Take-home pay per month for every Agenda for Change pay point in 2026/27: full-time (37.5 hours), England, no high cost area supplement, NHS pension contributions included, no student loan. Pay is the national annual basic salary from 1 April 2026.
| Band | Entry pay | Entry take-home /month | Intermediate pay | Intermediate take-home /month | Top pay | Top take-home /month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1* | £25,272 | £1,700 | – | – | – | – |
| Band 2 | £25,272 | £1,700 | – | – | £25,272 | £1,700 |
| Band 3 | £25,760 | £1,727 | – | – | £27,476 | £1,823 |
| Band 4 | £28,392 | £1,874 | – | – | £31,157 | £1,990 |
| Band 5 | £32,073 | £2,040 | £34,592 | £2,177 | £39,043 | £2,381 |
| Band 6 | £39,959 | £2,430 | £42,170 | £2,548 | £48,117 | £2,866 |
| Band 7 | £49,387 | £2,934 | £51,932 | £3,078 | £56,515 | £3,309 |
| Band 8a | £57,528 | £3,353 | £60,417 | £3,477 | £64,750 | £3,663 |
| Band 8b | £66,582 | £3,742 | £70,896 | £3,863 | £77,368 | £4,136 |
| Band 8c | £79,504 | £4,226 | £84,346 | £4,429 | £91,609 | £4,735 |
| Band 8d | £94,356 | £4,851 | £100,140 | £5,094 | £108,814 | £5,459 |
| Band 9 | £112,782 | £5,626 | £119,583 | £5,835 | £129,783 | £6,115 |
* Band 1 is closed to new entrants. Bands 2 to 4 have an entry and a top pay point only. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
How NHS pay bands work
Most NHS staff in England, apart from doctors, dentists and very senior managers, are paid on the Agenda for Change pay scales. Your job is matched to a band from 1 to 9, and each band has pay points. Bands 5 to 9 have three points (entry, intermediate and top); bands 2 to 4 have two.
You start at the entry point and become eligible to move to the next point after a set time: in Band 5, after 2 years at entry and 2 more years at intermediate; in Bands 6 to 9, after 2 years at entry and 3 years at intermediate; in Bands 3 and 4, after 2 and 3 years. Progression goes through your employer’s pay progression process. For example, a Band 5 nurse moves from £32,073 to £34,592 and then to £39,043.
The 2026/27 pay award is a 3.3% consolidated rise for Agenda for Change staff, effective from 1 April 2026. Full-time hours are 37.5 a week; if you work fewer hours you are paid pro rata, so this calculator multiplies the full-time salary by your hours divided by 37.5.
London weighting: high cost area supplements (HCAS)
If you work in or around London you get a high cost area supplement on top of basic pay. It is a percentage of basic salary with a minimum and maximum each year (full-time values, pro rata for part-time):
| Area | Supplement | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London | 20% | £5,794 | £8,746 |
| Outer London | 15% | £4,870 | £6,137 |
| Fringe | 5% | £1,346 | £2,270 |
HCAS is pensionable, so it counts towards your NHS pension contribution tier. Which zone you are in depends on where you work; the zones are listed in annex 8 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook.
NHS pension contribution tiers from April 2026
The NHS Pension Scheme (England and Wales) takes a percentage of your pensionable pay. The rate depends on your actual annual pensionable pay, so part-time staff pay the rate for what they actually earn, and that one rate applies to all of your pay. The tier ranges were revised from 1 April 2026; the rates are unchanged.
| Actual annual pensionable pay | Member contribution rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,259 | 5.2% |
| £13,260 to £28,854 | 6.5% |
| £28,855 to £35,155 | 8.3% |
| £35,156 to £52,778 | 9.8% |
| £52,779 to £67,668 | 10.7% |
| £67,669 and above | 12.5% |
The NHS pension is a net pay arrangement: your contribution comes off your pay before income tax, so you get tax relief at your highest rate, but National Insurance and student loan repayments are still worked out on your full pay. Contributions cannot be paid by salary sacrifice. For a Band 5 nurse at entry, the £2,662 contribution reduces take-home pay by about £2,130 a year, because it saves £532 in income tax.
Worked examples
Band 5, entry point (£32,073). Pension at 8.3% is £2,662, income tax £3,368 and National Insurance £1,560. Take-home pay is £24,483 a year, about £2,040 a month or £471 a week. The gross hourly rate is £16.40. With a Plan 2 student loan (£242 a year) it is about £2,020 a month.
Band 6, top point (£48,117). Pension at 9.8% is £4,715, income tax £6,166 and National Insurance £2,844. Take-home pay is £34,391 a year, about £2,866 a month or £661 a week.
Band 7, entry point, inner London (£49,387 + £8,746 HCAS). 20% of basic pay would be £9,877, so the £8,746 maximum applies and gross pay is £58,133. Pension at 10.7% is £6,220, income tax £8,197 and National Insurance £3,173. Take-home pay is £40,542 a year, about £3,379 a month or £780 a week.
Part-time Band 5, entry point, 22.5 hours. Pro rata pay is £19,244. Because the tier uses actual pay, pension is 6.5% (£1,251), and take-home pay is about £1,365 a month.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The pay points on this page are the England Agenda for Change scales published by NHS Employers. Scotland has its own NHS pay scales, and Wales and Northern Ireland decide their own pay awards, so if your salary differs, pick Custom salary and enter your full-time salary. Tick Scotland to apply Scottish income tax rates. The pension tiers shown are for the NHS Pension Scheme in England and Wales.