How much do I earn as a Doctor in the UK (Full breakdown of my salary 2024)

Summary

In this informative video, junior doctor Abhinav Kumar from the UK offers an in-depth look at the salary structure for Foundation Year 2 doctors, highlighting the basic pay, additional hours, night shifts, and weekend work. He explains the concept of banding, which distributes extra pay for anti-social hours evenly across the year, and breaks down his own pay slip to illustrate the impact of taxes, national insurance, and pension contributions on take-home pay. Abhinav emphasizes the benefits of the NHS pension and provides a realistic view of a junior doctor's monthly income, encouraging those considering a medical career in the UK.

Takeaways

• 🇬🇧 The speaker, Abhinav Kumar, is a junior doctor in the UK, having graduated from medical school in India in 2020.
• 💼 He discusses the salary structure for junior doctors in the UK, emphasizing the importance of understanding the different components of the pay.
• 💰 As a Foundation Year 2 (FY2) doctor, his starting salary is £34,000, which is subject to adjustments based on various factors including banding.
• 🕒 The 'basic' salary is calculated on the assumption of working 40 hours a week within normal business hours, with additional pay for anti-social hours.
• 🌙 Night shifts are compensated at a higher rate, typically around 33% more than the basic pay for hours worked outside of standard business hours.
• 📈 Salary increases are tied to 'nodal points' rather than just seniority, with different increments as one progresses from F2 to CT1, CT2, etc.
• 📊 The speaker's pay slip for a full month of work includes basic pay, additional hours, night work, and weekend work, totaling a pre-tax income of £48,632.91.
• 💸 Taxes and deductions include Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and a one-time CRB Enhanced Check fee.
• 📉 After taxes and deductions, the net income for the month was £2,914.86, which is a significant increase from the basic salary alone due to additional work hours.
• 🏦 The NHS pension is highly recommended, as it offers long-term benefits, even though it means less take-home pay in the short term.
• 📈 The total annual take-home salary, including additional pay for extra hours, night shifts, and weekends, is estimated to be around £35,000.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video transcript?

The main topic of the video transcript is about explaining the salary structure of a junior doctor in the UK, including various components like basic pay, additional hours, night shifts, and weekends.

Who is the speaker of the video transcript?

The speaker of the video transcript is Abhinav Kumar, a junior doctor working in the UK and an international medical graduate from India.

What is the basic annual salary of an FY2 doctor in the UK according to the transcript?

The basic annual salary of an FY2 doctor in the UK, as mentioned in the transcript, is £34,000.

What is meant by 'banding' in the context of the video?

In the context of the video, 'banding' refers to the method of calculating and distributing extra pay for hours worked outside of routine business hours, ensuring a consistent monthly salary despite variable work hours.

How is the basic pay of a junior doctor calculated?

The basic pay of a junior doctor is calculated based on the assumption of working 40 hours a week for 4.34 weeks in a month, which equals 173.81 hours, multiplied by the hourly rate.

What is the significance of the nodal points in determining a junior doctor's salary?

The nodal points are significant in determining a junior doctor's salary as they represent different stages or increments in their career path, with each nodal point corresponding to a specific salary level.

What is the additional pay for working anti-social hours, such as nights?

The additional pay for working anti-social hours, such as nights, is typically around 33% of the basic pay for those hours worked outside of the standard business day.

How does the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) affect the working hours of a junior doctor?

The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) sets a limit on the number of hours a junior doctor can work per week, with a standard of 40 hours, and also dictates the conditions for additional hours worked beyond this limit.

What is the role of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) in the taxation of a junior doctor's salary?

Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is the system where a portion of the salary is withheld by the employer and paid as taxes to the government on a monthly basis, based on the individual's income and tax bracket.

What are the main deductions from a junior doctor's salary as described in the transcript?

The main deductions from a junior doctor's salary, as described in the transcript, include Pay As You Earn taxes, National Insurance, pension contributions, and the cost of the CRB Enhanced Check.

