NHS Hourly Pay Rates by Band 2026/27: Every Pay Point

If you work bank shifts, check an overtime payment, compare an agency rate or want to know what an hour of your time is worth, you need the hourly rate for your band and point, not the annual salary. This page lists the 2026/27 Agenda for Change hourly rate for every pay point in England, Wales and Scotland, the rates for nights, weekends and bank holidays, and overtime. It is for NHS staff, bank workers and anyone comparing NHS pay with another job.

How an NHS hourly rate is worked out

The rule is simple: hourly rate = annual salary ÷ 52.143 ÷ full-time weekly hours. The number 52.143 is the average number of weeks in a year (365 ÷ 7, to three decimals). The full-time week is 37.5 hours in England and Wales (Handbook, Section 10) and 36 hours in NHS Scotland from 1 April 2026, when it fell from 37 without a cut in pay (Scottish Government circulars PCS(AFC)2025/8 and PCS(AFC)2026/2, which also update Scotland's Section 10).

The Handbook text we read does not print the formula, so we did not take it on trust. We checked it against the published tables: all 29 Band 2 to Band 9 hourly figures in the NHS Employers 2026/27 table for England reproduce exactly, and so do all 17 hourly figures in the Scottish Government's 2026/27 table for Bands 2 to 8a. One point needs a note. Band 8d entry is £94,356, which divides to 48.2550 and is printed as £48.26, not £48.25. That matches if you round to four decimal places first, which the Scottish circular says is how hourly rates are held for payslips.

Part-time staff have the same hourly rate as full-time staff on the same point, because pay is scaled to contracted hours. The High Cost Area Supplement has its own hourly figure in the NHS Employers table (the supplement is added to the salary before dividing), shown in the England table below.

England: hourly rate by band and pay point, 2026/27

Basic hourly rate, and the hourly rate including the High Cost Area Supplement in each London zone. Inner London pays 20% of basic pay (minimum £5,794, maximum £8,746), Outer London 15% (£4,870 to £6,137) and the Fringe 5% (£1,346 to £2,270). The Northern Ireland scale is not in this table: see NHS Northern Ireland pay 2026/27.

* Band 1 is closed to new entrants. Bands 2 to 4 have fewer pay points than Bands 5 to 9, and Band 2 has the same figure at entry and top.

Enhanced hourly rates: nights, weekends and bank holidays

Unsocial hours payments are a percentage on top of your basic hourly rate (Handbook, Section 2, Table 2). The column Saturday and weekday 8pm to 6am applies to all of Saturday and to weekday hours between 8pm and 6am. The column Sunday and public holidays applies to all of those days. Only one rate applies to each hour, and the enhancement is worked out on basic pay (including any long-term recruitment and retention premium), not on HCAS or short-term premia. The percentages for England and Wales are:

The same percentages are in Wales' Section 2, Table 2(a). Scotland's Section 2 is different for the lower bands: Band 1 time plus 50% and double time, Band 2 time plus 44% and 88%, Band 3 time plus 37% and 74%, and Bands 4 to 9 time plus 30% and 60%. The resulting hourly rates on the England scale:

These rates are before tax, National Insurance and pension. Unsocial hours payments are pensionable (Section 2, paragraph 2.14). For what a real rota pays after deductions use the unsocial hours calculator, and for the rules see unsocial hours payments explained.

Overtime hourly rates

Under Section 3 of the Handbook, overtime is hours worked beyond the full-time week. Staff in Bands 1 to 7 are eligible and are paid time and a half on basic pay (plus any long-term recruitment and retention premium), or double time for work on general public holidays. Staff in Bands 8 and 9 are not entitled to overtime payments (paragraph 3.6). Part-time staff are paid plain time for additional hours until they pass the full-time week (paragraph 3.3). The overtime hourly rate at a few common points, England:

Scotland's Annex B (PCS(AFC)2025/8) prints the rate for work beyond 36 hours at one and a half times the 36-hour rate, which is the same rule. See NHS overtime rates explained and the overtime calculator.

Wales: hourly rate by band and pay point, 2026/27

Wales has its own scale, taken from Welsh Government circular AfC(W) 02/2026 with the June 2026 Band 3 correction, and a 37.5-hour full-time week. Wales has no High Cost Area Supplement.

Scotland: hourly rate on a 36-hour week, 2026/27

NHS Scotland's full-time week is 36 hours from 1 April 2026, so each salary is divided by 36 rather than 37.5. These figures use the current Scottish scale, which includes the top-up announced after the 2025 inflation check; the Scottish Government's December 2025 circular printed an earlier table, based on salaries before that top-up, which is lower. Enhanced rates use Scotland's own Section 2 percentages.

Part-time staff in Scotland who keep their old hours after 1 April 2026 are paid the higher hourly rate, which is a small gain; those whose hours are cut pro rata (from 37 to 36) keep the same earnings (PCS(AFC)2025/8, Annex C). See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27.

Worked example: one Band 5 shift pattern

A Band 5 nurse on point 1 in England (£32,073) has a basic rate of £16.40 an hour. For one 7.5-hour shift, a basic shift earns £123.02. A Saturday or night shift (time plus 30%) pays £159.93 and a Sunday or public holiday shift (time plus 60%) pays £196.83. An hour of overtime at time and a half is £24.60. All are before tax, National Insurance and pension: the Band 5 take-home page shows what a rota like this leaves.

Sources and limits