🧾 Your GP Payslip Decoded: What Every Line Actually Means

     

Let’s face it, your NHS payslip isn’t exactly intuitive. Between all the acronyms, columns, and cryptic figures, it can be hard to know what you're actually being paid and why. For most it feels easier to burry your head in the sand and ignore it altogether...

This guide breaks down every section your payslip as a GP registrar so you can read it with confidence and be sure you're getting paid correctly 💸

          

🔝 Top Section: Identity & Employment Info

This is usually found at the top of your payslip and is relatively straightforward. 

• Assignment Number
  Your unique NHS payroll ID for this specific job. You’ll get a new one each time you rotate to a different Trust.
• SAL/WAGE
  Your base salary (this matches the ST1/ST2/ST3 rate from the latest pay circular - see our GP Pay Explained article).
• Standard Hours
  Usually listed as “40.00” for full-time, showing your contracted weekly hours.
• Tax Office Ref
  The reference number for your HMRC tax office.
• Tax Code
  This determines how much income tax is deducted. The standard code is often 1257L unless you have special adjustments.
• NI Number
  Your National Insurance number — this ensures you’re paying into the correct NI record for pensions and benefits.
  
  

       

💰 Pay & Allowances (Left-hand column)

Basic Pay

Your core salary before any enhancements. This matches your nodal pay point (ST1/ST2/ST3), assuming a 40-hour week.

Flexible Pay Premium (FPP) 

An additional payment given to doctors on hard-to-fill training programmes (GP is one of them). It’s worth £11,118 per year (as of 2025) and is paid monthly, only during GP placements, not during hospital posts.

Addn Roster Hours NP

Stands for “Additional Rostered Hours – Non-Premium”. These are extra hours above 40 per week that don’t qualify for night or weekend enhancements.
📌 Paid at your standard hourly rate (1/40th of your weekly salary per hour).

Night Duty 37%

Enhanced pay for working between 21:00–07:00 during hospital placements.

Weekend Allowance (e.g. <1 in 4–1 in 5)

If you're doing hospital weekends, this shows the frequency-based uplift (e.g. 6% of basic salary for 1 in 5 weekends).
📌 This stops when you rotate into GP placements.

See our GP Pay Explained article to understand each of these payments in more detail

            

💸 Deductions (Right-hand column)

😭 PAYE

“Pay As You Earn” income tax - calculated based on your tax code from your gross salary.

• Personal Allowance (tax-free): Up to £12,570 → 0%
  
• Basic Rate: £12,571 – £50,270 → 20% tax
  
• Higher Rate: £50,271 – £125,140 → 40% tax
  
• Additional Rate: Over £125,140 → 45% tax

🧮 PAYE is progressive meaning you only pay the higher rate on the portion of income above each threshold.

For example:

• the first £12,570 is tax-free
• then 20% is charged on income up to £50,270
• then 40% applies only to income above that.

😭😭 NI A

National Insurance contributions (Class 1).
The “A” refers to your NI contribution category (A is the standard).

NHS Pension

Your employee contribution is based on your pensionable pay band (how much you earn):

• £33,248 to £49,913 → 9.8%
• £49,914 to £63,994 → 10.7%
• £63,995 and above → 12.5%

The NHS pension is confusing. Check out our comprehensive guide here.

😭😭😭 Student Loan

Deducted if you're above the income threshold. Sadly for most of us this essentially acts like a second tax.. 

      

📈 Year-To-Date Balances (Bottom left)

This tracks your total pay and deductions so far this tax year.

• Gross Pay — Total pay before any deductions.
• NI Letter — Same as above: usually “A”.
• NI Pay / NI Conts — Your cumulative eligible earnings and total NI paid.
• Other NI Pay — Other amounts counted for NI (e.g. benefits-in-kind).
• Taxable Pay — Total income subject to PAYE tax.
• Tax Paid — Total income tax paid this tax year.
• Pension Conts — Total pension contributions this year.
• Pensionable Pay — The portion of your income that counts toward your NHS pension.
  📌 Not all enhancements are pensionable — check the 2016 TCS for full details.

         

📅 This Period Summary (Bottom right)

A summary of this month’s pay.

• Pensionable Pay — Same as above, but for this month.
• Tax Period — Current tax month (e.g. 03 = June if April is month 1).
• Frequency — Usually “Monthly”.
• Period End Date — Final day of the pay period.
• Pay Date — The date your salary hits your account.
• Pay Method — Usually “BACS” (bank transfer).
• Taxable Pay / Non-Taxable Pay — Your breakdown this month.
• Total Payments — Your gross pay this period.
• Total Deductions — Total tax, NI, pension, student loan etc.

           

🧾 Net Pay

The final amount paid into your bank account this month.

       

💬 Message from Employer

Sometimes used to tell you about pay uplifts, strike deductions, payroll delays, or internal updates. Worth a glance each month.

         

📌 Summary

Understanding your payslip helps you:

• Spot errors early
• Make sure enhancements are paid correctly
• Track your pension and taxes

Got a confusing line on your payslip? Screenshot it (with personal info redacted) and ask payroll — or reach out to your GP programme admin team for help.

           

🔜 Next Up...

📘 NHS Pensions Explained: What You Need to Know
We’ll demystify the 2015 scheme, your contributions, retirement age, and what’s actually worth knowing as a GP registrar.