NHS Payslip Checker

Type in your payslip figures and see which lines look right, which tax code your tax implies, and exactly what to ask payroll if something is off.

Free, no sign-up. Payslip figures stay in your browser and are never saved. 2026/27 rates. Updated October 2026.

Short answer

To check an NHS payslip, compare gross pay (band, point and hours plus enhancements), Income Tax (against your tax code, usually 1257L), National Insurance (8% between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, 2% above), your NHS Pension contribution (5.2% to 12.5% by pay tier) and net pay. This tool does it for you: enter your setup and your payslip lines, and it marks each line, works out the tax code your tax looks like, and drafts a polite message for payroll. A flag means "worth asking about", never a confirmed error.

Step 1. Your pay setup

Where you work

Northern Ireland uses the England scale here because its 2026/27 award is not yet confirmed.

Usually 1257L. Find it near the tax line on your payslip.

The standard code for 2026/27: the full 12,570 pound Personal Allowance.

Other NI letters (such as H or M) have the same employee rate as A.

Your setup is saved on this device only. Payslip figures are never saved.

Step 2. What your payslip shows

Enter the figures for one month exactly as printed. Leave blank anything you do not have. Nothing is sent or stored.

Check deductions against

Most NHS staff find their payslip in ESR Self-Service at my.esr.nhs.uk, or the MySBSPay app. Our guide to reading your NHS payslip explains each line.

Your check appears here

Complete Step 1, then type in at least two figures from your payslip (gross pay and net pay is a good start). We will mark each line as matching or not, work out which tax code your tax looks like, and tell you what to ask payroll.

Expected gross from your setup

£2,882.67

per month, from your band, point and hours. 12 payments a year.

How to check your NHS payslip, line by line

  1. Gross pay. Your basic pay for the period (annual salary divided by the number of payments) plus unsocial hours, overtime, HCAS, arrears and allowances. Use the Unsocial Hours Calculator and Overtime Calculator to price extras.
  2. NHS Pension. A percentage of pensionable pay set by your tier, taken before Income Tax. See the tier table on the NHS Pay Calculator page.
  3. Income Tax. Worked out on pay after pension, using your tax code. 1257L gives a £12,570 tax-free allowance. See NHS tax codes explained.
  4. National Insurance. Worked out on your full gross pay, before pension, at 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above for category A.
  5. Student loan. 9% of pay above your plan's threshold (6% for postgraduate loans), if you have one.
  6. Net pay. What is left. Anything missing between the lines above and net pay is "other deductions" such as union fees or salary sacrifice.

Worked example: a Band 5 nurse on an emergency tax code

A full-time Band 5 nurse in England on point 2, paid monthly, in the NHS Pension Scheme. On the standard code (1257L) we expect:

LineExpected this month
Gross pay£2,882.67
NHS Pension£239.26
Income Tax£319.18
National Insurance£146.81
Net pay£2,177.42

Now suppose her payslip shows the right gross, pension and National Insurance, but Income Tax of £528.68 and net pay of £1,967.92. That is £209.50 more tax than 1257L produces. Run through the checker, only the tax and net lines are flagged, and the tax she paid works out as 0T or BR (no tax-free allowance, 20% on everything): the pattern of an emergency code that removes the tax-free allowance, which often follows starting a new job before HMRC has the right details. The fix is a conversation with payroll or HMRC to get the correct code, after which any overpaid tax is normally corrected.

Common reasons an NHS payslip looks wrong

  • The tax code. A new job, a second job or pension, a benefit in kind, or underpaid tax from a past year can all change your code.
  • A pay point or hours change that has not reached payroll, or one that has but you have forgotten about.
  • Enhancements and overtime paid in arrears. Rostering systems often send hours to payroll a month late, so a payslip can include last month's nights.
  • A new pension tier. Contribution rates change on 1 April, and enhancements can push pensionable pay into a higher tier.
  • The wrong student loan plan recorded for you.
  • Backdated payments that spike tax and National Insurance for one month. The Back Pay Calculator shows the effect.

What to say to payroll

Keep it factual and polite. Say which payslip, which lines differ, by how much, and ask them to explain how each was calculated and to confirm your tax code, NI category and pension tier. The checker drafts that message for you from the lines it flags. If something is wrong, ask what will be corrected and when. See how to read your NHS payslip for what each section means, and overpayment of wages: your rights if you are told you owe money back.

How to access your digital payslip

ESR Self-Service (my.esr.nhs.uk)

The Electronic Staff Record is used across the large majority of NHS trusts in England and Wales. Log in at my.esr.nhs.uk with your employee number and password to see payslips, your tax code and year-to-date figures. If you have never logged in, your trust's HR or payroll team can issue an activation code.

