NHS Pay Scales 2025/26 — Last Year’s Agenda for Change Rates
The complete England Agenda for Change pay scales for 2025/26 — the rates that applied from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Kept for checking old payslips, verifying back pay, and seeing exactly what the 2026/27 award changed.
The 2025/26 NHS pay scales in full
Annual salaries, England, full-time (37.5 hours). These scales were also the rates in payment in Northern Ireland during 2026/27, because the 2026/27 award there had not been implemented — Northern Ireland readers checking a current payslip may find their salary on this page, not the 2026/27 one:
| Band | Entry point | Intermediate | Top point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £24,465 | — | £24,465 (single point) |
| Band 3 | £24,937 | — | £26,598 |
| Band 4 | £27,485 | — | £30,162 |
| Band 5 | £31,049 | £33,487 | £37,796 |
| Band 6 | £38,682 | £40,823 | £46,580 |
| Band 7 | £47,810 | £50,273 | £54,710 |
| Band 8a | £55,690 | — | £62,682 |
| Band 8b | £64,455 | — | £74,896 |
| Band 8c | £76,965 | — | £88,682 |
| Band 8d | £91,342 | — | £105,337 |
| Band 9 | £109,179 | — | £125,637 |
Bands 3 and 4 have two points (entry and top); Bands 5 to 7 have three. These are the England scales — Scotland and Wales set their own rates in 2025/26 as they do now. The current scales, with calculators for every band, are on our NHS pay scales 2026/27 page.
What the 2026/27 award changed
The 2026/27 award raised every point by 3.3% from 1 April 2026. At Band 5 entry that is £31,049 → £32,073 (+£1,024 a year); at Band 2, £24,465 → £25,272 (+£807); at Band 9 top, £125,637 → £129,783 (+£4,146). Because the award was confirmed after April, most staff received the increase as arrears in a single later payslip — if you are checking a 2026 payslip that shows a lump of back pay, it should equal the monthly difference between the two scales multiplied by the months owed, taxed in the month paid. Our back pay calculator runs that arithmetic for you. The award followed the recent pattern: 5% in 2023/24, 5.5% in 2024/25, 3.6% in 2025/26, 3.3% in 2026/27. Band 5 entry, £28,407 in 2023/24, now stands at £32,073.
Why an old scales page exists at all
Three practical reasons bring people back to last year’s numbers. Payslip archaeology: querying an underpayment, a pension record or a mortgage application often means proving what your salary was in a specific month of 2025/26 — this table is the reference. Back pay disputes: arrears calculations span two scales whenever an award lands mid-year; you cannot check the lump sum without both. Northern Ireland: with the 2026/27 award unimplemented there at the time of writing, HSC staff remain on these scales — our Northern Ireland calculator runs on them, and its page tracks the missing award. When the 2027/28 scales are published, this page stays as the 2025/26 record and a new archive page will hold 2026/27 — pay history is a chain, and every link stays checkable.
2025/26 pay scales questions
What was Band 5 pay in 2025/26?
Band 5 in 2025/26 paid £31,049 at entry, £33,487 at the intermediate point and £37,796 at the top, full-time in England. The 2026/27 award (3.3%) lifted those points to £32,073, £34,592 and £39,043 from 1 April 2026.
When did the 2025/26 NHS pay scales apply?
From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The 2025/26 award of 3.6% was agreed late in 2025 and paid backdated to 1 April 2025, so many staff saw the new rates first as a back-pay lump sum rather than in their April 2025 pay.
Are the 2025/26 scales still used anywhere?
Yes — in Northern Ireland. Because the 2026/27 award had not been implemented there at the time of writing (no agreed budget, with a strike ballot under way), HSC staff in Northern Ireland remained on the 2025/26 scales, which are at full parity with England’s 2025/26 rates. Scotland and Wales operate their own current scales.
How do I check back pay that spans 2025/26 and 2026/27?
Take the monthly difference between your point on the two scales and multiply by the number of months owed at the new rate. For example, Band 5 entry rose by £1,024 a year — £85.33 a month — so three months of arrears is about £256 before tax and pension. Our back pay calculator does the full calculation including deductions.
Where are the current NHS pay scales?
On our NHS pay scales 2026/27 page, with a take-home calculator for every band and point. The headline 2026/27 rates: Band 2 £25,272, Band 5 from £32,073 to £39,043, Band 7 from £49,387 to £56,515, Band 9 up to £129,783.