NHS Locum & Bank Rate Calculator

See what a day rate really pays you through the NHS staff bank (PAYE) and through an agency umbrella company, and the agency rate you need before the agency route beats the bank.

Weighing a permanent post against bank or agency work instead? Try the True Value of Your NHS Job calculator.

Your shifts

Where do you pay tax?
How are your rates quoted?

What the trust pays you through its own payroll before tax. No agency fee or umbrella margin comes out of this.

A full-time pattern is around 20 to 22. Occasional bank shifts are often 4 to 12.

Umbrella company deductions

Illustrative default. Margins vary by provider; ask for the exact figure and a worked payslip before you sign.

Take-home pay per month, before any pension pot

Staff bank (PAYE)

£2,218

£184.84 a day

Agency (umbrella)

£2,127

£177.26 a day

On these numbers the agency route takes home £1,092 less a year than the staff bank. Out of every £100 of assignment rate, about £71 reaches you.

The number agencies will not quote you

To take home what the staff bank pays, an agency must pay the umbrella at least £262.48 a day.

The agency rate you entered is below that, so the staff bank nets more for the same days. This compares take-home pay only. It leaves out NHS pension build-up, leave and sick pay, which differ between the routes.

Staff bank (PAYE), per year

Gross pay from the trust£36,000
Income tax-£3,980
Employee National Insurance-£1,874
NHS Pension contribution-£3,528
Take-home£26,617

Agency through an umbrella, per year

Assignment rate paid by the agency£36,000
Umbrella margin-£720
Employer National Insurance-£3,834
Apprenticeship Levy-£153
Employer pension (into your pension pot)-£730
Gross pay you are taxed on£30,563
Income tax-£3,599
Employee National Insurance-£1,439
Take-home£25,525

What each route builds for your retirement

  • Staff bank: about £666.67 a year of NHS pension income for each year worked at this level (1/54 of pensionable pay, before revaluation), which is a guaranteed, inflation-linked benefit.
  • Umbrella: £730 a year goes into a workplace pension pot in your name. What it grows to depends on investment returns and charges. It does not count as NHS pension service.

These are different kinds of benefit, so we do not add them into the take-home figures above. Each extra £10 a week of umbrella margin costs you about £175 a year in take-home.

Short answer

An NHS staff bank pays you a gross rate and you are taxed on all of it. An agency pays an umbrella company an assignment rate, and the umbrella takes its margin, employer National Insurance (15% above £5,000 a year), Apprenticeship Levy and an employer pension contribution before your tax is worked out. At £250 a day for 12 days a month in England, the staff bank takes home about £2,218 a month and an umbrella about £2,127 a month. To match the bank, the agency would need to pay the umbrella about £262 a day.

⚠An estimate, not tax advice

The tool uses standard 2026/27 tax rules, a standard tax code and the umbrella costs you tick. The margin is an illustrative input, not a quote. Your payslip, your umbrella's reconciliation statement and HMRC's own umbrella pay tool are the final word. Not affiliated with the NHS, any trust, NHS Professionals, any agency or any umbrella company.

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How umbrella pay is worked out

GOV.UK sets out the order of the calculation in its guidance on working through an umbrella company: the agency pays the umbrella the assignment rate multiplied by the time you have worked; the umbrella deducts its own operating costs (the margin), employer National Insurance, an employer pension contribution, holiday pay set aside for you and the Apprenticeship Levy where it applies; what remains is your gross pay; and your income tax, employee National Insurance, employee pension and any student loan come off that gross pay. The calculator follows exactly that order.

Worked example: £250 a day, 12 days a month

This is £36,000 of assignment rate over a year (144 days) in England, with an illustrative £25 a week margin, no student loan and the bank route in the NHS Pension Scheme.

Staff bank (PAYE)Agency via umbrella
Rate paid for your work£36,000 gross£36,000 assignment
Umbrella marginnone-£720
Employer NI, Apprenticeship Levy and employer pensionnone-£4,717
Gross pay you are taxed on£36,000£30,563
Income tax-£3,980-£3,599
Employee National Insurance-£1,874-£1,439
NHS Pension contribution-£3,528none
Take-home per year£26,617£25,525
Take-home per month£2,218£2,127
Take-home per day worked£184.84£177.26

The bank route's take-home looks lower than it would without the pension line, but that contribution buys about £666.67 a year of guaranteed NHS pension income for each year at this level. The umbrella's employer pension contribution of £730 goes into a workplace pot instead. The same inputs in Scotland give a bank take-home of £2,245 a month and an umbrella take-home of £2,130 a month.

What assignment rate does an agency need to beat the staff bank?

Agencies usually advertise a higher rate than the bank, so the useful question is how much higher. The table solves it for you: for each staff bank day rate it shows the assignment rate at which an umbrella would take home exactly the same as the bank, working 12 days a month in England with the default deductions and the bank route in the NHS Pension Scheme. The calculator above does this for your own numbers.

