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Definitions of clinical pay thresholds, allowances and uplifts
To confirm which pay scale to use for the clinical academic appointment please also check the clinical pay scales.
- Definition of Seniority
Salary on commencement of appointment, and eligibility for subsequent pay thresholds, will both depend on a CCA’s seniority (see below). This applies to new appointees recruited on a competitive basis and to new/existing staff holding personal awards such as Fellowships.
For these purposes, seniority is measured as the sum of the number of aggregated whole years completed at consultant level. This includes service as an NHS consultant (or overseas equivalent), locum consultant, and/or clinical academic with an honorary consultant contract. For example:
Dr A has worked as a locum consultant at Hospital 1 for 11 months and at Hospital 2 for 9 months.
Total consultant-level service = 20 months, which equates to 1 whole year.
Dr B has worked as a consultant in Germany for 3 years, 6 months.
Total consultant-level service = 42 months, which equates to 3 whole years.
Both doctors are eligible for credited Additional Seniority. Dr A has one year and can be appointed on Threshold 2 of Annex B, and Dr B has three years and can be appointed on Threshold 4 of Annex B.
The local HR manager dealing with their appointments should submit a Seniority Verification Form and supporting evidence to their HRBP.
Clinical Academic Staff on the pre-2003 contract
In addition, there are a number of clinical academic staff who held Honorary Consultant appointments prior to the introduction of the Consultant Clinical Academic contract in 2003 and were paid on the Honorary Consultant pay scales, but were either ineligible to transfer or declined the offer to transfer to the CCA contract. These staff remain on this pay scale. No new appointments are to be made to this grade.
Seniority Verification Form
Please complete this form if following a recruitment campaign your successful candidate:
- Has worked at Consultant level or equivalent in previous years and they will be claiming seniority for this experience when they take up employment at UCL.
- Is claiming a period of flexible training (prior to obtaining CCT).
- Or you are wishing to transfer an existing member of UCL clinical staff on to the terms of the CCA or SAGP contract
- Pay thresholds and progression
CCA staff will be eligible for pay thresholds at the intervals set out in the CCA pay scale on the 1st of the month nearest the anniversary of their transfer or appointment to the terms of the CCA contract. If the transfer/appointment date falls during the first half of a month, the threshold progression date will be the 1st of that month; for example:
- if the start date falls between 1 - 16 May, the progression date will be 1 May;
- if the start date falls between 17 - 31 May, the progression date will be 1 June.
The value of pay thresholds for a part-time CCA will be pro-rata based on the number of agreed weekly Programmed Activities in their Job Plan as a proportion of the 10 PAs required for a full-time appointment.
Threshold progression is dependent upon the annual review and submission of a signed and approved Job Plan (JP). Visit Job Planning for more information.
- National Pay Uplifts
All the rates of pay set out in UCL’s Schedule are in line with the recommendations of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association's Clinical Academic Staff Salaries Committee which translates the Government's implementation of the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) for NHS consultants.
Future uplifts (usually annually) will be effective from 1 April or on such other dates/at such other intervals as may be varied from time to time. Payments can be backdated.
- Additional Programmed Activities and how to calculate
A Consultant Clinical Academic (CCA) or Senior Academic General Practitioner (SAGP) working full time will work ten (10) programmed activities (PA) per week. One PA is equivalent to 4 hours of work.
Extra programmed activities are referred to as Additional Programmed Activities (APAs) and these may be either academic or clinical.
Both UCL and the honorary clinical employer(s) may each offer Additional Programmed Activities, but the clinical academic will not be expected to undertake, on average, any more than one Additional Programmed Activity per week to meet the relevant criterion for pay thresholds and cannot hold more than 2 Additional Programmed Activities. The Integrated Job Planning process should be used to agree for which employing organisation any Additional Programmed Activities should be undertaken.
Additional Programmed Activities may be offered on a fixed basis, but where possible employing organisations will offer them on a mutually agreed annualised basis, as part of the Integrated Job Planning process. Where clinical academics prospectively agree to Additional Programmed Activities these will be remunerated;
Employing organisations will normally put any such offer to the clinical academic at the annual Integrated Job Plan review. Unless they and the clinical academic agree otherwise, any such offer will be made no fewer than three months in advance of the start of the proposed Additional Programmed Activities, or six months in advance where the work would mean the clinical academic has to re-schedule external commitments;
There will be a minimum notice period of three months for termination of these additional activities.
