NHS pay bands 2026/27 in England: salaries and routes

England NHS pay bands 2026/27: the full Band 2–6 table

The table reproduces the entry, intermediate and top basic annual pay points in the official NHS Employers pay-scale poster. Band 2 has one salary amount; Bands 3 and 4 each have two different amounts, and Bands 5 and 6 each have three.

These are gross full-time-equivalent basic salaries, not take-home earnings. They exclude any applicable high-cost-area supplements, unsocial-hours payments and other additions; part-time pay depends on contracted hours. Check the applicable terms and your job offer rather than assuming every employee receives an enhancement (NHS Employers pay scales; NHS terms and conditions handbook).

Job banding is not the same as pay progression

An Agenda for Change band belongs to the job. The NHS Job Evaluation Scheme assesses job weight, using national profiles or local evaluation. A course certificate alone therefore does not determine your band (NHS terms and conditions handbook, section 1).

Within-band progression is conditional, not an automatic annual promotion. Eligible pay steps depend on the required period and a pay-step review, including appraisal, required knowledge and skills, performance and mandatory training. Annex 23 also addresses capability or disciplinary processes and circumstances outside the employee’s control (NHS terms and conditions handbook).

The published scale shows eligibility intervals of two years for Band 3 and three years for Band 4. For Band 5 the intervals are two years to the intermediate point and a further two to the top; for Band 6 they are two years and a further three. These are eligibility intervals, subject to the progression requirements, not promises of a new job or higher band (NHS Employers pay scales).

Moving to a higher band is a separate question about the responsibilities and evaluation of the role. It may involve appointment to a higher-banded job or an appropriate review of changed duties. The handbook includes specific job-review arrangements for developing professional roles; it does not promise every nurse Band 6 after a fixed number of years (NHS terms and conditions handbook, Annex 20).

Qualifications and healthcare entry routes

Healthcare assistant: check the vacancy, not a qualification ladder

NHS Health Careers says healthcare assistants typically start at Band 2. There are no set entry requirements across all employers, but employers expect literacy, numeracy and relevant care experience, and may ask for GCSEs or a healthcare qualification. Training includes working towards the Care Certificate; the guidance does not set a universal “first weeks” completion deadline (NHS Health Careers: healthcare assistant).

Experience and further training can support progression to senior healthcare assistant roles and applications for further professional training. A Level 2 or Level 3 care qualification is not an automatic entitlement to Band 3. Check the person specification and band of the actual vacancy (NHS Health Careers; NHS job-banding rules).

Nursing associate: a distinct regulated route in England

The nursing associate role is regulated in England. New trainees must use an NMC-approved nursing associate programme. Becoming a registered nurse is a further education and registration route, not an automatic change of title after a generic Level 5 course (NMC: becoming a nursing associate).

Registered nurse: degree entry, professional training and registration

Newly qualified NHS nurses normally start at Band 5 (NHS Health Careers: nursing careers). In England the 2026/27 Band 5 basic pay points are £32,073, £34,592 and £39,043 (NHS Employers).

An Access to HE course can be an alternative to A levels for nursing degree entry. It is one possible route, not the route every adult must take. Universities set their own requirements for accepted qualifications, subjects, grades and other conditions; check those requirements before enrolling. Some employers also offer nursing degree apprenticeships (NHS Health Careers: adult nursing entry requirements).

For the UK-trained route, choose an NMC-approved nursing programme and complete the professional registration application after your course. Completion of an Access to HE Diploma does not itself make you a registered nurse; the NMC registration process is a separate step.

Use our nursing career guide, Access to HE nursing pathway guide and mature-student healthcare guide to plan the questions to ask. For the overlapping social-care route, see becoming an adult care worker.

A practical checklist before choosing a course or role

1. Identify the job you want and read its current person specification, band, hours and pay details.
2. For degree entry, ask each university whether your exact qualification, subject credits and expected grades meet its requirements.
3. For nursing or nursing associate training, check the programme on the NMC approved-programmes service and understand the separate registration stage.
4. Compare course costs, study commitments and realistic job options without treating a qualification as a guarantee of admission, employment or promotion.

This checklist follows the distinctions in NHS nursing entry guidance, NMC approved programmes and the NHS terms and conditions handbook.

Browse the existing Access to HE faculty for pathway information, or compare dated figures for other roles in the salary explorer. Check each row’s year and scope: not every role uses NHS pay scales.