Quick answer: select the nation, band, point and contracted hours in the NHS pay calculator. It uses official 2026/27 England, Wales and Scotland tables. Northern Ireland is excluded until a final official 2026/27 table can be verified.
Who Agenda for Change covers
Agenda for Change covers most directly employed NHS staff, including many nursing, allied health professional, administrative, estates, healthcare support and scientific roles. Doctors, dentists and some very senior managers use different contracts. A job title alone does not set pay: the evaluated role determines the band, and the employment contract identifies the point and any local supplement.
2026/27 Agenda for Change pay tables
The salaries below are full-time annual basic pay effective from 1 April 2026. Slashes separate pay points within a band. A part-time employee receives a proportion based on contracted hours. England and Wales use 37.5 full-time hours a week. Scotland moved to 36 hours from 1 April 2026.
| Band | England | Wales | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | £25,272 | £26,300 | £26,696 / £28,988 |
| 3 | £25,760 / £27,476 | £26,300 / £27,890 | £29,103 / £31,409 |
| 4 | £28,392 / £31,157 | £28,819 / £31,626 | £31,537 / £34,303 |
| 5 | £32,073 / £34,592 / £39,043 | £32,557 / £35,114 / £39,631 | £34,544 / £36,911 / £43,039 |
| 6 | £39,959 / £42,170 / £48,117 | £40,559 / £42,805 / £48,841 | £43,231 / £45,135 / £52,679 |
| 7 | £49,387 / £51,932 / £56,515 | £50,129 / £52,712 / £57,365 | £52,845 / £54,863 / £61,466 |
| 8a | £57,528 / £60,417 / £64,750 | £58,379 / £61,317 / £65,723 | £65,125 / £70,303 |
| 8b | £66,582 / £70,896 / £77,368 | £67,583 / £71,952 / £78,530 | £76,888 / £82,251 |
| 8c | £79,504 / £84,346 / £91,609 | £80,698 / £85,611 / £92,984 | £90,808 / £97,338 |
| 8d | £94,356 / £100,140 / £108,814 | £95,773 / £101,643 / £110,448 | £107,810 / £112,426 |
| 9 | £112,782 / £119,583 / £129,783 | £114,475 / £121,377 / £131,732 | £127,521 / £133,044 |
Band 1 is closed to new entrants and is not shown. Scotland's table has a different point structure, so the highest number in each row should not be interpreted as the same number of years to progress as England or Wales.
Northern Ireland status
The Department of Health Northern Ireland stated in February 2026 that it wanted to proceed with a 3.3% award, but a final official 2026/27 AfC pay circular and point-by-point table was not verifiable in the department's 2026 workforce guidance on 24 August 2026. MySums does not label the England table as Northern Ireland pay without that authority. NI staff should check the official workforce guidance index and their employer payroll notice.
Pay points and progression
A band can contain an entry, intermediate and top point. Progression is linked to a pay-step date and a review of required standards, including appraisal and mandatory training requirements under the applicable handbook and local process. It should not be budgeted as an unconditional annual rise. A promotion to a higher band is also different from progressing within the current band.
When comparing offers, confirm the starting point in writing, the full-time hours, the pay-step date and whether any recruitment or retention premium is time limited. Payroll arrears from a national award can produce a larger one-off payslip and temporarily increase tax and student loan deductions.
Part-time basic pay
Part-time basic pay is normally full-time salary multiplied by contracted weekly hours divided by national full-time weekly hours. For example, an England Band 5 entry salary of £32,073 at 22.5 hours gives £32,073 x 22.5 / 37.5 = £19,243.80 before supplements. In Scotland, use 36 as the denominator for a contract effective under the 2026 hours change.
This calculation does not convert a full-time role into an hourly casual rate. Overtime, bank work, unsocial-hours enhancements and on-call payments have separate contractual rules. The NHS annual leave calculator handles leave hours separately.
High Cost Area Supplement in England
Eligible English NHS posts in Inner London, Outer London and the Fringe receive High Cost Area Supplement. The amount is a percentage of basic pay constrained by annual minimum and maximum values and is pro-rated for part-time staff. The 2026/27 figures used by the calculator are 20% with a £5,794 minimum and £8,746 maximum for Inner London, 15% with £4,870 and £6,137 for Outer London, and 5% with £1,346 and £2,270 for Fringe.