What is the purpose of the NHS pension and why is it beneficial for junior doctors to contribute to it?

The NHS pension is a retirement savings plan provided to NHS employees, which is considered one of the best pension plans. It is beneficial for junior doctors to contribute to it because it offers long-term financial security and potential tax savings.

How does the speaker calculate the net effective income after taxes and deductions?

The speaker calculates the net effective income by subtracting taxes, National Insurance, pension contributions, and other deductions from the total pre-tax salary.

What is the estimated annual take-home salary for the speaker after taxes and deductions?

The estimated annual take-home salary for the speaker after taxes and deductions is around £35,000.

Outlines

00:00

👩‍⚕️ Introduction to Junior Doctor's Salary in the UK

In this introductory paragraph, Abhinav Kumar, a junior doctor in the UK and an international medical graduate from India, provides an overview of the salary structure for junior doctors. He explains that while the medical profession is about saving lives, discussing money is often avoided, especially in the UK where most doctors receive a government salary. He introduces the topic of banding, which affects how salaries are calculated, and promises to explain the salary components in detail. The basic salary for a Foundation Year 2 (FY2) doctor is highlighted as £34,000, with variations for Foundation Year 1 (FY1) and more senior positions.

05:05

📈 Understanding the Components of a Junior Doctor's Salary

This paragraph delves into the specifics of how a junior doctor's salary is calculated, including basic pay, additional hours, night shifts, and weekend work. Abhinav explains the concept of banding, which averages out payments for anti-social hours over the year to ensure a consistent monthly income. He provides an example using his own pay slip from his second month of work, detailing how the basic pay is calculated based on an average month's worth of hours and the rate per hour. Additional payments for hours worked outside of standard business hours, as well as a percentage increase for weekend work, are also discussed. The paragraph concludes with a summary of Abhinav's total income before taxes.

10:06

💼 Deductions and Taxes on a Junior Doctor's Salary

In this section, Abhinav addresses the deductions from his salary, starting with Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes, which are withheld by the employer and paid to the tax authorities. He explains the tax brackets and how his income is taxed at 20% above £12,500. National insurance, a contribution towards government services including the NHS, is also discussed, with Abhinav noting that it has a cap and is not solely responsible for NHS funding. The paragraph also covers the NHS pension scheme, which Abhinav strongly recommends contributing to for long-term benefits, despite the initial reduction in take-home pay. The final deduction mentioned is for the CRB Enhanced Check, a security background check required for medical professionals, which is billed to the employee over several months.

15:13

📊 Net Income and Financial Outlook for a Junior Doctor

Abhinav concludes the script by summarizing his net income after taxes and deductions. He provides a breakdown of his earnings in the first proper month of work, highlighting the difference between his gross income and the amount he actually takes home. He also compares his current take-home pay to what he would earn if only receiving his basic salary, emphasizing the value of additional hours and shifts. The paragraph ends with a personal financial outlook, considering rent and living expenses, and the potential savings he can make each month, which amounts to approximately £35,000 per year after taxes.

20:18

🌐 Additional Resources for Aspiring UK Junior Doctors

In the final paragraph, Abhinav offers further assistance to those interested in pursuing a career as a junior doctor in the UK. He refers viewers to another video where he provides a step-by-step guide covering the journey from medical school internship to starting a first job in the UK. The paragraph serves as a sign-off and a resource for additional information, encouraging viewers to continue exploring the topic with the provided guidance.

Keywords

💡Medical profession

The medical profession refers to the field of healthcare practice, encompassing a variety of roles including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers. In the video, the medical profession is highlighted as a career focused on saving lives, with a strong ethical commitment to patient care. The speaker, a junior doctor, discusses the financial aspects of working in this profession in the UK.

💡Junior doctor

A junior doctor is an entry-level physician who has completed medical school and is in the initial stages of their medical career, often undergoing further training or internships. In the script, the term is used to describe the speaker's role and the specific salary and working conditions associated with this position in the UK's healthcare system.

