According to the new contract for junior doctors, the banding system has changed. This post describes the banding system for the old contracts. To get an idea of “banding” according to the New Contract, please click here.
What is Banding?
Banding is the extra pay we make for working unsocial hours.
What are social and unsocial hours?
9 AM to 5 PM from Monday to Friday are social hours. All other hours are unsocial hours.
Explanation of Banding
Our basic contract includes 40 hours of work per week. This is only for social hours. However, the presence of 12-hour on-call/night duties means that we have to work during unsocial hours as well.
Due to the unsocial hours, we work slightly over 40 hours over per week (on average, it is 44 hours per week). We get paid extra to work these unsocial hours. This extra pay is known as banding.
Types of Banding
There are many different types of bandings as explained here. But most doctors have 1A or 1B banding in their contract.
1A Banding
This is for doctors who are working slightly more hectic shifts (more unsocial hours). It includes 50% extra salary over the basic pay. For example, if your monthly income was £1,900, you will get paid £2,850.
Example: A&E work is mostly busy and thus, includes 1A banding.
1B Banding
This is for doctors who are working slightly less hectic shifts (less unsocial hours). It includes 40% extra salary over the basic pay. For example, if your monthly income was £1,900, you will get paid £2,660.
Example: General Medicine rotations mostly include 1A banding.
Useful Links
- “Banding” According to the New Contract for Junior Doctors
- Pay Scales for Junior Doctors in the UK
- Taxation in the UK
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Much Pay is Enough?
It depends on your lifestyle and it depends on where you are living. For example, big cities like London and Manchester are more expensive than small towns like Blackpool. But the following might give you a general idea:
£1,900/month is more than enough for a single person and just enough for a couple.
£2,700/month would be more than enough for a couple.
You can read more about pay scales for junior doctors in the UK here.
2. Would I be Able To Save Money?
Again, that depends on your lifestyle and the area where you choose to live. And, of course, it depends on your salary. It also depends on you being single or living with a spouse.
I’ve seen people with £2,700/month, save £1,000/month for a whole year and I have seen people with £1,900/month not save anything for a year. So it depends on each individual and how they live.
3. How much tax would be deducted from my income?
Depending on their grade, 17% to 27% tax is deducted from a junior doctor’s salary. You can read more about taxation in the UK here.
4. What are the usual working hours for doctors in the UK?
Average working hours for junior doctors in the UK are 40 to 48 hours per week. You can read more about working hours here.
My contract and cos does not specify any banding. Should I be worried?. Though my offer letter has on calls mentioned. Though its my first job hence I’m not bothered about the pay.
You can email your hospital’s HR and they will be happy to clear your query. Though if your contract has on-calls, it is likely to have banding.
my work has no night on-call, but will have out-of-office-hour duties. Band 1A sponsor. HR said I will have 1A banding for out-of-office-hour duties. But as it does not have on calls, I am confused. Doses anyone have experience for this please?
Since you have out-of-hour (unsocial hour) duties, you’ll have 1A banding. And your Trust must have mentioned this in writing. So you have nothing to worry about. Good luck! 🙂
Are locums available within the NHS?
Very easily and all the time.
What is typical rate for internal locums for FY1/2 ?
£30-£40 per hour.
I know you’ve mentioned that you can get internal locums easily, but it is easy to book locums in advance. Eg : book 4 extra internal locums in FY1 a month.
Waiting for the post for ‘new banding system’😊😊
For everyone who has been asking about the new contract for junior doctors, you can find the details in the link given below.
Here is what I have gathered:
1. “An enhancement of 37 percent of the hourly basic pay rate shall be paid for any hours worked between 21.00 and 07.00, on any day of the week.”
2. “Where a shift is worked which begins no earlier than 20.00 and no later than 23.59, and is at least 8 hours in duration, an enhancement of 37 percent of the hourly basic rate shall also be payable on all hours worked up to 10:00 on any day of the week.”
3. The weekend allowance is between 3 to 10%.
To make it simple:
A. The number of unsocial hours has been reduced. Previous unsocial hour used to begin at 17:00. It now begins at 20:00 or 21:00.
B. Banding used to be around 40% or 50%. Now the enhanced pay is around 37%.
C. The weekend allowance is significantly low.
But I hear that the basic “unbanded” pay has increased. I guess we’ll know more once we start getting paid on the new contract so we can compare our pay on the new contract to the old contract.
http://www.nhsemployers.org/~/media/Employers/Documents/Need%20to%20know/Terms%20and%20Conditions%20of%20Service%20for%20NHS%20Doctors%20and%20Dentists%20in%20Training%20England%202016%20Version%202%20%2030%20March%202017.pdf