Payment of Consultant Clinician Salaries

1. Purpose

This policy sets out Cancer Research UK's approach to the payment of consultant clinician salaries. 

2. Scope

This policy covers all consultants whose salaries are supported by Cancer Research UK grants except Strategic Appointments or the salaries of senior scientists; this is covered by the Senior Scientist Salaries Policy. 

3. Definitions

3.1 Strategic Appointments: Appointments agreed as part of a Cancer Research UK Centre award, Clinical Trials Unit or specific appointment made relating to a strategic priority area for the Charity.

3.2 Consultant Clinician: A clinician who has completed their specialist training and is appropriately qualified in a clinical specialism; is practising as an honorary, fixed term or substantive consultant in the UK health services; and is on the Specialist Register. A consultant’s full time working week typically consists of 40 hours split into 10 programmed activities (PA) with two extra/additional programmed activities allowed (APA). 

4. Policy statement

4.1 Salary Allocation for Fellowships

  • 4.1.1 Cancer Research UK will pay the full salary of clinicians supported through personal fellowships. For Clinician Scientist Fellowships and Senior Clinical Research Fellowships, this may be at the level of a consultant salary.
  • 4.1.2 The salary of a consultant clinician will be based on a contract of 10 programmed activities. Cancer Research UK will additionally meet the costs of one APA for academic work on top of their full time salary; however, funding for the APA must be requested in the application. Any such request must be accompanied by a letter of support from the Host Institution providing justification for the APA.
  • 4.1.3 If Cancer Research UK is contributing to a proportion of the fellow’s salary, then the maximum number of PAs that this can be based upon is 11. The proportions will be expressed as a number of PAs. Any extra awards or merits on top of their basic salary will not be met by Cancer Research UK.

4.2 Salary Allocation for all Consultant Clinicians

  • 4.2.1 Consultant clinicians supported through other funding streams (that is, not on a personal fellowship) will receive a salary determined on a case by case basis. 4.2.2 Cancer Research UK will not meet the costs of NHS merit awards or on-call supplements under any circumstances.
  • 4.2.3 Applications for consultant salaries must include the number of PAs in the full time basic contract. If there are more than 10, Cancer Research UK will require justification to support up to one APA for academic work.
  • 4.2.4 All applications for part-funded posts must be on the basis of number of PAs to be supported, not on a percentage of the full-time salary.

Cancer Research UK will keep this policy under review.

View a printable version of this policy:

Policy for Payment of Consultant Clinician Salaries (31KB)