ST1-2 Specialty Trainee Salary 2026/27
ST1-2 is the first two years of specialty training after foundation. Basic pay £52,656 (BMA 2016 contract nodal point 3, England); rota uplifts (nights, weekends, on-call) typically add 20-40% on top.
Typical pay & take-home
- Median gross
- £52,656
- Typical range
- £52,656–£52,656
- Take-home at median
- £41,098
England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.
At the median for this profession, you earn about 35% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you in the top 27% of UK earners.
What influences st1-2 specialty trainee doctor pay
ST1-2 sits at nodal point 3 on the 2016 contract pay structure, £52,656 basic. Doctors at this stage typically work rotas with material on-call, nights and weekend components - actual take-home including the unsocial-hours uplift (37% nights, 7.5-15% weekends) is usually £62-72k gross.
Crossing £50,270 puts ST1-2 doctors comfortably into the 40% higher-rate Income Tax band, so every extra rota uplift pound is taxed at 42% combined marginal (40% IT + 2% NI).
NHS pension on ST1-2 basic pay is 9.8% (2026/27 banded tier £35,156-£52,778). Rota uplifts push pensionable pay above £52,778 so the slice above is at the 10.7% tier (£52,779-£67,668), and any rota pay over £67,668 sits at 12.5%. Net pay arrangement, full IT relief. DB accrual at 1/54th of pensionable earnings makes the pension one of the highest-value parts of total comp.
Career progression
- ST1 (Specialty Trainee year 1): £52,656 basic.
- ST2: same nodal point £52,656.
- ST3 onwards: progression to nodal 4 £65,048.
- CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training): typically 5-8 years after ST1 depending on specialty.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an ST1-2 doctor actually take home 2026/27?
- Basic £52,656 with 9.8% NHS pension on basic (2026/27 banded tier) gives about £35,400-£36,300 before rota uplift. With typical 25-35% uplift for on-call rotas, total gross is £66-71k and take-home around £45-48k (the rota slice above £52,778 attracts the 10.7% pension tier and above £67,668 the 12.5% top tier). Specific figure depends on rota intensity and London weighting if applicable.
- Does the 40% tax band hit at ST1-2?
- Yes - basic pay alone crosses the £50,270 higher-rate threshold. All rota uplift pounds and any unsocial-hours pay above £50,270 are taxed at 42% marginal (40% IT + 2% NI), so the effective uplift on rota work is materially less than the headline percentage suggests.