Resident doctors in Scotland have accepted a pay deal which will give them on average a pay hike of almost 10 per cent for the current financial year and 9.4 per cent for 2026/27.
BMA Scotland said the results of a consultative online vote were overwhelmingly in favour of the offer, with 97.1 per cent backing it, on a turnout of 62.4 per cent.
The Scottish Government made the offer a week before planned strike action by resident doctors last month, which was called off. BMA Scotland had recommended acceptance of the deal, which is worth £149m over two years.
Chris Smith, chair of BMA Scottish resident doctor committee, said it was a step forward on the journey to pay restoration and would embed improvements for doctors for the future.
SMITH: Work remains to be done
‘The deal negotiated by the BMA Scottish resident doctors committee will move all resident doctors in Scotland up the pay scale and is the equivalent of an average end-of-year pay uplift for 2025/26 of 9.9 per cent and for 2026/27 of 9.4 per cent,’ Dr Smith said.
‘SRDC had recommended acceptance of the offer, and this result confirms once again members of BMA Scotland resoundingly back their union. We will use this vote of confidence to continue our work to make the voices of resident doctors across Scotland heard, including concluding the resident doctor contract negotiations that started in 2023.
‘This pay deal, which is based on total funding of £149m over two years, is a welcome substantial investment and continues progress towards reversing the pay erosion resident doctors have suffered since 2008. However, there remains much more work to be done to address issues affecting resident doctors in Scotland, to secure their future – and the future of the NHS.’