How does 7.5% for 22/23 plus 6.5% for 23/24 equal 14.5%?
The 14.5% headline figure is an aggregate of the two sets of increases and is in comparison to the 2021/22 salaries. A simple way of understanding how that works would be to take £100 add 7.5% = £107.5 then add 6.5% = £114.49, so you’d have 14.5% more than the £100 you started with.
Will the pay uplift apply to my banding supplements as well as basic pay?
Yes, as the contractual banding supplements are applied as a multiplier of your basic salary, then any change in the basic salary must trigger a change in your banding payments as well.
This will apply both to the previous 22/23 banding payments – so you will be backpaid for those – and to this year’s banding payments.
If we vote “Yes” now and accept the pay uplift, but the Taskforce doesn’t deliver by September, would industrial action still be an option?
Yes. The current offer is for more than simply a pay settlement uplifting the 22/23 payment and giving a further rise for 23/24. The second part of the offer commits to meaningful negotiations over the summer on the future mechanisms for pay review in Scotland, which should aim to prevent a recurrence of our pay erosion in future years.
Our strike mandate lasts beyond the reporting period for those talks, so if we are not happy that sufficient progress is being made in those discussions, we could still call a strike with two weeks’ notice at any time.
If that does happen, would we need to pay back any pay uplift?
No, if the offer is accepted, then you will be paid the backdated pay and your current pay will be uplifted in line with what would then be an agreement with government and employers for those increases.
I am a final year medical student and will be a FY1 by August, can I vote?
No, the consultative vote only covers current junior doctors in Scotland. If we remain in dispute later in the year, for example if the further pay bargaining talks are not making sufficient progress – expected to report in September, then we would require to re-ballot members to “refresh our mandate” for strike action. That would be after the new intake of FY1s in August, so you would be included in the ballot then.
I work in England, can I vote?
No, this only covers junior doctors employed within the NHS in Scotland. Separate talks and strike action is ongoing in England at present.
What happens if the DDRB awards a higher percentage uplift this year?
We have agreed that in this situation, Scottish Government would review the 23/24 uplift in line with that DRRB recommendation and come back to SJDC to discuss how they implement that.
Why is BMA Scotland taking a neutral stance on the offer?
This is the final offer that the Scottish Government have put to us following this series of negotiations. It is therefore vital that all members are involved in the decision making at this stage. Either accepting or rejecting the offer will require continued sustained engagement with the BMA and campaigning over a period of time. Pay restoration will not be easy, but SJDC will continue this fight through whichever path doctors in Scotland decide is the most effective.
What is the most up-to-date pay restoration figure? How would accepting this offer affect this?
The BMA has undertaken refreshed calculations based on full year inflation figures which now show that pay awards from 2008/09 to 2022/23 have delivered a real terms (RPI) pay cut of 28.2% for foundation year (FY) and 28.5% for specialist registrar (StR) junior doctors.
The Scottish Government is offering to increase the award for 2022/23 from 4.5% to 7.5%. RPI inflation for this period was 11.4% meaning this is still a real terms pay cut for those 12 months. However, accepting it would mean that the real terms pay cut since 2008 would instead be 26.2% for foundation (FY) and 26.5% for specialist registrar (StR) junior doctors.
The SG offer also includes 6.5% for 2023/24 and inflation for this period is not yet known. Inflation is expected to fall over 2023/24 but perhaps not as quickly as predicted earlier in the year. It therefore is not possible to say whether this will be above inflation.
The BMA expects that the SG offer is likely to be sub inflationary over the two-year period.
What is the last date to be a member to be included in the consultative vote?
You must be a BMA member on or before 6 June 2023 to be able to participate in the consultative vote.
What are the opening and closing dates for the consultative vote?
The vote will open on Monday 5 June at 0900 and close on Monday 12 June at 2359.
That is a much shorter period than the strike ballot, why?
This vote on this offer will be conducted via email and so can be taken forward much more quickly and we don’t need to account for things like postal delays or members being on leave, as most will be able to pick up emails anywhere. In order to progress with talks, we are keen to get the result quickly and keep momentum up on negotiations.
When will BMA share the results of the vote with members?
We will announce next steps as quickly as possible after the result of the vote is known. As was the case with the strike ballot outcome we may be able to announce the results on the same day.
Why hasn’t the Taskforce started working so we would be fully informed on the future of pay bargaining before voting?
The joint taskforce would take much longer to work through a detailed new system for pay bargaining and while we hope all parties would enter into it in good faith there is no guarantee that it will sufficiently deliver for us.
It would only come into being if the offer is accepted which is why it is important you have your say.
Can university employed doctors or locum agency locums vote on this offer?
Only those who hold an NHS contract (including honorary contracts) can vote.
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