Industrial action in England
We campaign for fair pay for all dentists in England. This mandate includes negotiating with the Government and, when all other options have been exhausted, coordinating industrial action.
Fair pay for hospital dentists in England
We are continuing our campaign for fair pay for hospital dentists. In recent years, that has seen us work with the BMA to take strike action and to negotiate pay deals with Government.
This year’s recommended pay uplift for all hospital dentists does not redress the pay erosion that has been experienced since 2008-9. We therefore re-entered into dispute with Government regarding resident, consultant and SAS dentists' pay in England.
Resident Doctors and Dentists referendum
The UK Government has made a revised offer to residents to resolve the dispute over jobs and pay. The BMA’s UK RDC executive committee voted to call off the strike action that had been scheduled to take place 15 – 19 June and give members the opportunity to have their say on the offer.
This opportunity will extend to resident dentists who are members of the BDA. The referendum will run online, open on Thursday 18 June and close at noon on Friday 26 June 2026.
If you are a resident dentist member you should have received a unique link to participate via email. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the details of the offer.
Please direct any queries to [email protected]
The BMA ballot and the BDA ballot
Trade unions are required by law to ballot their members independently. Even though hospital dentists and doctors work on the same contracts, the BDA and BMA will need to conduct separate ballots.
Only those who are dual qualified and members of both the BDA and BMA will be balloted by both unions.
It is vital to confirm your information and secure your voice now if you are a resident dentist, SAS, or consultant dentist
In addition to calling for strike action for resident doctors, the BMA is also conducting a ballot of their SAS and consultant doctor members.
Our campaign for fair pay for hospital dentists continues, and we may decide to ballot our hospital dentist members for strike action; we’re therefore getting ballot ready.
To be able to include you in the ballot, we need to confirm:
- That you work on a hospital contract
- What your job title is
- The name of your workplace and employer
- While you complete this vital information, we also want to know what you think about this pay dispute and potential strike action.
Secure your voice now as a resident dentist, SAS or consultant dentist.