💡Government salary

A government salary is the income received from employment by or on behalf of the government. In the context of the video, the speaker mentions that in the UK, most of a junior doctor's income comes from a government salary, indicating the public funding of the healthcare sector and its impact on physician compensation.

💡Private sector

The private sector refers to the part of the economy that is not controlled by the government and is operated by private individuals or companies. The script contrasts the UK's government-funded healthcare with other countries where the private sector might play a more significant role in healthcare provision and physician salaries.

💡Foundation Year 2 (FY2)

Foundation Year 2, or FY2, is the second year of the two-year Foundation Programme for newly qualified doctors in the UK. The speaker identifies as an FY2 doctor and discusses the salary associated with this level of training and experience in the UK's National Health Service (NHS).

💡Banding

Banding, in the context of the video, refers to the method of calculating and distributing additional pay for hours worked outside of standard business hours. The speaker explains how banding ensures a consistent monthly income for junior doctors, accounting for variations in shift work, including nights and weekends.

💡Anti-social hours

Anti-social hours are work hours outside of the typical daytime business hours, such as nights and weekends. The script mentions that working during these hours entitles doctors to additional pay, reflecting the extra compensation for the disruption to their personal life and social activities.

💡Pay As You Earn (PAYE)

Pay As You Earn, or PAYE, is a system where income tax is deducted from wages and salaries by the employer and paid to the tax authority. In the video, the speaker discusses how PAYE affects their take-home pay, with a portion of their salary withheld for tax purposes.

💡National Insurance

National Insurance is a social security contribution in the UK that funds various state benefits and the National Health Service. The script explains that as a junior doctor, the speaker pays National Insurance, which contributes to their eligibility for certain government services and benefits.

💡Pension

A pension is a fund into which a sum is regularly paid during employment, to provide income when the individual retires. The speaker discusses contributing a percentage of their pre-tax income to the NHS pension scheme, emphasizing its long-term benefits and the financial wisdom of participating in this retirement plan.

💡CRB Enhanced Check

A CRB Enhanced Check, now known as a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check, is a background security check in the UK that screens individuals for certain criminal convictions or other relevant information. The speaker mentions this as a requirement for their role as a doctor, ensuring they are suitable to work with vulnerable populations.

Highlights

Medical profession's focus on saving lives and avoiding discussions about money, especially in the UK where income is primarily from government salary.

Introduction of Abhinav Kumar, a junior doctor in the UK and an international medical graduate from India, sharing insights on junior doctor's salary.

Revealing the annual salary of a Foundation Year 2 doctor in the UK as £34,000 and explaining the components that contribute to this figure.

Explanation of 'banding' and its impact on monthly salary distribution for junior doctors, ensuring consistency regardless of varying work hours.

Details on how the basic salary is calculated for junior doctors, including the concept of nodal points and their influence on pay increments.

Clarification on the difference between basic pay and additional pay for anti-social hours, including the percentage increase for night shifts.

Description of how working outside standard business hours, such as nights and weekends, affects a doctor's salary through extra pay.

Presentation of Abhinav's personal pay slip, illustrating the breakdown of income from basic pay, additional hours, night shifts, and weekends.

Calculation of average weekly hours worked and how it translates to monthly basic pay hours for doctors.

Discussion on the European Working Time Directive and its implications for the number of hours doctors can work weekly.

Breakdown of how additional hours worked outside standard business hours are compensated with extra pay.

Elucidation of the tax system in the UK, specifically Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and its effect on a doctor's monthly salary.

Explanation of National Insurance contributions, their purpose, and how they are calculated for junior doctors.

Importance of pension contributions for doctors, the benefits of the NHS pension scheme, and personal considerations for opting in or out.

The cost and payment plan for the CRB Enhanced Check required for doctors, including how it's deducted from the salary.

Final summary of net income after taxes and deductions, providing a realistic view of a junior doctor's take-home pay in the UK.

