NHS Increment Date Calculator

For Agenda for Change staff who want to know when they move up a pay point and what it is worth. Enter your band, current pay point and the date you started in the band, and see your next increment date and every step after it. 2026/27 pay points for England, Wales and Scotland.

Short answer

Your next increment is due on the anniversary of the date you started in your band, once you have spent the minimum time at your current pay point. In England and Wales that is 2 years at Band 3, 3 years at Band 4, and at Bands 5 to 9 two years to point 2 followed by a further two years (Band 5) or three years (Bands 6 to 9) to the top. Band 2 has no increment. Scotland's Handbook sets the same waits for Bands 2 to 7 in a table of years, and a single five-year wait at Bands 8a to 9. A move from Band 5 point 1 to point 2 is worth £2,519 a year or about £137 a month after tax, National Insurance and pension.

Where you are on the pay scale

Northern Ireland is not covered: its scale and rules were not checked.

Which date do you know?

In England, changing jobs within the same band does not change your pay step date, and earlier NHS service counts. Ask HR or payroll which date they hold if you are unsure.

England, Band 5, point 1 (entry)

Enter a date to see when your next increment is due.

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How long you wait at each pay point

These are the minimum periods, in years, before you are eligible to move to the next point. England's come from Annex 2 of the NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook, which prints "years until eligible for pay progression" against each band, and Wales' from the Welsh Government's 2026/27 pay circular, which prints the same. Scotland's come from Table 1a in Section 1 of the Scottish Handbook. The figures show years to the next point, one after another, with the total from the start of the band in brackets.

BandEngland and Wales: years to each next pointScotland: years to each next point
Band 2 No increment (one figure) 2
Band 3 2 2
Band 4 3 3
Band 5 2 then 2 (4 in total) 2 then 2 (4 in total)
Band 6 2 then 3 (5 in total) 2 then 3 (5 in total)
Band 7 2 then 3 (5 in total) 2 then 3 (5 in total)
Band 8a 2 then 3 (5 in total) 5
Band 8b 2 then 3 (5 in total) 5
Band 8c 2 then 3 (5 in total) 5
Band 8d 2 then 3 (5 in total) 5
Band 9 2 then 3 (5 in total) 5

Band 2 has a single figure at entry and top in England and Wales, so there is no pay rise at the end of the two years. Scotland's Band 2 has two points. Scotland has two points in Bands 8a to 9 (one wait of five years) where England and Wales have three.

How your pay step date is set (England)

  • New to the NHS: you are expected to be appointed to the bottom of the band, and your pay step date is the date you take up the post (Annex 23 paragraph 11; Handbook paragraph 1.15).
  • Promoted: pay is set at the bottom of the new band and the date resets to the day you start (Handbook 1.17; Annex 23 paragraph 12).
  • Regraded upwards: the date becomes the anniversary of the date the new job description is deemed to have taken effect (paragraph 13).
  • Moved jobs in the same band, or down a band in an organisational change: the date stays the same (paragraph 14).
  • Previous service: continuous service with any NHS employer counts; employers may count service elsewhere (paragraphs 16 and 17).
  • Temporary move to a higher band: the date resets for the temporary post, and time spent in the higher band counts toward your substantive pay step date when you return (Handbook 1.24).

The existing guide to pay progression and increments explains the difference between pay points and bands in plainer terms. Annex 23 also says staff in post before 1 April 2019 stayed on the older arrangements until 31 March 2021, after which the same annex applied to them, so a date from before then may have come from the old system. Check yours.

What has to be true for the increment to happen

England's Annex 23 (paragraph 19) says you progress on your pay step date where you can show that the appraisal process has been completed within the last 12 months, there is no formal capability process in place, there is no live formal disciplinary sanction on your record, and statutory and mandatory training is done. Line managers must also have completed appraisals for their staff. Your manager reviews this before your date using a local checklist (paragraph 25), and appraisals do not have to be scheduled to coincide with pay step dates. A delay should not normally happen on performance grounds without a documented discussion and a reasonable chance to improve (Handbook 1.10). Where factors beyond your control, such as organisational pressures, stopped you meeting a standard, they should not stop you progressing (paragraph 23). The calculator gives the date the increment is due, not a guarantee that it has been processed.

What an increment is worth

The tool shows your own figure. For reference, here is each within-band step in Bands 3 to 8a on the England scale, with the gross rise and the take-home rise after income tax, National Insurance and the NHS Pension (no student loan). Take-home rises by less than gross because tax and pension take a share and, in some steps, the pension tier changes.

StepSalaryRise a yearGross a monthTake-home a month
Band 3, point 1 to point 2£25,760 to £27,476£1,716£143.00£95.53
Band 4, point 1 to point 2£28,392 to £31,157£2,765£230.42£116.53
Band 5, point 1 to point 2£32,073 to £34,592£2,519£209.92£137.20
Band 5, point 2 to point 3£34,592 to £39,043£4,451£370.92£203.39
Band 6, point 1 to point 2£39,959 to £42,170£2,211£184.25£118.21
Band 6, point 2 to point 3£42,170 to £48,117£5,947£495.58£317.97
Band 7, point 1 to point 2£49,387 to £51,932£2,545£212.08£144.38
Band 7, point 2 to point 3£51,932 to £56,515£4,583£381.92£230.75
Band 8a, point 1 to point 2£57,528 to £60,417£2,889£240.75£124.18
Band 8a, point 2 to point 3£60,417 to £64,750£4,333£361.08£186.24

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland. The Scottish Handbook (Section 1, Table 1a) shows when each point is reached, and paragraph 1.15 says that for newly appointed or promoted staff the incremental date is the anniversary of the date they took up the post. The table puts point 2 in year 3 for most bands; we read that as starting on the second anniversary, so two years after you started. Scottish Handbook paragraph 1.8 notes staff can now stay on the same point for several years.

