Medical staff turn down extra work at hospitals due to tax-related worries‚ which affects patient-care goals. The situation gets worse as many healthcare workers dont get their pension info on time (which shouldʼve been ready by oct-6)
Dr Vishal Sharma from the British Medical Association explains the odd situation:
Its absurd that anyone could be left worse off by taking on additional work; they are effectively paying to go to work
The money-math shows a weird gap: doctors earning over 200‚000 pounds face shrinking pension allowances; for each 2 pounds above this amount their yearly allowance drops by 1 pound. This means working more hours can result in less take-home pay
NHS goals are now at risk — including the plan by Wes Streeting to add 40‚000 more weekly appointments. The 6-percent pay boost (part of a bigger public-sector package) pushed many doctors into higher tax groups‚ making extra shifts less appealing
Financial expert Graham Crossley shares his view:
Who would want to work a shift that ends up costing them thousands of pounds
The situation needs quick fixes: doctors want the jan-2025 tax reporting deadline moved back. Two years back some rules got better when yearly allowance went up to 60‚000 pounds‚ but the core issue stays the same — healthcare workers still face big tax bills for doing more work
The BMA asks Rachel Reeves to keep pension lump-sum rules as they are and match yearly allowance limits with inflation. Meanwhile doctors keep refusing extra hospital time‚ unsure about possible tax effects