Understanding NHS Category 2 Work and its implications for your medical indemnity

NHS Category 2 work refers to non-contractual tasks that a doctor performs outside their standard NHS duties for which a fee is payable. It shouldn’t be confused with private work, although these services can be provided by doctors working in private practice too. 

This work generally involves assessments and provision of reports to a non NHS organisation. It excludes diagnosis and treatment, which would be considered private practice. 

Category 2 work can include activities such as:

• Investigations or tests for non-clinical reasons. Tests or scans requested by individuals for employment.
• Writing medical reports for insurance companies. For example, you may be asked to provide medical reports for insurance claims, such as for personal injury or life insurance.
• Provide expert witness statements. You may be called to provide expert witness statements for a case, or to testify in court. 
• Carry out assessments for Government Agencies. You might conduct assessments for agencies such as the Department of Work and Pensions, the DVLA or the DVSA, to determine eligibility for benefits or other support, or provide assessments for Section 12 orders.

It’s important to note that you are not obliged to accept any non-contractual work except for statutory certificates, and even more importantly, none of these activities are covered by the NHS indemnity schemes. 

Since this income is separate from NHS earnings, you might need to be aware of it for tax purposes too.

Remember, category 2 cover does not include private practice and/or medico-legal reporting or expert reports commissioned on a private basis. If you are undertaking any private practice or work that is not covered under NHS Indemnity or Category 2, you will require additional indemnity/medical malpractice insurance to cover the full scope of your practice. If you need support for this, you can contact us to obtain a tailored quote.

Why is it important to have indemnity/insurance for your NHS Category 2 work?

If you landed on this page while looking for indemnity for your Category 2 work, you came to the right place!  At the Medical Defence Shield UK (MDS) we offer insurance-backed cover for NHS Category 2 work as standard in our Comprehensive and Clinical Defence plans. 

If you are a GP, our plan includes coverage for up to £5000 of Category 2 income, and £1000 for other medical roles. We can offer additional cover at a small cost if your income from this work exceeds the free thresholds, of course. 

This cover is only provided as part of our membership plans, and cannot be provided as a stand-alone product, so please keep us in mind when it comes to choosing or renewing your medical defence cover. We are very proud of the quality of our service and the unique human touch we bring when dealing with our cases.

Not sure if you do Category 2 work and how much you earn from it?

A general arrangement is that your employer (Trust) will receive payment directly by the non-NHS organisation requesting the work or patient, and will pay you a share of the fee.

The BMA maintains a page to help consultants working our and charging the correct fees for non-NHS work, here.

If you are in doubt on whether you carry out Category 2 work and your income from it, a chat with your employer’s finance department should yield the answers you need.