Staff bank gross day rateBank take-home per monthUmbrella assignment rate to matchUplift needed
£200 £1,897 £218 about 9% more
£250 £2,218 £262 about 5% more
£300 £2,603 £315 about 5% more
£350 £2,989 £368 about 5% more

This matches take-home only. It ignores what the bank route builds in NHS pension and the paid leave and sick pay some bank contracts carry, which would push the break-even rate higher for someone who values those. It also uses the same number of working days on both sides, so it says nothing about how many shifts each route will actually offer you.

6 April 2026: agencies and end clients are now responsible for PAYE

HMRC changed the PAYE rules for labour supply chains that include an umbrella company with effect from 6 April 2026. Under the new rules, the agency or end client is responsible for making sure PAYE is operated correctly when an umbrella company employs the workers, and HMRC can recover any underpayment from them. The umbrella is still your employer and still has to pay you correctly. In practice that means you should still compare your payslip with your agreed assignment rate and the umbrella's reconciliation statement, and use HMRC's umbrella pay guidance and tool if anything looks off. Be wary of any provider offering take-home pay well above PAYE for the same rate: GOV.UK lists hidden payments, grouped deductions and unusually low stated hourly rates as warning signs of tax avoidance, and our payslip guide shows what a normal payslip looks like.

PAYE bank vs umbrella vs Ltd company: what is actually different

StructureHow tax worksWho bears the extra costsNHS Pension access
PAYE through an NHS staff bank Taxed as employment income through payroll, the same bands as your substantive post No third-party fee: the trust pays you directly Normally yes, subject to the trust's rules. See our bank and locum pension guide
Agency through an umbrella company Taxed as employment income on your gross pay after the umbrella's costs You, because margin and employer on-costs come out of the assignment rate before your gross pay is set Generally no. Usually a separate workplace pension instead
Your own limited company, inside IR35 (the usual case for rostered NHS shifts) The fee-payer deducts tax and NI as if you were an employee You: company running costs with little tax advantage Not through the company engagement

The table says what changes for the same work, not which structure to pick. A locum who moves between several agencies may value an umbrella's single employment and payroll even at a margin; a regular on one trust's bank will usually find PAYE hard to beat on take-home. GP locums and others who are genuinely self-employed are taxed differently again, covered in our locum self-employed tax basics guide.

Inside or outside IR35: the factors that matter

Status is not something you tick. For public sector clients, GOV.UK says the client determines status and provides a Status Determination Statement, and the determination is made engagement by engagement. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool is one way clients assess it. The ideas that do most of the work are control, substitution and mutuality of obligation.

  • Control. If the ward or rota manager decides your pattern, supervises your practice and can redirect you during a shift, that points towards inside IR35.
  • Substitution. A genuine, unfettered right to send a suitably qualified replacement is weighted heavily. NHS shifts usually need the named, checked and registered individual to attend, which points the other way.
  • Mutuality of obligation. Ad hoc bank shifts where neither side has to offer or accept work lean towards outside IR35 on this one factor, but rarely outweigh strong control and substitution indicators.
  • The paper trail. If you are offered a Ltd company arrangement and have not seen a Status Determination Statement, ask for it rather than assuming your status.

Treat any pitch promising a clear tax saving on typical rostered NHS shifts with scepticism, and take specialist advice before relying on a Ltd structure. HMRC's overview is at understanding off-payroll working (IR35).

What this calculator does not cover

  • • Holiday pay and sick pay. The comparison is take-home for days worked; check each contract for leave and sick pay terms.
  • • Your own pension contributions into an umbrella's workplace pension. Only the employer's minimum contribution is deducted, if ticked.
  • • Travel and other expenses, which depend on how you are paid and what HMRC accepts.
  • • A Ltd company figure, for the IR35 reasons above, and self-employed locum income.
  • • Whether shifts will be available. A higher rate means little if you cannot book the days.

Sources and how we calculate

Last updated October 2026. Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year.

Why this comparison holds up

  • ✓ Follows the order GOV.UK gives for umbrella pay: assignment rate, then costs, then gross pay, then tax. It does not pretend the same number is both your assignment rate and your gross pay.
  • ✓ Uses the same tax, National Insurance, NHS Pension and student loan engine as every other FrontlinePay pay calculator.
  • ✓ Every umbrella cost is a visible input you can untick or change, and the margin is clearly labelled illustrative.
  • ✓ No manufactured Ltd company figure where the honest answer is that it depends on your engagement.
  • ✓ Runs entirely in your browser. Your rates, shifts and student loan status are never sent to a server. Share links hold your inputs in the link only.

