NHS Promotion Pay Calculator
Band 5 to Band 6, Band 6 to Band 7, or any two bands and pay points. See the real change in your take-home pay, not just the gross salary gap, and where the NHS Handbook says you would be placed.
Free, runs in your browser. Part of FrontlinePay's NHS Promotions hub. Last updated October 2026.
Quick start: common promotions
These start you at the top point of your current band. Adjust below to match your payslip.
Your current role
The role you are considering
In England, basic pay on promotion is set at the minimum point of the new band (Handbook Section 1, para 1.17). In Northern Ireland it is the minimum, or the first point that gives an increase if the minimum would not (Section 6, para 6.21). Your trust has the final say, so confirm with HR.
Side-by-side comparison
Current: Band 6, point 3
£48,117
gross annual
Target: Band 7, point 1
£49,387
gross annual
The real change in take-home pay
+£67.90 a month
+£814.84 a year (+2.37% on your current take-home)
The gross rise is £1,270 a year and you keep 64% of it after tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension contributions. That is why the take-home figure, not the gross one, is the one to base a decision on.
What happens to the extra pay
Your pension also grows. At the 2015 Scheme's 1/54th accrual rate, each year in the new role builds about £24 a year more annual pension (before yearly revaluation) than each year at your current pay, for about £124 a year more in contributions, which is already taken out of the take-home figures. See the NHS Pension Calculator to project the effect to retirement.
This compares basic pay only
A move into a less-rostered senior role can lose nights, weekend and bank holiday enhancements, add a commute, or bring one-off costs, any of which can shrink or reverse the gain above. The Is a Promotion Worth It? Calculator takes this same scenario and adds those factors, a break-even on one-off costs and a plain pay verdict. It is free.
Next step
What is this move worth over the next few years?
Taking normal yearly increments in both cases, moving up now leaves you about £4,177 better off in take-home pay over the first 3 years than staying in your current band. That is the Career Earnings Forecaster's own calculation, shown here for 3 years.
Basis: pay scales only (before the unsocial hours and costs you entered), the same hours and London weighting as your current role, NHS Pension included, no student loan.
Unlock in the Career Earnings Forecaster:
- The same comparison for up to 15 years, year by year, with the cumulative difference
- Choose which year the promotion lands and which point you move to
- Compare up to three paths side by side, such as stay, promote sooner or promote later
- AI career forecast guidance and a PDF to take to a career conversation
£9.99 one-off payment for 6 months access, no subscription. This calculator stays free. See what is included.
Checking your accessYour inputs are kept in this browser only, so you can come back to them. Nothing is sent to a server.
Assumptions and what is not included
- Pay uses the 2026/27 Agenda for Change scales. Points marked (est.) are interpolated between published entry and top figures, so check them against your payslip or the pay scales guide.
- Income Tax, National Insurance, NHS Pension contribution tiers and student loan repayments are the 2026/27 rules from the FrontlinePay pay engine. Tax codes, salary sacrifice and other deductions are not modelled.
- Placement on the new band follows the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, Section 1 (pay on promotion), when you leave the box ticked. Local policy and recruitment and retention premia can differ.
- Not included: overtime, bank shifts, on-call availability payments, local allowances, recruitment and retention premia, and pension annual allowance effects.
- Everything is compared against today's pay scale. It does not model the increments you would have taken by staying where you are, which is what the Career Earnings Forecaster compares.
- Source for placement rules: NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. This is information, not financial or career advice. See our editorial policy.
Short answer
Take-home pay after an NHS promotion rises by less than the gross pay gap. In 2026/27, a full-time England nurse moving from the top of Band 6 to the entry point of Band 7 gains £1,270 a year gross but about £68 a month in take-home pay, because tax, National Insurance and pension take a share of every extra pound. In England the Handbook places you on the minimum point of the new band, and your pay step date resets, so the next increment is a year away. Enter your own bands and points above to see your figure.
Which pay point will you land on when you are promoted?
This is the rule behind searches like "NHS promotion rule", and it decides your starting salary. The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook sets it out separately for each nation. The calculator applies it for you when you leave "Place me on the new band the way the NHS Handbook does" ticked, and you can untick it to choose a point yourself.
| Nation | Where you are placed | Handbook reference |
|---|---|---|
| England | Minimum pay point of the new band. Pay step date resets to the date you start. If basic pay plus unsocial hours and recruitment and retention premia would not increase your earnings, your previous salary is maintained until the new band overtakes it. | Section 1, paras 1.15 to 1.20 |
| Wales and Northern Ireland | Minimum of the new band or, if that gives no increase in pay, the first point that does. | Section 6, para 6.21 |
| Scotland | Working pattern substantially the same: first point that gives an increase when basic pay, any long-term premium and unsocial hours pay are combined. Pattern changes: minimum of the new band or, if no increase, the first point that gives one. | Section 1, paras 1.12 to 1.13 |
Two details catch people out. First, the protection in England for earnings only reaches unsocial hours pay when your pattern in the new role stays substantially the same (para 1.19), so a move off nights does not come with a top-up. Second, the unsocial hours pay used for that test is averaged over your previous three months at work unless your trust agreed another reference period (para 1.20). Read the primary text in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, and ask HR how your trust applies it.
Promotion vs progression: what is the difference?
Progression is the yearly step to the next pay point inside your band. Promotion is moving to a higher band, usually by being appointed to a new post, and you start again near the bottom of the new band. A person at the top of Band 5 who is promoted to Band 6 gets a much bigger rise than a person on point 1 of Band 5 who moves up one point, but far less than the gap between the two bands' headline ranges suggests. The pay progression and increments guide explains the within-band step in detail, and the band progression timeline covers how long moving up usually takes.
