as we believed the Scottish Government’s original pay offer, after many months of negotiations, did not meet the terms of our 2023 agreement, particularly around making credible progress to pay restoration in each financial year until 2027. By showing such strong support for industrial action, resident doctors have won a pot of investment that is 2.5x larger than the original investment. We are recommending this offer because we believe this meets the terms of the 2023 agreement, represents substantial progress, and is the best path forward to achieving full pay restoration.
What about full pay restoration?
This offer on full implementation, if accepted by Scottish resident doctors, will deliver further significant reversing of the pay erosion which has occurred since 2008 - from -28.2% in 2022/23, to -6.1% below, adjusted for RPI inflation. Our campaign for Full Pay Restoration does not end here - there will remain progress to be made in future years. This offer does maintain the trajectory we established since 2023 in reversing pay erosion, continuing that journey at a sufficient and credible pace – this was a crucial element of the 2023 agreement.
This offer maintains the mutual commitment to addressing pay restoration, that we have fought hard to protect and keep the Scottish Government accountable to, and to ensuring no further pay erosion.
Real terms pay (RPI) for Scottish Resident doctors since 2008/09
The above shows that the above inflation pay uplifts of 2023/24 and 2024/25, negotiated by the BMA SRDC, representing an average 50.0% pay increase for Scottish resident doctors, reversing nearly 80% of the pay erosion resident doctors have endured since 2008/09.
This offer would make further significant progress on our journey to pay restoration, and return real terms pay back to 2010 levels. Resident doctor pay erosion would remain at -6.1% when compared to 2008/09 levels, taking account of Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation.
Note: the pay erosion figures for 2025/26 and 2026/27 are based on predicted RPI inflation, which the BMA assesses after the fact at the end of the financial/pay year. This graph relates to FY doctor pay, pay erosion for STs is marginally worse because of a differential pay uplift in 2010/11. Pay erosion for STs under the offer in 2026/27 would be -6.6%.
Supporting documentation
Following documentation to further inform you of the offer in detail, and what this offer will mean for you.
Pay offer from Scottish Government
Pay uplift table
Table showing the average total percentage uplift and across each year of the offer, across the pay points.
Pay journeys
Standard and non-standard resident doctor pay journeys under the offer - the investment of contract reform and impact of pay uplift for resident doctors, for 2025/6 and 2026/7.
Detailed frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Find answers to your questions on the Scottish resident doctor pay offer.
What you can do
Non BMA members
You must be a BMA member to vote in the consultative vote – you must be a member by 2 February.
Have your say on the pay offer - join now
BMA members
Have your say and vote in the consultative vote opening Monday 26 January and closing 12 noon Tuesday 10 February
Join SRDC pay negotiating team live - Q&A webinars
Meet the SRDC Pay negotiating team for online webinars, for a full presentation of the offer, and opportunity for you to speak directly to them and ask questions you may have on the offer – 2 and 4 February, 6.30pm. Register now
