# Doctors reject 2.4% pay rise as 'derisory'

> NHS unions blast government's proposed pay increase for 2027/28, warning of further strikes and staff departures.
- Title: Doctors reject 2.4% pay rise as 'derisory' · The Independent
- Summary: NHS unions blast government's proposed pay increase for 2027/28, warning of further strikes and staff departures. The government proposed a 2.4 percent pay…
- Keywords: nhs, doctors, pay dispute, british medical association, unison, strike action, labour government, politics, news, reject, pay, rise
- Source: The Independent — https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-doctor-pay-rise-labour-government-bma-b3069971.html
- Published: 2026-10-20T13:59:26+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nhs, doctors, pay dispute, british medical association, unison, strike action, labour government, politics, news
## Government proposes 2.4% rise
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England told the independent pay review body the increase for 2027/28 could be planned without trade-offs against headline government health commitments.
## Unions call offer 'derisory'
The British Medical Association and Unison heavily criticised the proposal, describing it as derisory and stating that it beggars belief. The BMA called the figure a pay cut.

> It beggars belief
## Pay costs and NHS pressures
Every 0.5 percent increase to pay costs approximately 750 million pounds, equivalent to more than eighty-nine thousand hip or knee replacement operations. The NHS faces higher inflation, energy costs and reduced immigration health surcharge income.
## Doctor pay has fallen sharply
BMA Council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin said pay for doctors is well below what it was twenty years ago, having experienced larger salary reductions than any other professional group.

> pay for doctors is well below what it was 20 years ago
## Wider NHS pay crisis
Head of health at Unison Helga Pile said more than two hundred thousand staff in the NHS are paid less than the real living wage.
## Strike action looms
Dr Dolphin warned that cutting pay risks further industrial unrest and disruption.Consultants in England have a mandate for strike action.

> Cutting pay is not the way to tell a workforce you value them
## Key takeaway

The government proposed a 2.4 percent pay rise for doctors in 2027/28, which unions called derisory and a pay cut, raising the prospect of more industrial action.