What common NHS promotions are worth in take-home pay
These rows come straight from the calculator for 2026/27 in England, full-time, no London weighting, NHS Pension included and no student loan. Each assumes you move from the top point of your current band to the entry point of the next.
| Move | Gross before | Gross after | Gross rise per year | Take-home rise per month | Share kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 to Band 3 | £25,272 | £25,760 | £488 | £27.16 | 67% |
| Band 3 to Band 4 | £27,476 | £28,392 | £916 | £50.99 | 67% |
| Band 4 to Band 5 | £31,157 | £32,073 | £916 | £49.89 | 65% |
| Band 5 to Band 6 | £39,043 | £39,959 | £916 | £48.98 | 64% |
| Band 6 to Band 7 | £48,117 | £49,387 | £1,270 | £67.90 | 64% |
| Band 7 to Band 8a | £56,515 | £57,528 | £1,013 | £43.54 | 52% |
The share you keep is lower from Band 7 to Band 8a because part of the extra pay is taxed at 40%, and a higher NHS Pension contribution tier can apply. Moving up from the top of a band often looks small because you are comparing the top of one band against the very bottom of the next, which is exactly what the Handbook rule produces.
Worked example: Band 6 point 3 to Band 7 point 1, 2026/27
A full-time Band 6 specialist nurse in England on point 3 (£48,117, an interpolated point marked est. in the calculator), moving to the entry point of Band 7 (£49,387), in the NHS Pension Scheme with no student loan.
| Step | Band 6, point 3 (current) | Band 7, point 1 (target) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | £48,117 | £49,387 |
| NHS Pension contribution | -£4,715.47 | -£4,839.93 |
| Income Tax | -£6,166.31 | -£6,395.41 |
| National Insurance | -£2,843.76 | -£2,945.36 |
| Take-home per year | £34,391.46 | £35,206.30 |
| Take-home per month | £2,865.96 | £2,933.86 |
The gross rise is £1,270 a year, but the take-home rise is £814.84 a year, about £67.90 a month (2.37% on current take-home). The nurse keeps about 64% of the gross rise.
Why take-home pay rises by less than gross pay
Three deductions move together when your salary goes up. Income Tax is 20% on taxable pay above the personal allowance and 40% above £50,270 (after pension contributions) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has its own six bands. Employee National Insurance is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above. NHS Pension contributions are tiered by pensionable pay for 2026/27: 5.2% up to £13,259, 6.5% up to £28,854, 8.3% up to £35,155, 9.8% up to £52,778, 10.7% up to £67,668, 12.5% above £67,668. A promotion can cross any of these lines, and the calculator flags it under "What happens to the extra pay". See the London weighting guide if a move also changes your HCAS zone.
What this calculator does not include
- ✕ Unsocial hours enhancements (nights, weekends, bank holidays), which depend on the rota of each post and often drop away in a less-rostered senior role.
- ✕ On-call availability payments, overtime, bank shifts and local allowances.
- ✕ Recruitment and retention premia and any local pay protection arrangement.
- ✕ Pension Annual Allowance effects, tax codes, salary sacrifice and other deductions.
ℹWant those included?
The Is a Promotion Worth It? Calculator takes the same scenario and adds lost unsocial hours pay, extra costs, a break-even on one-off costs and a plain pay verdict. The Pay Protection Calculator covers the separate case of moving to a lower-banded role.
How we calculate it, and sources
The calculator runs both roles through FrontlinePay's pay engine, the same one behind the NHS Pay Calculator, and subtracts the two take-home figures. Pay points are the 2026/27 Agenda for Change scales from NHS Employers (see our Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27 guide), tax rates from GOV.UK Income Tax rates and the Scottish Government, and National Insurance from GOV.UK. Placement rules come from the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. Our editorial policy explains how we check and update figures.
Why this comparison holds up
- ✓ Reuses FrontlinePay's verified pay, tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension engine, with no separate arithmetic for this tool.
- ✓ Compares real take-home pay and shows the share of the rise you keep.
- ✓ Places you on the new band using the NHS Handbook rule for your nation, with a warning when the entry point gives no rise.
- ✓ Nation is shared across both roles, so the comparison never mixes the England and Scotland tax systems.
- ✓ Every pay point is taken from the official published scales, not estimated.
- ✓ Runs in your browser. Inputs are saved only on your device and never sent to a server.
Free download: NHS band progression checklist
How pay points, promotion and regrading work, and what to do to move up.
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Frequently asked questions
How much more will I take home after an NHS promotion? +
Which pay point will I be placed on when I am promoted? +
What if the entry point of the new band pays less than I earn now? +
Does my incremental date change when I am promoted? +
What is the difference between promotion and progression? +
Why is my take-home rise smaller than the gross difference between the two bands? +
Does this include unsocial hours, overtime or on-call pay? +
Why do both roles need to be in the same nation? +
Can I use this if my hours change as part of the promotion? +
What is the Band 5 point 2 salary in 2026/27? +
How accurate are the pay points? +
Is this financial or career advice? +
More on NHS promotions and pay
The pay is one part of deciding whether to go for it.
Is a Promotion Worth It? Calculator
The fuller comparison with lost unsocial hours pay, costs and a pay verdict.
NHS Promotions Hub
Every occupation guide to moving up a band.
How Long Does Band Progression Take?
An evidenced range for Band 5 to 6 and 6 to 7.
Pay Progression and Increments Explained
Pay points within a band versus moving up a band.
Agenda for Change Pay Scales 2026/27
Every band and pay point in full.
NHS Pay Calculator
Check either band on its own in full payslip detail.
Unsocial Hours Calculator
Work out what your nights and weekends pay is worth.
NHS Career Earnings Forecaster
Model a promotion year by year against staying put.
NHS Pension Calculator
See how a higher salary changes your 2015 CARE pension.