Why are resident doctors striking and what do they earn?

Resident doctors in England have started a five-day walkout over pay.

They say they haven’t had a “credible pay deal” for 2025-2026, but Health Secretary Wes Streeting argues the strike is “unreasonable” after substantial pay rises in recent years.

Resident doctors used to be known as junior doctors, but the government recently agreed to change the name of their role to better reflect their expertise.

They make up around half of all doctors. As a patient you could come into contact with a resident doctor in any NHS department, including A&E and your GP surgery.

Resident doctors are qualified doctors who have completed a medical degree.

Many then enter speciality training in a particular area of medicine and surgery, or train to become a GP.

Full training can take a long time, meaning some resident doctors have more than a decade of practical experience and are responsible for many aspects of care.

The medics are staging a walkout in England from 07:00 on 25 July until 07:00 on 30 July.

For urgent or non-life threatening issues 111 continues to be the best option and for emergency care A&E or 999. GP surgeries are open as normal.

Unlike previous strikes, NHS England has asked hospitals to keep routine operations going as far as possible and to only reschedule appointments in exceptional circumstances.

The official advice is to attend appointments unless contacted to reschedule.

But the British Medical Association (BMA), a trade union for doctors, warns that this risks stretching staff too thinly

And despite putting plans in place to minimise disruption, NHS chiefs say the strikes will take a toll on patients and staff and that some appointments will not go ahead.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the walkouts threatened “to turn back the clock on progress we have made in rebuilding the NHS over the last year”.

There were 507,000 appointments and operations cancelled and rescheduled because of strikes by doctors (some including consultants) between July 2023 and February 2024, according to government analysis.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not affected by these strikes

During their first foundation year after finishing their medical degree, resident doctors in England earn a basic salary of £38,831, for an average of 48 hours per week. In the second year, this rises to £44,439.

Medics are often expected to work night shifts, weekends and longer hours for extra payments.

After eight years as a resident doctor, salaries can progress to around £70,000.

Since 2023, resident doctors have taken part in 11 separate strikes, arguing for fairer pay and working conditions.

During 2023-24, over two years, they received a 22% pay increase. From August this year, they will get an additional 5.4% pay rise.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting says resident doctors have received the largest pay rises of any public sector employees over the last three years.

The government says it won’t be offering any further increases.

The BMA says resident doctors’ pay will be 20% lower in real terms than it was in 2008, even after an increase in August.

It wants pay for the group to be brought back in line with the level it was at 17 years ago, when they say their pay started to be eroded.

The claim is based on a measure of inflation called the Retail Price Index (RPI). This includes housing costs and shows higher price increases than some other inflation measures.

The BMA points out that many resident doctors have large student loans and that interest on these is calculated using RPI.

However, the government says RPI is outdated. Instead, it uses the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to calculate inflation and pay increases. CPI looks at the cost of goods and services based on a basket of household items.

Using the CPI measure, the government says resident doctors’ current pay is fair.

Analysis from the Nuffield Trust – a health think tank – suggests pay has fallen 5% since 2008 if CPI is used, compared with nearly 20% for RPI.

In May, the government announced pay rises for a number of public sector workers, including:

• 4% for other doctors, dentists, and teachers in England, as well as prison officers in England and Wales
• a 3.25% rise for civil servants
• a 3.6% rise for some NHS staff in England, including nurses and midwives
• a 4.5% rise for members of the UK armed forces, with 3.75% for senior military staff

However, the BMA argues that resident doctors may have built up more student debt than people working in other jobs.

A medical degree can take five or six years to complete – longer than most other degree courses.

Resident doctors also say they have little control on where and when they are asked to work. And it can be difficult to put down roots, because of the need to do placements in different parts of the country.