BMA Statement on Debt to Resident Doctors in England

Following an agreement reached in July, the UK Government has made a firm commitment that if the proposal in principle is ratified by BMA permanent members by mid-September, the agreed increase and back pay will be included in the November 2024 pay package. The timing of this commitment ensured that it would factor into members’ decisions when voting on proposals.

The government’s commitment has been reaffirmed throughout the past months. The NHS Employers umbrella organization has provided trusts with detailed advice on how to prepare for debt repayments.

As this guidance makes clear, the vast majority of calculations were carried out through the NHS ESR, with a small remainder at the trust level relating to the calculation of parental leave, annual pension payments and ensuring up-to-date information for graduates. The scope of these tasks has been known since July and employers have been warned, in particular, of their obligation to actively seek updated information for payment to graduates on 16 August.

When individual employers published messages in breach of government obligations last month, the BMA moved quickly to engage with NHS employers and the Department of Health, collating evidence collected by members, local and regional representatives, the national committee and BMA staff, and the IRO.

We were assured that the obligations would be fulfilled.

As we move towards the end of November, delinquent employers are making more excuses, attempting to avoid responsibility for payment entirely, or attempting to push payment into the New Year. These excuses are not credible.

The top priority is to ensure that resident physicians receive their dues in full and on time. As soon as we became aware of these issues, we responded strongly both locally and nationally. Since then there has been constant pressure on employers from grassroots members, local, regional and national representatives, and pressure on Department of Health and NHS employers from national representatives and BMA staff. Despite the assurances provided and the fact that they tried to intervene to lift local lockdowns, we are very disappointed that those overseeing implementation did not take decisive action sooner.

We are fighting with the trusts until the last minute to ensure that every resident doctor receives their full payments in November.

It has now become apparent that some trusts will be unable to meet their obligations without paying the full amount of benefits on time. We have called for decisions such as partial payments to be made in November, with the remaining arrears cleared in early December through the use of individual BACS payments (on demand) to ensure that all doctors receive the increase as soon as possible. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, this represents a failure in preparation, resource allocation and contingency planning on the part of employers, as well as a failure of the government to enforce its commitments, and risks a marked decline in confidence in ongoing and future negotiations.

It is fundamentally unfair that members of an organization should suffer as a direct result of the failures of their employers. We will hold trusts accountable for the timely payment of all outstanding debts, coupled with a detailed public analysis of both the factors contributing to the failure and the proposed corrective and restorative actions.

If you find yourself in this situation, there are a few things you can do:

Read our frequently asked questions

Use our letter template to send an email to your employer if you have not received back wages (which will be sent to HR or Payroll or both).

Report your problem through the BMA’s online portal.

Contact your IRO/Regional Representative to discuss what remedial action you can request from the trusts. Examples include:

• Process 80% of the payment into November payroll.
• Request full BACS payment before Christmas, within 14 calendar days or whichever comes first.
• For those who need a maternity or paternity recalculation, this should also be done before Christmas via individual BACS payments if necessary.