Employing organisations will give all clinical academics an equal opportunity to express an interest in undertaking additional activities for which they are qualified. Any offer or acceptance should be made in writing;
Calculating the value of additional programmed activities:
The value of additional programmed activity is variable depending on:
(1) your pay threshold (please refer to CCA Pay scales) and,
(2) whether or not you hold discretionary points, a distinction award or a clinical excellence award (please click here for current rates of awards).
Calculation 1
Take the value of your basic full-time pay (no other payments should be added) and divide this payment by 10.
If you do NOT hold a discretionary point, distinction award or a clinical excellence award, perform the following calculation:
Outcome: The annual value for each APA undertaken = A + B
If Clinical Excellence Award Level 10 - 12 held: Divide the value of level 9 by 10 = figure B If Clinical Excellence Award Level 1 - 9 held: Divide the value of your CEA by 10 = figure B If Distinction Award held: Divide the value of 8 DPs by 10 = figure B
e.g. basic salary of £69,991 p.a. / 10 = APA allowance of £6,999 p.a. (per APA undertaken)
Calculation 2
If you hold a discretionary point, distinction award or a clinical excellence award, perform the following calculation:
Calculate the annual value of one additional PA per week:
Take the value of your basic full-time pay (no other payments should be added) and divide this payment by 10. This provides figure A.
e.g. basic salary of £84,154 p.a. / 10 = Figure A rate of £8,415 p.a.
Proceed to the next step:
If you hold a discretionary point, distinction award or a clinical excellence award, perform the following calculation to provide figure B. If:
Discretionary Points held: Divide the annual value of your DPs by 10 = figure B
Distinction Award held: Divide the value of 8 DPs by 10 = figure B
Clinical Excellence Award Level 1 - 9 held: Divide the value of your CEA by 10 = figure B
Clinical Excellence Award Level 10 - 12 held: Divide the value of level 9 by 10 = figure B
Outcome: The annual value for each APA undertaken = A + B
- Clinical Excellence Awards (CEA)
Clinical Excellence Awards were previously awarded within the NHS to consultants (including honorary) and academic GPs who performed 'over and above' the standard expected of their role.
The scheme was administered by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA). There were 12 levels of award: Levels 1-8, awarded locally by employing NHS Trusts, and Levels 10-12 (Silver, Gold and Platinum hereafter) which were awarded nationally. Level 9 awards could be awarded locally or nationally (when the latter, they were referred to as Bronze). National award payments were pensionable and were awarded for a period of 5 years; renewal was not automatic, and Consultant Clinical Academics had to start the process of re-applying during the 4th year of their award.
Confirmation of National CEA awards went from the ACCEA to the NHS Trust where the CCA held their honorary clinical contract, and it was the responsibility of the Trust to provide a funding letter to UCL for any CEA payment. If the CCA informed UCL directly of the award, UCL would in turn contact the NHS Trust to request a funding letter. Local awards were notified in writing from the relevant NHS Trust to the CCA and/or UCL.
The Department of Health and Social Care (England) agreed to extend, for one year, all national CEAs due to expire in April 2021 which would have ordinarily required renewal in the 2020 award round, in order to take account of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
From 2022 new arrangements are coming in place for both Local awards and National awards. Future Local awards will:
- be non-consolidated
- be non-pensionable
- be time-limited for between one and three years
- be paid annually by lump sum as a special allowance
- no longer generate an uplift to Additional Programmed Activities (APAs).
National awards are being replaced by national Clinical Impact Awards (NCIAs), awarded by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA).
Transitional arrangements will be introduced for those already holding existing awards under the old schemes, and further guidance on these will be made available in due course. Further updates concerning arrangements for local and national CEAs are available from the NHS Employers’ website.
- On-Call Allowances
If a CCA is required to participate in an on-call rota, they will be paid a supplement in addition to basic salary in respect of their availability to work during on-call periods. The supplement will be paid at the appropriate rate set out in Table 1 below.
