Article

Salaried GP minimum employment standards

Guidance on employing salaried GPs within primary and secondary care.

29 February 2024

A GP in a consultation with a mother and child.

Salaried GPs in primary care

Model terms and conditions and offer letters were agreed for salaried GPs as part of the 2003 general medical services (GMS) contract negotiations. These are minimum standards for GPs employed in GP practices, however employers may offer improved terms where they see fit.

Model offer letter for the employment of a salaried general practitioner by a GMS practice (PDF).
Model terms and conditions for a salaried general practitioner employed by a GMS practice (PDF).
Model offer letter for the employment of a salaried general practitioner by a primary care trust (PDF).
Model terms and conditions for a salaried general practitioner employed by a primary care trust (PDF).

There is no pay scale for salaried GPs. The most recent pay circular sets out the minimum and maximum of the pay range. It is for the employer to determine what salary level the individual should be placed on and how pay should vary over time.

Salaried GPs in secondary care

Depending on the type of work that is being carried out, organisations can employ qualified GPs to work in secondary care. There are a number of ways of employing and remunerating these doctors, which will depend on the circumstances.

If the doctor is providing a general practitioner function whilst in the secondary care setting, it may be appropriate to use the salaried GP arrangements. The model offer letter and terms and conditions for a salaried GP employed by a primary care trust can be amended for use by the secondary care provider.
For GPs providing secondary care, it would be more appropriate to employ them on the specialty doctor contract with remuneration of any on-call and out of hours work aligning with the terms and conditions of service.
Alternatively, a service level agreement (SLA) between the GP’s employer and the secondary care provider can be used. The employing GP practice would continue to remunerate the individual and the salaried GP would not be directly employed by the secondary care provider.