occupational therapy jobs with Pulse

An occupational therapist’s role is to help people with day-to-day activities who, for some reason such as disability, illness, trauma etc have difficulty with these types of tasks. This could involve creating plans of goals and adjustments to enable people to do everyday activities and the things they want to do. For example, commuting to work, playing sports, or simply doing the dishes.

Who you work with could depend on the type of organisation you work for whether you’re working for the NHS or in a private occupational therapy job, however it will most commonly be those with mental health conditions, physical disabilities and/or elderly people.

Occupational therapy is a broad profession. As an occupational therapist, you can often choose to specialise in a particular area. Some of the specialities are:

• Autism
• Brain Injuries
• Diabetes
• Hand Therapy
• Mental Health
• Paediatrics

As well as specialisms, there are also a range of seniority levels, for example occupational therapy assistants all the way up to highly specialist occupational therapists. The type of job can also differ depending on whether you choose to work for the NHS or an occupational therapy agency, as there are plenty of permanent, temporary and locum occupational therapy roles in the industry.

The starting salary for an occupational therapist is an average of £25,655.00 and can reach £31,534, depending on the level of experience and specialism of the position. A senior occupational therapist with more years’ experience is likely to reach band 7, which can earn around £45,839 a year. 
The full salary bands for an occupational therapist are:

• Band 5 £18-23+  
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• Band 6 £23-28+  
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• Band 7 £28-33+ 
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• Band 8a £33-£42+  
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To become an occupational therapist in the NHS, you need to obtain a degree in occupational therapy. Then you can register with the Health and Care Professions council before you can start practising. More information about how to become an NHS occupational therapist can be found here.