MySBSPay and your trust's own system

Some trusts issue payslips through the MySBSPay app, and a minority use their own portal. "Which system do I use to see my payslip?" is a normal question for payroll or your line manager.

ℹA sense-check, not a payroll audit

We cannot see your real tax record, pension tier or contract. A single month is annualised, whereas PAYE is cumulative across the year, so a month with unusual pay is only an approximation. Use the result to decide what is worth asking about.

Sources and accuracy

Frequently asked questions

How do I check my NHS payslip is correct? +
Compare each line with what it should be. Gross pay should match your band, pay point and hours plus any enhancements. Tax should match your tax code (usually 1257L). National Insurance is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 a year and 2% above, for category A. The NHS Pension contribution should match the tier for your pensionable pay. This tool does those sums for you and flags any line that differs, then suggests what to ask payroll.
Is this checker connected to my ESR account or payroll? +
No. FrontlinePay has no connection to ESR, MySBSPay or any trust's payroll and never asks for your name, employee number or NI number. You type figures in by hand, the comparison runs in your browser, and payslip figures are never saved or put into share links.
Can it tell me for certain that payroll has made a mistake? +
No, and it does not claim to. A flagged line means your figure and a standard calculation differ by more than a small tolerance. There are many legitimate reasons for that, from a different tax code to enhancements paid in arrears. Treat a flag as something worth asking payroll to explain, not as a confirmed error.
How can I tell if I am on the wrong tax code? +
Enter your gross pay and the tax you paid. The checker works backwards to the tax code your tax looks like. If you are on 1257L but your tax looks like 0T, BR or a much lower code, you may be on an emergency or wrong code, which often follows a new job, a second job or a change HMRC has made. Check your HMRC online account and ask payroll. Our tax codes guide explains what each code means.
What does 1257L mean? +
It is the standard tax code for 2026/27. The number 1257 means you can earn £12,570 of pay a year tax-free (the Personal Allowance), and the letter L means you are entitled to that standard allowance. Other codes, such as K codes, BR, D0 and 0T, mean your allowance has been changed or removed.
Why does the checker use my payslip's gross pay for the deductions? +
Because your deductions are worked out on the gross pay you actually received. If you did overtime or unsocial hours, your tax, National Insurance and pension are higher than they would be on basic pay alone, and that would make a basic-pay-only check look wrong. By default we check the deductions against your actual gross and separately compare the gross itself with your band and point. You can switch to checking against your expected salary instead.
How big a difference does it flag? +
A few pounds either way, scaled to how often you are paid: about £6 for a monthly payslip, £5 for 4-weekly and £2.50 for weekly. That absorbs ordinary rounding between this tool and payroll systems without hiding a genuinely different tax code or pension tier.
My payslip shows other deductions. What are they? +
If gross pay minus tax, NI, pension and student loan is more than your net pay, the gap is other deductions: for example union fees, a Cycle to Work or car lease salary sacrifice, parking, a season ticket loan, or a court-ordered attachment of earnings. The checker shows the figure but does not judge it. If you do not recognise a deduction, ask payroll what it is.
What if I have been overpaid? +
More gross pay than expected is often just overtime, enhancements or arrears, so a higher figure alone is not an overpayment. If your trust tells you that you have been overpaid, you have rights: you can ask for a written breakdown and, in many cases, propose a repayment plan. See our overpayment rights guide, grab the free sample letter on this page, and see the Overpayment Response Pack if you want ready-written letters.
Does it work if I am paid weekly or every 4 weeks? +
Yes. Choose your pay frequency first. It then works out figures for that period using 52, 13 or 12 payments a year. Comparing a weekly payslip with a monthly expectation would produce meaningless differences, so this setting matters.
Where do I find my NHS payslip? +
Most NHS organisations use ESR Self-Service (my.esr.nhs.uk) with your employee number, and some trusts issue payslips through the MySBSPay app. A minority run their own portal. If none of these looks familiar, ask your payroll or HR team which system to use.

More free NHS pay tools and guides

NHS Pay Calculator

Expected take-home by band, point and region.

Unsocial Hours Calculator

Price nights, weekends and bank holidays.

Overtime Calculator

Time and a half, double time and TOIL.

Back Pay Calculator

Arrears and backdated pay.

How to read your NHS payslip

What every line means.

NHS tax codes explained

1257L, BR, 0T and K codes.

Overpayment of wages: your rights

What to do if payroll says you owe money.

NHS Pension Scheme 2015 explained

How contributions and tiers work.