HCAS is not a generic cost-of-living payment for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Eligibility depends on work location and employer arrangements in England. Do not add it merely because an employee lives in London.
NHS pension member contributions
NHS pension contributions use a tier rate applied to the whole pensionable pay figure, not a marginal slice. England and Wales use the following 2026/27 table. A small pay rise crossing a tier can therefore increase the rate on all pensionable pay.
| Pensionable pay | Member 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% |
Scotland has separate 2026/27 tiers. For current-year changed or new pensionable pay, SPPA's Table 2 uses 5.7%, 6.4%, 7.0%, 8.7%, 9.8%, 10.5%, 11.2%, 11.6% and 12.7% across thresholds up to £13,330, £28,987, £34,302, £43,038, £45,134, £54,862, £59,369, £83,026 and above. Continuing staff whose pensionable pay has not changed can be assigned using previous-year pensionable earnings under SPPA Table 1. The calculator uses the current-pay Table 2 as an estimate and displays that limitation.
From gross NHS pay to take-home pay
- Basic pay is selected from the national table and pro-rated for hours.
- Eligible England HCAS is added to obtain gross pensionable cash pay.
- The NHS pension member contribution is calculated using the national tier.
- Income Tax is calculated on gross pay less the net pay pension contribution.
- Employee National Insurance is calculated on gross pay before that pension deduction.
- Student loan deductions are also calculated from the relevant gross Class 1 earnings, not the lower Income Tax figure.
- The deductions are removed to produce estimated annual, monthly and weekly take-home pay.
Worked example 1: England Band 5 entry point
| Item | Annual amount |
|---|---|
| Basic and gross pay | £32,073.00 |
| NHS pension at 8.3% | £2,662.06 |
| Taxable pay | £29,410.94 |
| Income Tax | £3,368.19 |
| Employee National Insurance | £1,560.24 |
| Student loan | £0.00 |
| Estimated take-home | £24,482.51 |
| Estimated monthly take-home | £2,040.21 |
Assumptions: England, full-time, entry point, standard Personal Allowance, NHS pension member, no HCAS, no student loan, no overtime or other deductions. Payroll rounding and tax codes can create small differences.
Worked example 2: Wales Band 6 entry with Plan 2
| Item | Annual amount |
|---|---|
| Basic and gross pay | £40,559.00 |
| NHS pension at 9.8% | £3,974.78 |
| Taxable pay | £36,584.22 |
| Income Tax | £4,802.84 |
| Employee National Insurance | £2,239.12 |
| Plan 2 repayment on gross earnings | £1,005.66 |
| Estimated take-home | £28,536.60 |
| Estimated monthly take-home | £2,378.05 |
Assumptions: Wales, full-time, Band 6 entry, standard Personal Allowance, NHS pension member, Plan 2, no Postgraduate Loan or additional payments. The student loan calculation uses £40,559 gross earnings because an ordinary net pay NHS pension deduction does not reduce Class 1 earnings.
What the basic-pay estimate excludes
- Unsocial-hours enhancements for evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays.
- Overtime and additional contracted hours.
- On-call availability and call-out payments.
- Recruitment and retention premia.
- Salary sacrifice benefits, parking, union subscriptions and court orders.
- Tax-code adjustments, benefits in kind and earlier pay in the same tax year.
- Northern Ireland 2026/27 pay until a final official point table is verified.
Those omissions are intentional. Applying a generic enhancement percentage without the roster and contract would look precise while being unreliable. Staff can add recurring cash pay to the general take-home pay calculator for a wider estimate, then compare it with the NHS basic-pay result.
How to check an NHS payslip
- Match the assignment number, band and pay-step date to the contract.
- Check full-time equivalent salary and contracted hours separately.
- Identify HCAS and each additional payment rather than treating all gross pay as basic.
- Confirm the pension tier and pensionable-pay figure for the correct nation.
- Check tax code, cumulative basis and tax region.
- Check the student loan plan notice and Postgraduate Loan marker.
- Compare year-to-date totals after arrears or a mid-year role change.
The NHS calculators hub links pay and annual leave tools. The NHS pension guide explains defined-benefit accrual and employer funding, while this page focuses on current basic pay and payslip deductions.