Pay in England

LAST UPDATED: 29 September 2025

How does the DDRB's recent recommendation on pay affect me?

On 22 May 2025, the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) published its 53rd report recommending an uplift of 4% to employed dentists’ salaries and the pay element of NHS contracts. 

It is important to note, however, that the overall uplift to NHS contract values for the 2025-26 financial year will be 3.55%, backdated to 1 April 2025.

We set out the detail of the uplift including why there are two distinct figures below.

Contractors

Those holding NHS contracts receive an annual uplift to their contract value, which is backdated to the start of the relevant financial year.

This annual uplift incorporates two distinct elements of an uplift to pay and an uplift in respect of the costs of delivering care, for example, staffing, lab and materials costs. This second category is known as “expenses” in the Government’s language.

In September 2025, the Government chose to uplift the expenses element of the total remuneration package by 2.39%. When the pay element and the expenses element of the total remuneration package are combined and weighted, the result is the overall uplift to NHS contract values of 3.55%.

We have robustly argued that fair remuneration for dentists must include an appropriate uplift with regard to the costs of delivering care, and that 2.39% is plainly insufficient for this purpose. This is particularly the case this year with the impact of minimum wage and National Insurance increases on staffing costs. These are cost increases that cannot be left unfunded and to be borne by practices. A failure to account for them critically undermines the overall outcomes of the pay review process.

Associates

The pay uplift does not apply directly to associates' incomes. While there is no requirement for practices to increase associate pay, associates might reasonably look to the uplift for an indication of an expected uplift in their own income, and it would therefore be prudent for practices to increase pay in line with the pay uplift applied to contract values.

However, we recognise that practice income has been under enormous pressure for a number of years and therefore any decision on pay increases for associates will inevitably reflect local business circumstances, and will be a matter for direct negotiation between the parties. Current recruitment difficulties may also be a factor in pay negotiations between associates and practice owners. We encourage associates and practice owners to discuss their contractual terms in light of the uplift, when it is implemented.

Employed NHS dentists

Those dentists in employed NHS roles will have a pay uplift applied to their salary and backdated to 1 April 2025 (it will appear in pay packets from August 2025).
Resident dentists (formerly known as hospital dental trainees) in England will receive a 4% consolidated pay uplift, plus a consolidated extra uplift of £750 to their pay points.

All other dentists in employed NHS roles, such as in community dental services, academia, speciality and specialist dentists, and hospital consultants in England, will receive a 4% consolidated pay uplift.

Armed forces dentists

For armed forces dentists, rates of base pay will increase by 4.5% for all ranks within the Medical Officers and Dental Officers cadre from 1 April 2025 (this will appear in pay packets from August 2025).