Comparison of take-home salary with basic salary, highlighting the financial benefits of additional work hours, night shifts, and weekends.

Encouragement for prospective junior doctors to consider the UK, with a reference to a step-by-step guide video for moving and working in the UK.

Transcripts

Medical profession is all about saving lives  and feeling good about it while avoiding the  

topic of money, especially if you are in a  country like UK where most of your income  

is from the government salary and the private  sector is not that dominant. Well, fear not,  

my friends and foe, for I, a junior doctor in  the UK, will tell you everything there is to  

know about salary of a junior doctor. Hi, my name  is Abhinav Kumar. I'm one of the junior doctors  

working here in the UK. I am an international  medical graduate, having graduated from India,  

back in 2020, and working here for the past  year; but I have come to a good understanding  

of what exactly drives a junior doctor's salary. So here's the big number—the one that you've all  

come looking for. How much do I, as a Foundation  Year 2 doctor, make in my first year working in  

the UK? And the number is £34,000. I'm going to  tell you a little bit more about how we get to  

the number 34,000, but wait, is £34,000 by 12,  all I take home in a month? Well not exactly.  

That is where the magic of banding comes in. And  if you are a junior doctor watching this video,  

then I hope by the end of this discussion  you'll be able to read your own salary  

slip quite clearly and know what each of the  categories in the salary slip are for. In fact,  

it's even mentioned on the government website as  well as many other places. And it also increases  

every year to keep up with the rising cost  of living. So for an FY2 doctor in this year,  

the basic salary, as you can see on the screen, is  £34,000—and rounding error. For an FY1 that will  

be a little less. And for anybody senior, it'll  be clearly a little more. And that's all dependent  

on the nodal point at which your salary is. So what is the basic salary or basic pay that  

I'm talking about? Well, if we come back to my  chart, you can see that there are five nodal  

points before somebody becomes a consultant.  So it's not just your seniority that decides  

your pay increment, it also is determined by  which nodal point your seniority falls in. As  

you can see, after my F2, when I become a CT1,  my salary will increase, but when I go to CT2,  

my salary will stay the same as I'll be still  in the same nodal point. “Basic” salary means  

the pay that somebody would get if they worked  40 hours a week for a whole year—and that too,  

they are only working during the normal eight to  five business hours, because the rest of the hours  

are called anti-social hours; if you're working  during those hours, you will get an increment to  

what your basic pay is. But as you know, the life  of a doctor is not that simple. The hospital's  

work does not begin at eight and end at five.  The hospital works round the clock. So yeah,  

working nights and working weekends and working  outside of business hours demand an extra income.  

So yeah, what they do is they pay you a higher  percentage of your salary outside of the hours  

that you work in. Usually it'll be fixed for  you; somewhere around 33% would be the rate…  

going rate for nights. So if you get paid £10,  you'll get £10 plus £3.3—33%—for working nights.  

So this is where banding comes in. When you get a  job, your employer calculates how much percentage  

of hours are outside of your routine hours,  allocates a higher percentage of salary to those  

hours and then distributes it evenly throughout  the year. So let's say in a month you don't work  

many out of hour shifts, but the other month  you work a lot more and yet every month your  

salary will be the same because they're taking an  estimate over a 12-month period. So coming to the  

discussion of the pay slip, I will be sharing with  you my pay slip from the second month because that  

is when I worked the complete month from day  one till day 30. And I worked all the shifts  

like I should be having because my first month in  the NHS was shadowing period, supernumerary, and  

things like that, which involved me not working  as much. And of course I didn't start on the  

first day so my salary in the first month was not  a true representative of what I would be making.  

