Extension to transitional pay protection arrangements
Schedule 15 transitional pay protection arrangements have been extended until 23:59 on the 4 August 2026, for eligible doctors on the 2016 Terms and Conditions of Service.
Schedule 15 of the 2016 Terms and Conditions of Service, which outlines transitional pay protection arrangements, expired on 6 August 2025. Following a formal request from the British Medical Association (BMA), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has approved an extension. As a result, pay protection under Schedule 15 will now be extended until 23:59 on 4 August 2026, ensuring pay protection for affected staff for an additional year.
Employers will have issued work schedules calculated on nodal point pay. We are aware that in many cases, doctors who were on section 15 schedule 2 pay protection would at this point benefit from moving to the nodal points. However, there will be cases where a doctor would benefit from moving back onto Schedule 16 pay protection until 4 August 2026.
Actions for employers
1. Review of pay protection status - Identify all doctors at their trust who were removed from Schedule 15 pay protection.
2. Communication to doctors - Draft and send communications to those doctors who joined the employer from August 2025 regarding pay protection eligibility.
Include instructions to contact HR with supporting evidence if they were previously in receipt of this pay protection. Consider additional communications via:
- posters in doctors' mess
- medical education
- other relevant internal channels.
3. Assessment of claims - For each doctor removed from protection or submitting a new claim an assessment will need to be carried out in order to review if they are eligible for this pay protection.
If the doctor is eligible, employers will need to compare their nodel point pay (Schedule 2 pay) against their protected pay to identify which is better off.
NHS Employers has created an eligibility and pay protection template to support with the assessment of claims.
4. Outcome notification - Employers will need to inform each doctor of the assessment outcome. Where protection is beneficial:
- initiate variation to contract as necessary
- process any changes to pay promptly, with effect from 6 August 2025
- notify the doctor of the date the revised pay will be reflected in their salary.
5. Record keeping - Employers are advised to maintain a log of all doctors on Schedule 15 transitional pay protection as NHS Employers will be collecting data on this.
Resources and further information
NHS Employers has produced some further resources to support this extension:
