Specialty Training ST3–ST5 Salary
The short answer
A specialty registrar at ST3 to ST5 takes home £44,110 a year — £3,675.82 a month — after income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions.
2026/27 Specialty Training Pay (England — 2016 Contract)
| Pay Point | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| ST1–2 / IMT / Core Training (NP3) | £52,656 | £4,388.00 |
| ST3–5 (NP4) — entry to higher training | £65,048 | £5,420.67 |
| ST6–8 (NP5) — senior registrar | £73,992 | £6,166.00 |
Take-Home Pay After Tax, NI and Pension
| Pay Point | Gross | Pension | Tax | NI | Net | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nodal Point 4 | £65,048 | £6,960 | £10,667 | £3,311 | £44,110 | £3,675.82 |
ST3 to ST5 sit on nodal point 4. Basic pay is only part of a registrar's income: the 2016 contract adds enhanced pay for nights, weekends and on-call availability, which depends on the rota and is not included here. England, standard tax code, no student loan.
Check your own figure
Specialty Training Year 3 (ST3) is the entry point to higher specialty training. After completing F1, F2, and Core / Internal Medicine Training (IMT) or equivalent, doctors compete for ST3 places in their chosen specialty (medicine, surgery, GP, psychiatry, etc.).
ST3 doctors in England sit on Nodal Point 4 (£65,048) of the 2016 hospital doctor contract pay scale. Nodal Point 4 covers ST3, ST4 and ST5 — basic pay is the same across these three years, but earnings increase via on-call frequency, weekend working and additional hours as registrars take on more clinical responsibility.
Above basic, ST3+ doctors typically receive: weekend allowance (3.75%–15% of basic depending on frequency), 37% night enhancement on hours worked 9pm–7am, on-call availability allowance (3% non-resident / 8% resident), and pay for additional hours above the standard 40-hour week. Weekend and availability are pensionable; night and additional hours are not.
ST3 is also where the gap between basic pay and total earnings tends to narrow. Registrars typically work fewer of the most heavily enhanced shifts than foundation doctors, so a larger share of income comes from the nodal point itself. That makes the take-home figures below a closer guide to reality at this stage than they are at F1 or F2.