So here is my pay slip. Looking at the pay  slip, you can see that it's not as simple as,  

here is how much you've made per month, here is  your taxes, take this as in your bank account and  

ta-ta bye-bye. It's got a lot more nuance than  that. So let's have a look at the numbers. Let's  

look at the income first before we look at the  deductions. So the incomes: here, you can see  

on the screen we have my basic pay, we have the  additional hours worked, we have the nights and  

we have the weekends. So let's look at the first  column, which is the basic pay hours. That crazy  

173.81 hours worked in the week, how do you get  to such a number? What is 0.81 and did you really  

just left 20 minutes before the end of a shift, to  come up with this non-whole number? No. What they  

do is they take the average number of days in a  month. How many would you think that is? Would you  

say that's 30, 31, 30.5? No. It comes up to—well  I could say that in weeks actually, it comes up to  

4.34 weeks in a month, if you average our 365 days  divided by 12 and then divided again by seven to  

find out the number of weeks. So that's 4.34 weeks  in a month. So with this many weeks, and every  

week you work 40 hours, so now you have 40 hours  into 4.34 weeks. And there you go, that is 173.81.  

Now F2’s rate per hour is £16.3071 an hour. So  that's what I would be getting paid for every  

single one of these basic hours. Now, in most  cases in your job you will not just be working  

40 basic hours a week. The European Working Time  Directive—EWTD, allows for a little more higher  

number of hours, but 40 is that sweet spot which  people have settled down on. We work four and a  

half hours more per week than the 40 hours. So  this extra 4.5 hours a week multiplied by 4.3452  

weeks in a month comes up to the additional hours,  which is 19.55 hours. And once again that is paid  

at my standard basic pay, which is 16.3071. Now we saw that the whole 44.5 hours worked in  

a week, multiplied by 4.34 to give you the number  of hours worked in a month, were all paid at the  

basic pay rate; and that's only true if you've  only worked during the eight to five—or the  

normal business day. But what about if you did  not work just during those normal time periods;  

outside of the standard business day hours?  Basically some of these hours were worked outside  

of this eight to five shift, which they have not  included in the first two columns. So out of all  

the hours that I have worked in the first two  rows, you can see that it says 102 hours were  

worked outside of the standard business day. So  those 102 hours demand an extra pay, and of course  

I have been paid the basic salary for them so I'm  only left with the extra pay for those 102 hours.  

So 37% of 102 will give you 37.78. Now these  35.78 still need the full basic salary paid  

off for them. It's kind of tricky to wrap your  head around, but that's what they mean. 102 hours  

of work, which demand the extra pay. They have  done the math and they found out that if they  

pay a basic salary for 37 more hours, they will  have effectively paid the 37% extra for all the  

102 hours that we have worked. And that is how you  get this third row of night hours. So that got me  

£616. Now finally, my rota comprises me having  to work every second to every third weekend.  

You cannot work every weekend; that would not meet  the European Working Time Directive, but you can  

start working one in two weekends to one in three  weekends and then you go lower and lower, one in  

three to one in four to one in five, et cetera. So  if this happens to be your case—in my case it came  

up to one in two to one in three, that, based on  this chart right here, will command an even higher  

pay. I'm eligible for 10% more of my basic income.  So that extra 10% gives me £283.43 this month.  

So in summary, focusing on all the income I  have made, this is what it is. My basic salary,  

£34,012. My extra hours worked, which came up to  four and a half hours, that attracted an annual  

salary increase, £3,826.25. Me working every one  in two to every one in three weekends attracted an  

extra 10% income, which came up to £3,401.20. And  the nights that I work in a week that comes up to  

23.3 hours, that gets me paid an extra £7,393. So  in total, before taxes—and I might do before taxes  

because this is the UK, and in general. So in  total, my final salary comes up to £48,632.91.  

Yay. “Did you tell them about me yet?”  

Hey, who are you? “I'm the tax man”.  

What do you want? “You got their hopes really high  

up there. 48,600, huh?” And?  

“What about my share?” Ah, but I did tell them.  

Let me just clarify anyway. Sorry, my bad. So like I was saying, this payment is before  

my taxes. So coming to deductions. What are you doing?  

“Looking for undisclosed income?” Ahhh.  