Frequently asked questions

What is an assignment rate? +
It is the rate an agency agrees to pay an umbrella company for your work, often advertised as the umbrella rate, uplifted rate, day rate or hourly rate. GOV.UK describes it as the starting point for umbrella pay: the umbrella takes its costs out of the assignment rate, and what is left is your gross pay. It is not the amount you take home, and it is not your taxable pay.
Why does the same day rate take home less through an umbrella than through the NHS staff bank? +
Because the costs come out in a different order. A staff bank pays you a gross rate and you are taxed on all of it. An umbrella company receives the assignment rate, takes its margin, employer National Insurance, Apprenticeship Levy where it applies and an employer pension contribution, and only then pays you the gross amount that remains. Income tax and employee National Insurance are charged on that smaller figure. On the default inputs, about 71p of every pound of assignment rate reaches you, so an agency rate needs to be noticeably higher than a bank rate just to match it.
My agency quoted a PAYE rate, not an umbrella rate. What do I enter? +
A PAYE rate is a gross pay rate, so it behaves like the staff bank rate: enter it in the staff bank field and untick the NHS pension box if the agency job is not in the NHS Pension Scheme. Only use the agency assignment field for a rate that an umbrella company will receive and then deduct costs from. If you are not sure which type you have been quoted, ask the agency for a written illustration of your gross and net pay.
Is the umbrella margin accurate for every provider? +
No. The 25 pounds a week default is an illustrative placeholder. Umbrella companies set their own margin, usually as a flat weekly fee, and it varies. Ask any umbrella for its exact margin and a worked payslip before you accept an assignment. Each extra 10 pounds a week of margin costs you roughly 175 pounds a year in take-home at 12 days a month.
What changed for umbrella companies on 6 April 2026? +
From 6 April 2026, HMRC's PAYE rules for labour supply chains that include an umbrella company make the agency or end client responsible for making sure PAYE is operated correctly, and HMRC can recover any underpayment from them. The umbrella company is still your employer and is still responsible for paying you correctly, so you should still check that your payslip matches your agreed assignment rate. GOV.UK publishes a pay calculation tool you can use to check an umbrella payslip.
Does this include NHS Pension contributions? +
On the staff bank route, yes by default: your contribution is taken at the tier that matches the pay you enter, using the same 2026/27 tiers as our other calculators, and you can untick it. Umbrella workers are generally not enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme; the umbrella usually auto-enrols you into a workplace pension instead, and the employer contribution is shown as a deduction from the assignment rate that goes into your pension pot rather than your bank account. Our guide to NHS pension for locum and bank staff covers the rules in detail.
What is IR35 in plain English? +
IR35 is the set of off-payroll working rules HMRC uses to decide whether someone supplying services through their own company is in reality working like an employee. For public sector clients such as NHS trusts the client decides the status and must give a Status Determination Statement; for most medium and large private sector clients the same client-responsibility model applies from April 2021. If an engagement is inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and National Insurance as if it were employment. GOV.UK also notes that deemed employers do not deduct student loan repayments from off-payroll workers' fees, so those are still your responsibility.
Why not show a Ltd company figure? +
Because for rostered NHS shifts, where the trust directs when, where and how you work and you usually have to attend in person, the engagement is commonly assessed as inside IR35. Inside IR35 a limited company gives little or no tax advantage but adds accountancy costs, so a precise take-home number would risk implying a saving that is not there. If a company or agency is pitching a Ltd structure, ask to see the Status Determination Statement and speak to an accountant who works with NHS engagements.
Does this work for Scotland? +
Yes. Choose Scotland and the Scottish income tax bands are applied instead of the England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands, while National Insurance stays UK-wide. On the default inputs the Scottish take-home through the staff bank is a little different from England because Scottish bands differ, and the calculator uses the same rates as our NHS Pay Calculator.
What if I do bank shifts and agency shifts in the same tax year? +
HMRC adds all your employment income together for the year. Each new employer or umbrella may start with a temporary tax code until HMRC issues your correct one, so one source can over-deduct or under-deduct tax for a while. This usually corrects through a code change or a P800 calculation, but check each payslip rather than assuming the tax across two jobs is right. This calculator models each route on its own.
Does the calculator include holiday pay, sick pay or expenses? +
No. It compares take-home pay for the days you work. Umbrella payslips normally include a holiday pay element that is still your money, either paid as you go or when you take leave, so we treat everything left after the umbrella's costs as pay for the days you work. Sick pay depends on your employer and status and is not modelled. Whether you can claim any expenses depends on how you are paid and what HMRC accepts, so speak to an accountant or read our locum tax basics guide rather than assuming an allowance applies.

More NHS pay tools & guides

Locum and bank income sits alongside your substantive pay, pension and payslip.

NHS Bank vs Agency Pay Compared

The guide behind the comparison: rates, umbrella deductions and pension.

NHS Pension for Locum and Bank Staff

Who can join, what counts and what you lose on an umbrella.

True Value of Your NHS Job

Permanent post versus bank or agency work, including pension.

NHS Overtime Calculator

What extra hours at Agenda for Change rates add to take-home.

Annual Allowance Calculator

Check combined substantive and bank pay against the allowance.

How to Read Your NHS Payslip

Make sense of deductions on a bank or umbrella payslip.

NHS Locum Self-Employed Tax Basics

How genuinely self-employed locum income is taxed.

NHS Doctors' Pay Explained

How substantive doctors' pay works alongside locum shifts.