Specialty Doctor Salary 2026/27
Specialty doctor is one of the two SAS grades still open to new entrants after the 2021 reform. Basic pay in England runs from £63,696 to £102,689 across five distinct pay points, with a pay threshold between the eighth and ninth year. The scale carries the 3.5% DDRB award accepted on 25 March 2026 and effective from 1 April.
Typical pay & take-home
- Mid pay point
- £81,804
- Typical range
- £63,696–£102,689
- Take-home at median
- £58,004 England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.
At the median for this profession, you earn about 110% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you in the top 5% of UK earners.
See exact take-home for £81,804 →
Nodal points, SAS scales, the five consultant thresholds and the salaried GP range, each with take-home after the banded NHS pension: Doctors' pay scales 2026/27, every grade →
What influences specialty doctor (sas) pay
Progression is by years in the grade, not by application: 0 to 2 years £63,696, 3 to 5 years £73,383, 6 to 8 years £81,804, then a pay threshold before 9 to 11 years at £90,548 and 12 years or more at £102,689. The threshold is the only point where progression is not automatic.
The NHS pension contribution at the bottom of the scale is 10.7%, not 12.5%. The 12.5% tier starts at £67,669, so only the second pay point and above reach it. Getting this wrong overstates the deduction at entry by roughly £1,150 a year.
Basic pay excludes the additional hours, on-call availability and enhanced-rate work that most SAS doctors undertake. A specialty doctor working beyond ten programmed activities is paid for the extra sessions on top of the figures here.
Entry requires full GMC registration plus at least four years of full-time postgraduate training, two of them in a relevant specialty, or equivalent experience assessed against the same competencies.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland negotiate their own SAS scales, so the England figures do not apply there.
Career progression
- Resident doctor ST3 (nodal point 4a): £67,325.
- Specialty doctor entry: £63,696, rising to £102,689 over 12 years.
- Specialist grade: £104,401 to £115,341.
- Consultant (2003 contract): £113,565 to £150,569.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a specialty doctor take home 2026/27?
- At the £63,696 entry point with the 10.7% pension tier, take-home is about £43,412 a year or £3,618 a month, after £6,815 pension, £10,184 Income Tax and £3,285 National Insurance. At the £102,689 top of the scale it is about £62,415, with the contribution then on the 12.5% tier.
- Is the specialty doctor pension contribution 12.5%?
- Not at the bottom of the scale. £63,696 falls in the 10.7% tier, which runs from £52,779 to £67,668. The 12.5% tier starts at £67,669, so every pay point from £73,383 upwards is on 12.5% but the entry point is not.
- How does specialty doctor pay compare with a consultant?
- A consultant starts at £113,565, about £10,876 above the top of the specialty doctor scale and £49,869 above its entry point. The specialist grade sits between them at £104,401 to £115,341.