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Speech and language therapist : Salary and conditions

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  1. Job description
  2. Salary and conditions
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Case studies

  • Jobs in the National Health Service (NHS) as a speech and language therapist are usually covered by the Agenda for Change pay scale  consisting of nine pay bands. Individual trusts have their own terms and conditions.
  • The typical starting salary for speech and language therapists in the NHS (see NHS Careers ) is around £21,200. This can rise quickly to £25,500 - £34,189. Other employers, such as charities and local education authorities, offer comparable pay.
  • The salary for senior speech and language therapists starts at around £36,552 and can rise to £46,374. Principal and lead speech and language therapists with significant management responsibilities can earn between £55,000 and £58,000.
  • Full-time NHS allied health professionals work 37.5 hours a week. Hours are typically 9am to 5pm with the possibility of some extra hours as and when required.
  • The workplace may be a hospital, health centre, day-care centre, rehabilitation unit, school or pre-school, a client's home, prison or young offenders' institution. Therapists may work in several different locations during the week.
  • Self-employment/freelance work is expanding. Many experienced practitioners do some private work and an increasing number of them see private clients only.
  • Jobs are available in most locations, although there are more opportunities in urban areas.
  • Opportunities for flexible and part-time work are good. Career breaks and job-sharing are common.
  • The vast majority (over 90%) of speech and language therapists are female, although male therapists are represented at senior level.
  • Stress may be an issue in this profession and can be caused by a number of factors, including a heavy workload, expectations of patients and relatives, difficulties in liaising with a wide range of other professionals and financial/resource constraints. The particular challenges of a post depend on the clients’ circumstances, for example congenital disorders, physical and mental disabilities, illness (e.g. Parkinson's disease, throat cancer), drug or alcohol dependency and accidents causing head and neck injuries.
  • Although travel within a working day is frequent, absence from home overnight and overseas work are uncommon.
 
AGCAS
Written by Andrea Gregory, AGCAS
Date: 
December 2010
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