Jersey’s junior doctors will receive a 4% pay rise and a £750 consolidated payment next year under a new pay deal.
The award, which is backdated to 1 April 2025, will be funded through a £130,000 transfer from central coffers to the Health Department.
The transfer was signed off by Treasury Minister Elaine Millar on 23 October after the States Employment Board – the panel of politicians which acts as the official employer of all public-sector workers – approved the deal.
It comes after strong criticism over the disparities between clinical and administrative salaries last year, which led to the launch of a formal pay review.
Two Health admin roles which caused particular friction were a ‘Rota Change Manager’ and a ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’, which were advertised on the Government’s website for an annual salary of up to £67,874 and £74,599 respectively, while junior doctors were receiving just over £32,000.
The salary discrepancies were branded “insulting” to junior doctors, while other health staff said that they were detrimental to current employees’ morale and the Health Department’s ability to recruit.
At the time, Consultant Cardiologist Dr Andrew Mitchell called for “a proper review of medical salaries”.
Junior doctors told Express that seeing administrative roles advertised for higher salaries than their own was “very unfair and disheartening”, with one describing the pay gap as “detrimental to morale, retention and recruitment”.
Deputy Malcolm Ferey, Vice-Chair of the States Employment Board, said in March 2024 that the review aimed to ensure Jersey could “attract and retain high-quality medical practitioners” across the health service.
As the latest pay award was not agreed before Ministers proposed their Budget for 2026 and beyond, the new pay deal is not built into future budgets.
While the cost for 2025 has been covered, there is no confirmed funding in place for the years after that. A report accompanying the Treasury Minister’s decision said that extra funding would instead be found and signed off when a new pay deal for 2026 is agreed.
The recurring impact will then be included in the 2027 Budget.
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INSIGHT: A day in the life of a junior doctor
Two Health admin roles – a ‘Rota Change Manager’ and a ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’ – were recently advertised on the Government’s website for an annual salary of up to £67,874 and £74,599 respectively. Consultant Cardiologist Dr Andrew Mitchell took to social media to slam the Rota Change Manager salary as “another example of where pay structures…