On-call availability supplement
Frequency of rota commitment
Value of supplement as a percentage of full-time basic salary
Category A
Category B
High frequency: 1 in 1 to 1 in 4
8.0%
3.0%
Medium frequency: 1 in 5 to 1 in 8
5.0%
2.0%
Low frequency: 1 in 9 or less frequent
3.0%
1.0%
The level of the supplement will depend on the rota frequency, as shown above, and the category of the on-call duties.
Category A:
This applies where the CCA is typically required to return immediately to the site when called or has to undertake interventions with a similar level of complexity to those that would normally be carried out on-site, such as telemedicine or complex telephone consultations
Category B:
This applies where the CCA can typically respond by giving telephone advice and/or by returning to work later.
The process:
The appropriate NHS Trust will determine the category of the CCA’s on-call duties by making a prospective assessment of the typical nature of the response that the CCA is likely to have to provide when contacted during an on-call period. The Trust will inform UCL in writing of the appropriate on-call category and give their funding commitment, and NHS Billing will provide a project code if required. If there is any change to the rota frequency or categorisation of the on-call duties, the Trust will advise UCL in writing, and if this results in a reduction in the level of supplement paid, there will be no protection arrangements in relation to previous entitlements.
Part-time CCAs will receive the appropriate percentage of the equivalent full-time basic salary, provided their responsibilities when on-call are the same as those of full-time staff on the same rota.
On-call availability supplement
Frequency of rota commitment
Value of supplement as a percentage of full-time basic salary
Category A
Category B
High frequency: 1 in 1 to 1 in 4
8.0%
3.0%
Medium frequency: 1 in 5 to 1 in 8
5.0%
2.0%
Low frequency: 1 in 9 or less frequent
3.0%
1.0%
The level of the supplement will depend on:
the consultant’s rota frequency and the category of the consultant’s on-call duties.
Category A:
This applies where the consultant is typically required to return immediately to the site when called or has to undertake interventions with a similar level of complexity to those that would normally be carried out on-site, such as telemedicine or complex telephone consultations
Category B:
This applies where the consultant can typically respond by giving telephone advice and/or by returning to work later.
The process:
The appropriate NHS Partner Trust will determine the category of the consultant’s on-call duties by making a prospective assessment of the typical nature of the response that the consultant is likely to have to undertake when called during an on-call period. The trust will inform UCL in writing of the appropriate on-call category and give their funding commitment and NHS Billings will provide a funding code. Where there is a change to the consultant’s rota frequency or the categorisation of the consultant’s on-call duties, any change to the level of the supplement will be to be advised to UCL in writing. Where this results in a reduction in the level of supplement, there will not be any protection arrangements in relation to previous entitlements. Part-time consultants will receive the appropriate percentage of the equivalent full-time basic salary, provided their responsibilities when on-call are the same as those of full-time consultants on the same rota.- Pay Supplements
Pay Supplements
These can include allowances, such as management responsibilities, etc. Any additional pay supplements must have a corresponding funding letter to go with the job plan. The funding letter must confirm full costs (including employer’s on costs) and must state whether the payment is superannuable.
Visit the Market Pay Policy for information about market supplements.
- Private Practice for Personal Gain (PPPG)
UCL has amended its policy on private practice for personal gain to reflect changes resulting from the New Clinical Academic Consultant Contract. From August 2005 private practice payments via the UCL payroll will cease and new arrangements will apply, as set out in this document.
UCL and NHS commitments must take precedence over private practice. A full-time clinical academic is contracted to work 10 programmed activities (PAs). In order to be eligible to profit from undertaking private practice, a clinical academic is required to offer to undertake an additional PA (clinical or academic). However, where the proceeds are retained by - or used to benefit - UCL there should be no expectation that the clinical academic undertakes an additional programmed activity (APA) in order to qualify for pay progression.
Under the previous private practice policy, the University of London allowed clinical academics some personal benefits. From August 2005 this no longer applies. Where, for example, clinical academics previously surrendered 10% of salary in order to benefit from unlimited private practice, this will no longer be required from August 2005.
In consideration of UCL's obligations under the Working Time Regulations, clinical academics are advised that they should only engage in private practice where to do so they do not exceed a 48 hour week (averaged over a 17 week period). Compliance with Working Time Regulations requires, on grounds of health and safety, a break during the working day, rest after each working day and a period of continuous rest weekly. For further details please refer to the Working Time Regulations policy.
