ST6-8 Senior Trainee Salary 2026/27
ST6-8 covers the final years of specialty training, senior registrar grade in many specialties. Basic pay in England for 2026 to 2027 is £76,582 at ST6 (nodal point 5a) and £77,348 at ST7 and ST8 (5b and 5c). Rota supplements are paid on top.
Typical pay & take-home
- Median gross
- £77,348
- Typical range
- £76,582–£77,348
- Take-home at median
- £55,419 England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.
At the median for this profession, you earn about 98% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you in the top 5% of UK earners.
What influences st6-8 senior specialty trainee pay
Basic pay at this grade is £76,582 at ST6 and £77,348 at ST7 and ST8. The whole grade is in the 12.5% NHS pension tier, the top contribution band, which applies to all pensionable pay above £67,668.
Rota supplements on a senior registrar rota can carry total pay towards £100,000, where the personal allowance starts tapering at £1 for every £2 and the effective marginal rate reaches 62%. Because the NHS pension is a net pay arrangement the contribution already reduces adjusted net income, which buys some headroom before the taper starts.
The pension annual allowance matters at this grade. In a defined-benefit scheme the amount tested is the growth in promised pension, not the contribution paid, so a large pay step or a change of pensionable pay can produce a charge that the contribution figure alone would not predict.
Career progression
- FY1 £41,226, FY2 £47,610.
- ST1 and ST2: £55,355.
- ST3 £67,325, ST4 and ST5 £67,998.
- ST6 £76,582, ST7 and ST8 £77,348.
- Consultant (2003 contract): £113,565 rising to £150,569 across five thresholds, since 2a and 2b are separate steps.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an ST6-8 doctor take home 2026/27?
- At ST6 on £76,582 with the 12.5% pension tier, take-home is about £49,231 a year or £4,103 a month. At ST7 and ST8 on £77,348 it is about £49,618. Rota supplements are paid on top and taxed at 42% at the margin.
- Should I lock in pension sacrifice before CCT?
- Often yes - the year before consultant appointment is frequently the highest-marginal-rate year of a doctor career (rota-heavy senior registrar pay just under the £100k taper). Sacrificing the marginal pounds avoids 42-62% IT+NI and lands in the pension at full value.