Now coming to the deduction side, here we have  a look at all my deductions. So as you can see,  

it took me about a month or two, but eventually I  started paying something called Pay As You Earn,  

which in some other countries you would  be familiar as tax deducted at source,  

which means every month, some of the salary is  withheld by your employer and paid off as taxes  

to the tax man. So this month I paid £489, and I  will continue to keep paying this until my salary  

increases to a point where I enter a higher tax  bracket. Currently, as my income is less than  

£50,000, any income above £12,500 is taxed at  20%. So there are two ways in which we could  

pay our taxes. One would be if you are going to  just be continuously employed, like hassle free,  

then we would know that you would earn this much  in 12 months, you find out the tax that you owe  

in 12 months over that total income divided by  12 and charge that to you monthly. And the other  

method is, you Pay As You Earn, where you are  not initially charged for any income that you  

are making on a monthly basis below the taxable  bracket. And the moment you enter, you are only  

charged on that income there and then, for now  being in the taxable bracket basically. So if  

you leave at the end of 10 months, you are  not being charged extra because your monthly  

percentage would've been higher if you were to  take a 12-month average, which is why we pay  

our taxes on a monthly basis. And the first one or  two payslips that you make in the UK will have no  

pay as you earn taxes on them because of course  at that point, let's say if you've only earned  

£4,000 in the first month before taxes, there is  literally nothing to tax you on because you are  

still under the tax bracket for Pay As You Earn.  Of course you'll be paying other things like your  

pension, your national insurance, and any other  debt that you owe, like the UK med students owe  

the med school student loans, so that is deducted  to them right there and then before they get the  

salary. So yeah our model is Pay As You Earn,  and as you can see, in this month I paid £489.  

Then I pay something called national insurance—and  I am under national insurance Type A. Type A  

is for employees; and for self-employed or  businessmen, they have a different national  

insurance bracket. So what is national insurance?  It is something which helps pay a lot of bills  

for the government and… including things like  the NHS as well as other departments—and here  

is a long list for that—although the NHS is  funded a lot more by general taxation than by  

national insurance. So even though I could say  my national insurance is paying my own salary,  

it's only such a small percentage of the total  NHS expense that is obtained from the national  

insurance. The rest of it is just general tax. So  yeah, in a way I am paying my own salary, but it's  

very minuscule and here’s a chart to show how much  the NHS is dependent on national insurance versus  

general taxation for its operations. So do I have  to pay national insurance? Apparently not. I can  

choose not to pay national insurance, but then  that would mean that when I needed some help,  

let's say if I wanted some NHS facilities, I would  not be eligible to claim them for free because I  

never paid my national insurance. So let's say you  are a self-employed person or you have a limited  

liability company or something and you choose to  not pay your national insurance, but when it comes  

time for you to obtain NHS services, you will  end up getting money deducted for NHS facilities,  

which the rest of the population doesn't have  to because they pay the national insurance.  

So how much is the national insurance? So this  national insurance is not like taxation where the  

more income you make, the more taxes you pay.  There is a ceiling at which you reach and you  

don't pay much more national insurance anymore.  So for an income between £242 and £967 per week,  

you have to pay 12% national insurance,  and for any income above £967 per week,  

you'll only pay 2% on that, and that goes on.  So you are capped at 2% even if you're earning  

a million. So my national insurance for this  month came to £360.57. So now let's look at the  

pension. Now pension is something that you pay  into—and they often use the term pension pot.  

So it's like a pension that you can choose  to opt into; by default you are opted into,  

but apparently you can choose to opt into more  than one pension pot. So when you work in the NHS,  

you are provided the NHS pension, which happens to  be one of the best pension plans around. And any  

money that you put into it will end up benefiting  you years down the line like a typical pension.  

So in my case, the 9.8% of my pre-tax income  going into the NHS pension every month comes  

up to £277 in a month. And I know years  down the line I will benefit from it.  

Oh, Hi. “Thank you Abhinav for  

looking after me in my old age”. You're welcome, old Abhinav.  

