NHS Part-Time Salary Calculator 2026/27
Thinking of dropping hours, or checking a part-time NHS offer? Enter your band and the hours you want — see your pro-rata salary, take-home pay, pension rate and leave, worked out the NHS way.
Popular part-time patterns — Band 5 entry (£32,073 full-time)
| Hours / week | WTE | Pro-rata salary | Take-home / month | Leave incl. bank holidays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30.0 | 0.8 | £25,658.40 | £1,721.62 | 210.0 hours (28.0 days) |
| 22.5 | 0.6 | £19,243.80 | £1,364.54 | 157.5 hours (21.0 days) |
| 18.75 | 0.5 | £16,036.50 | £1,186.00 | 131.3 hours (17.5 days) |
| 15.0 | 0.4 | £12,829.20 | £1,011.78 | 105.0 hours (14.0 days) |
Leave shown for the first five years of service (27 days + 8 bank holidays, pro-rated). Longer service raises the allowance — model your exact pattern in the NHS annual leave calculator.
How part-time NHS pay works
Part-time pay in the NHS is a straight fraction of the full-time salary for your band and pay point — your whole-time equivalent (WTE). Work 22.5 of the standard 37.5 hours and you are 0.6 WTE: every element of pay scales by 0.6, including salary, London weighting and unsocial-hours enhancements on your rota. Your hourly rate is identical to a full-time colleague’s — dropping hours never cuts your rate, only your totals. Pay progression still happens on your step date, and increments are worth the same hourly increase.
The subtle win is the pension. Contribution tiers are assessed on your actual pensionable pay, not the full-time equivalent — so a Band 5 nurse at 0.6 WTE (£19,243.80) pays the 6.5% tier while full-time Band 5 colleagues pay 8.3%, and a 0.6 WTE Band 7 pays 8.3% instead of 9.8%. The trade-off is that your pension also builds on the lower amount (1/54 of actual pay each year). Bank work and extra shifts up to 37.5 hours are paid at plain time on top of your part-time salary; only hours beyond 37.5 attract overtime rates.
Sources: NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (Sections 2, 13 and 33 — part-time and leave provisions); NHS Employers Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27.
Part-time questions
How is part-time NHS pay calculated?
Your salary is the full-time pay for your band and point, multiplied by your hours divided by 37.5. A Band 5 nurse at the entry point working 22.5 hours (0.6 WTE) earns £32,073 × 0.6 = £19,243.80 a year, taking home about £1,364.54 a month after pension, tax and National Insurance.
Does working part-time change my hourly rate?
No. Your hourly rate is the full-time rate for your pay point — £16.40 an hour at Band 5 entry — whatever hours you work. Part-time hours scale your salary, enhancements and leave, never the rate itself.
Do part-time staff pay less pension?
Often a lower percentage, yes. Pension tiers are set on your actual pensionable pay, so a 0.6 WTE Band 5 pays 6.5% where a full-time colleague pays 8.3%. Your contributions and your pension build are both based on the reduced salary, and overtime beyond your contracted hours is not pensionable.
How much leave do part-time NHS staff get?
Same entitlement, pro-rated: 27, 29 or 33 days by length of service, plus bank holidays, all scaled by your WTE and recorded in hours. At 0.6 WTE with under five years’ service that is 157.5 hours a year (the equivalent of 21 days including bank holidays).