NHS Pay Rise 2026/27
Check your uplift
Gross figures are the England Agenda for Change rates. Take-home uses the 2026/27 tax and National Insurance rates with your chosen pension %. Your real payslip also depends on unsocial-hours payments, overtime and your exact pension tier.
Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27 (England)
| Band | Entry point | Intermediate | Top of band | Typical roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 | £32,073 | £34,592 | £39,043 | Newly qualified nurse, paramedic, physiotherapist |
| Band 6 | £39,959 | £42,170 | £48,117 | Specialist nurse, senior physiotherapist, team leader |
| Band 7 | £49,387 | £51,932 | £56,515 | Advanced nurse practitioner, ward manager |
All figures are full-time equivalent for a 37.5-hour week, before any high-cost area supplement, unsocial-hours payments or overtime. Band 5 rises to the intermediate point after 2 years and the top after a further 2 years; Bands 6 and 7 take 2 years then a further 3 years.
What the 2026/27 award was
- 3.3% consolidated uplift on every Agenda for Change pay point, effective 1 April 2026 — so it is baked into basic pay, not a one-off payment.
- Announced 12 February 2026, when the government accepted the NHS Pay Review Body’s 39th report in full.
- Paid on time in April 2026 salaries — the first on-time NHS pay award in six years, so there was no backpay to calculate in England and Wales.
- For comparison: the 2025/26 award was 3.6% and the 2024/25 award was 5.5%.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Agenda for Change is not identical across the UK. Scotland negotiated its own deal: 3.75% for 2026/27, and moved to a 36-hour week in April 2026. A Band 5 nurse in Scotland earns £34,544. Wales applied 3.3% to its own scales (Band 5: £32,557 to £39,631) and lifted the lowest bands separately. Northern Ireland said it would follow England’s 3.3% but had not implemented it by late August 2026.
Doctors and dentists are on a separate track: consultants and SAS doctors got a 3.5% headline uplift through the DDRB. Resident doctors settled separately in June 2026, backdated to 1 April 2026.
What about 2027/28?
The 2027/28 pay round opened in July 2026. No percentage has been announced yet. The Pay Review Body usually reports in spring, with any award effective each 1 April. The government’s evidence for the round plans a 2.4% uplift — that is a plan, not an award. We will update this page when the award is confirmed. Searches for “NHS pay rise 2027” are already rising fast, so check back in spring 2027.
Related: Take Home Pay Calculator · Hourly to Salary Calculator
Sources: NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular (Agenda for Change pay scales); NHS Pay Review Body 39th report (accepted 12 February 2026); NHS Employers pay award announcement 2026. Checked 13 November 2026. This guide is independent and not affiliated with the NHS.