Pay is rightly front and centre in the minds of doctors across the UK. Specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors are no exception.

After a period of intense negotiations with the Department of Health, The NISASC (specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors committee) has reached a pay deal, which we will be putting to you in an online referendum opening on 5 December. We think this offer contains important reforms for SAS doctors and is a credible first step towards our ultimate aim of pay restoration. That is why we are encouraging all members to vote yes.

How we got here

Earlier this year, following the path of our SAS colleagues in England and Wales, we announced that we would be proceeding towards a formal ballot of SAS members in Northern Ireland for industrial action over years of pay erosion. This decision was taken after over 86% of respondents to our indicative ballot said they would be willing to take industrial action on pay, making clear the level of frustration among SAS doctors from years of unfair treatment on renumeration.

Since that vote, NISASC has been working to lay the foundations for a formal ballot of the SAS workforce while keeping a watching brief on pay negotiations across the rest of the UK. We were particularly eager to see the outcome of pay negotiations in England, as any money for that deal would be released to Northern Ireland as a result of the Barnett consequential.

In June, SAS doctors in England voted to accept a pay deal, which opened the door for pay negotiations here, and without NISASC having to announce a formal ballot for industrial action as was the case in England and Wales. For the past few months, we have been in negotiations with DoH to try and agree a pay offer we feel would be acceptable to all SAS doctors. We think this offer meets that criteria and that is why we are recommending SAS doctors in Northern Ireland vote yes to accept it.

Why vote Yes

This offer contains important reforms for SAS doctors across all the pay scales and contracts:

• Realigned 2021 pay scales, lifting basic pay for everyone on the 2021 contracts  
• A consolidated £1,400 pay uplift to each pay point on the closed contracts
• A consolidated £1,400 for those on the pre 2008 contracts and anyone still employed on associate specialist and staff grade contracts  
• Pay uplift backdated to 01 April 2024 
• Measures to facilitate career progression 
• Retained the right to promote the SAS rate card for extra contractual work for SAS doctors. 

By making SAS doctors pay in Northern Ireland more attractive, we ensure that more SAS doctors choose to work here, filling vacancies and improving retention of existing doctors. I would urge you all to please read the details of the pay offer in full. If you have any questions on the offer, please check the FAQ page, or send me an email at [email protected]

Current DDRB 2024/25 uncertainty

It is important to make clear that this pay offer will be on top the DDRB recommended pay uplift for 2024/25.

We hear and share your frustration at the ongoing uncertainty over full payment of the 2024/25 pay award. Although it is a separate issue from the negotiated pay offer that we are putting to vote next week, it is unacceptable that the full DDRB award for this year may not be paid in full this financial year as it has been elsewhere in the UK.

BMA Northern Ireland are lobbying to address this situation and ensure we receive the same treatment as our colleagues working elsewhere. I want to reassure you now that if the 2024/25 DDRB recommendation is not implemented in full, then NISASC can (and will) open another dispute with DoH. 

Referendum details

Voting in this pay offer referendum is online and will open next Thursday, 5 December, at 9am, closing on Thursday 18 December. Only BMA members can vote in this referendum, so if you are not yet a member, you must sign up by 12 December to ensure you have a vote. Join here

You will receive a referendum vote email from our referendum partner Civica in the very near future, so please keep an eye on inboxes and spam folders for that.

We will be announcing dates for online webinars you can attend to ask us questions about the deal.

We are encouraging all members to vote in favour of this offer. We think it is a credible first step towards pay restoration and will help ensure a better future for SAS doctors in Northern Ireland. I urge all of you to truly consider the terms of this offer, and to use your vote to make your voices heard.