Wales. The Welsh pay circular (AfC(W) 02/2026) prints the same years until eligibility as England. The Welsh Handbook text in Section 1 still says staff progress from point to point annually, and we did not check Annex 23 (Wales), so treat Welsh results as a guide and confirm the date with your payroll team. Northern Ireland is not covered: its 2026/27 pay scale is not in our data and its rules were not checked.

How we calculate: method, assumptions and sources

ℹMethod and limits

Dates. The next date is the date you started in the band (or the date you reached your current point) plus the waiting periods in the table above, on the same day and month. If that date is 29 February the tool uses 28 February in a non-leap year, which your payroll may handle differently. If you give the date you reached your current point, the tool measures from that; if you give your start date in the band, it adds the waiting periods for every point up to and including your current one.

Pay. Pay points are the 2026/27 scales for England (NHS Employers), Wales (AfC(W) 02/2026 and the June 2026 correction) and Scotland (Scottish Government). Future pay awards raise every point but do not change the dates.

Take-home. Standard tax code, 2026/27 tax, National Insurance, student loan and NHS Pension tiers from the same engine as the NHS Pay Calculator. Scotland uses Scottish tax and pension tiers.

Not covered. Northern Ireland, pay protection, recruitment and retention premia, local arrangements, and anything that has delayed your step. Your payslip and your employer's records decide your actual date. FrontlinePay is independent and not affiliated with the NHS.

Frequently asked questions

When is my next NHS increment due? +
It falls on the anniversary of the date you started in your current band, once you have completed the minimum time at your current pay point. In England that minimum is 2 years at Band 3, 3 years at Band 4, 2 then 2 years at Band 5 and 2 then 3 years at Bands 6 to 9 (Handbook, Annex 2). The pay step date is the anniversary of the date you started in the band (Annex 23, paragraph 10), not 1 April, so it can fall in any month.
Is moving up a pay point automatic in the NHS? +
It is expected, but conditional. Annex 23 says the expectation is that all staff will meet the standards and progress on their pay step date, and employers plan their budgets on that basis. The standards are a completed appraisal in the last 12 months, no formal capability process in place, no live formal disciplinary sanction, statutory and mandatory training completed, and, for line managers, appraisals done for their own staff (paragraph 19). Your line manager reviews this before your pay step date. If it is not met, the increment is expected to be delayed, with a plan to put it right (paragraphs 30 to 38).
What happens to my increment date if I am promoted? +
In England your basic pay on promotion is set at the bottom point of the new band and your pay step date resets to the day you start in it (Handbook paragraph 1.17 and Annex 23 paragraph 12). The same happens if your post is regraded to a higher band after a job evaluation, using the date the new job description is deemed to have taken effect (paragraph 13). Professional roles covered by Annex 20 keep their original pay step date. In Scotland a promoted member of staff's incremental date is the anniversary of taking up the new post (Section 1, paragraph 1.15).
Do I keep my increment date if I move to another trust? +
In England, changing jobs within the same band leaves your pay step date unchanged, and continuous previous service with any NHS employer counts toward the time you need at a point (Annex 23 paragraphs 14 and 16). Employers have discretion to count service outside the NHS where it is relevant (paragraph 17). In Scotland, staff who get a new post in the same band within the same Board keep their incremental date if there is no break in service (paragraph 1.15). A move between countries or boards is worth confirming with the new employer's HR team.
What if my pay step is delayed? +
If the standards were not met, England's Annex 23 says the pay step is delayed while you and your line manager agree a plan, and it takes effect on the earliest date the requirements are shown to have been met. Your pay step date for future years stays unchanged (paragraph 36). If you contest the decision and it is upheld, the step is backdated to the pay step date (paragraph 33). A disciplinary sanction cannot be applied retrospectively to delay a step after the date has passed (paragraph 38). Speak to your union rep if you think a delay is wrong.
Do I still get my increment while I am on maternity leave or off sick? +
England's Annex 23 says nobody should suffer a detriment for being absent when a pay step is due. For planned long-term paid absence such as maternity leave, the review can be done early so that the step is applied on the pay step date, and if the review cannot be done in time the pay step is applied automatically in your absence (paragraphs 44 to 46). If a formal capability process was under way when you went on leave, the step can be delayed until it is completed (paragraph 48).
How is Scotland different? +
Scotland's Table 1a puts the second point in year 3 for Bands 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, in year 4 for Band 4 and in year 6 for Bands 8a to 9, and the third point in year 5 (Band 5) or year 6 (Bands 6 and 7). We read that as the second, third, fifth or sixth year starting on the matching anniversary. Scottish staff on bank only posts need to work 375 hours in a year to qualify for the next increment from 1 April 2026, down from 385 (PCS(AFC)2025/8, Annex C question 25).

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