And pension—the 9.8% that I pay into the pension,  comes out of only the basic hours that I have  

worked. So no additional hours, no nights, no  weekends. It's just 9.8% of the 40 hours that I  

work in a week that are eligible for basic pay.  It only takes the first row of my payment which  

is just the purely basic pay and takes 9.8%  of that and puts it into my pension. So let's  

say if I were to earn £100, then 9.8% of that  would go into the pension pot. So £9.8 would go  

into the NHS pension for myself. For the £9.8 that  didn't get taxed, if I was in the 20% tax bracket,  

that would mean £1.8 - £1.9 that would have just  been lost. Now if you make it into thousands,  

you can imagine losing out quite a bit of money  to taxation if you choose to not pay into the  

pension. So it is advisable to pay into NHS  pension, which happens to be one of the best.  

But in the initial years when you're fresh in  the UK, you might be in dire need of a little  

more income and that is when you would choose to  opt out of pension, but given that that's one of  

the best pension plans around, more details of it  are beyond the scope of this video really. So the  

benefit of this particular pension outweighs the  extra money that you will end up getting in the  

initial years, for what I think. If you want to  opt out of NHS pension, you just need to speak to  

your human resource manager or even your junior  doctor administrator and they could help you  

with it. I never really needed this extra bit of  income. We are already in the £2,000, £3,000 pound  

per month range so a little, let’s say, £100, £200  extra would not make much of a difference. And if  

you were to take the money instead of depositing  it in the pension, you are also getting taxed on  

that money which you're taking away from  your pension that you're not putting into  

the pension. If you can put the money into your  NHS pension, then I would say you keep doing it  

because it's one of the things that will assure  your future. So I would urge you to continue to  

put money into your NHS pension regardless of  what other have said, with the amount of income  

that you make—unless you have a dependent who's  not earning; let's say you come into the UK and  

you bring your spouse over to UK and now you need  a little more money to keep both of you afloat in  

this country while your spouse looks for a job  or anything else, then I guess it understandable  

if you don't want to pay into the pension pot. Now the final bit, the CRB Enhanced Check. What is  

this? Because I was starting my job as a doctor,  I require an enhanced background security check to  

make sure I'm not a terrorist, not affiliated to  a terrorist organization and any other wrongdoing,  

no outstanding criminal investigations. I'm going  to be dealing with a lot of vulnerable people so  

the check is important for my profession. So it  costs around £35 - £36, which my employer took  

upon themselves and then billed me every month for  it. So I was in debt to them for the CRB Enhanced  

Check, and after about three to four months I  eventually managed to pay it off. So every month  

they deduct around £10 something until finally  it was £7 remaining and that they deducted in the  

last month, and that is it. So I've paid off my  Enhanced Check now, but that's what it is in the  

bill. So there you have it, in my first proper  month working as a junior doctor in the NHS,  

I made £4,052 before taxes and ended up paying out  £1,137. And that brings my net effective income  

to £2,914.86, that in Indian rupees would be  around 290,000 rupees. So if we think of my rent,  

which is around £500 to £600 a month, I'm still  taking home a good chunk; we're around £2,300,  

which I say would be decent. And then you include  food, bills and everything, so I have around  

£1,500 to save up every month. So all in all, that  comes up to roughly £35,000 a year, which I get to  

take home after taxes. And if I were to just earn  my basic salary of £34,000 (and change) a year,  

I would only be taking home around £24,000 a year.  And right now I'm taking home £35,000 so this  

extra hours, night shift, weekends add an extra  £10,000, after taxes, to my take home salary.  

So now, if this is appealing to you, and if you're  not yet working here as a junior doctor in the UK,  

then you can check out this video right here  where I have given you a step-by-step breakdown  

of my journey coming to UK. And it'll help you in  every step of the way, right from your internship  

days in med school, all the way to starting  your first job in this country. My name is  

Abhinav Kumar and you're watching Thrown in  the Deep, and I'll see you in the next video.