NHS Pay
NHS Payroll: Who to Contact About Wrong Pay
Independent guidance — not affiliated with NHS England or DHSC
Short answer
There is no national NHS payroll helpline for staff. NHS pay is run by each employer, or by a payroll provider acting for it, so the people who can fix an error are in your own employer's payroll team. The usual route is: check your payslip, tell your line manager if hours or shifts may not have been recorded, then contact the payroll team with the pay period, the line and what you expected. If that fails, raise a written grievance, involve your union, and ask Acas (0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) about deadlines. If your employer uses NHS Shared Business Services, its published payroll and pensions line is 0303 123 1144, but it asks you to use its Self-Service Portal first.
This guide is for NHS staff whose pay looks wrong: missing hours, a wrong rate, an unexpected deduction or a payday that did not happen. We list only contacts we could verify from the organisation's own pages, with the date checked, and we explain the route for everything else. FrontlinePay is independent and not affiliated with any employer, payroll provider or NHS body.
The route, in order
Check the payslip yourself
Use our guide to reading your payslip and codes decoder. Some apparent errors are timing, for example a pay award arriving as arrears in a later month.
Tell your line manager if it may be a recording problem
If shifts, overtime, bank hours or a change of hours may not have been submitted or approved, your manager can usually confirm and chase it. This is the manager, payroll team or employer route Acas describes.
Contact your employer's payroll team
Give specifics: assignment number, pay period, the line, what you expected and why. Keep the reply. How you reach payroll is local: check your intranet, the payslip cover message, your HR team or your manager.
Put it in writing and set a reply date
Acas advises confirming conversations in writing, explaining how much you think you are owed and why, attaching evidence, and asking for a reply within a set time, for example 7 days or before your next payday.
Escalate
Raise a grievance under your trust's procedure (see our grievance guide), involve your union, and contact Acas about time limits.
What to have ready
- ✓ Your assignment number. NHSBSA's payslip guide says to quote it in all correspondence, and it is suffixed -2, -3 and so on if you have more than one post.
- ✓ The pay period and the exact line or amount in question.
- ✓ Your contract or offer letter, your rota or timesheets, and any email from your manager about hours or pay.
- ✓ Your NI number and, for tax queries, the tax office reference and tax code from the payslip. NHSBSA's guide notes the tax office reference is what you need if you speak to HMRC.
- ✓ For pension queries, the membership reference on the payslip, which NHSBSA says to quote in any correspondence with NHS Pensions.
- ✓ Your own calculation of what you think you are owed, with the working. Our NHS pay calculator and payslip checker can help you build it.
Payroll providers and national bodies we verified
Contact details change. Each is shown with the date we checked and the page it comes from.
| Who | What for | Published route (checked 19 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) | Payroll and pensions queries, if your employer is an SBS client. | Employment Services (payroll and pensions): 0303 123 1144. Hours are not stated. The page asks you to use the Self-Service Portal first, to raise and track queries with its payroll and pensions teams. Source: sbs.nhs.uk/contact |
| Acas | Free advice on unpaid or wrong wages, time limits and early conciliation. | Helpline 0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. The call may be charged depending on your provider. Source: acas.org.uk/contact/get-advice |
| NHS Pensions (NHSBSA) | Your pension record, not your pay. Not payroll. | Members: 0300 330 1346, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Source: NHSBSA. More in how to contact NHS Pensions. |
| Scotland: doctors in training (NES, NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lothian) | Payroll queries for doctors in training whose lead employer is one of these. | NES: queries go through its Finance Service Desk (not by phone, because of ID checks); it aims to reply to urgent queries in 1 working day and routine ones in 3. The page also lists payroll email addresses for the other three lead employers. Source: Scotland Deanery payroll enquiries |
ℹESR and NHSBSA are not a payroll helpline for you
NHSBSA runs ESR, the system that holds your payroll record, but its Hub directs staff with access problems to the system administrator at their own organisation and publishes no phone number or email for staff. Pay queries go to your employer's payroll team. See ESR login help if you cannot get into the system.
Why there is no list of trust payroll numbers
It would be easy to publish a table of payroll phone numbers for every trust, and some websites do. We do not, because we cannot verify each number against the trust's own page, they change when trusts switch payroll provider, and a wrong number sends you to the wrong team. The reliable way to find yours is the payslip itself, your employer's intranet pay or payroll page, your HR team or your manager. If you cannot find it, ask a colleague or your union rep, who usually know the current route.
Different problems, different people
| Problem | Start with | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Missing hours, overtime or bank shifts | Line manager (timesheet or roster approval) | Payroll team. See overtime rates and unsocial hours payments. |
| Wrong band, pay point or increment | Payroll team and HR | See pay progression and, for a band dispute, job evaluation appeals. |
| Unexpected deduction or overpayment | Payroll team, asking for the calculation in writing | See overpayment of wages. |
| Wrong tax code | Payroll team | HMRC, using the tax office reference on the payslip. See P60 and P45. |
| Pay award or arrears not paid | Payroll team | See 2026/27 pay rise and back pay calculator. |
| Sick, maternity or other leave pay | HR and payroll | See sick pay and maternity pay. |
| Pension contribution tier or membership | Payroll team | NHS Pensions (membership record). |
| Pay did not arrive on payday | Payroll team, immediately | See pay dates. |
If the team does not fix it
Acas describes the next steps: raise a formal grievance if informal attempts fail, and consider an employment tribunal if wages still are not paid correctly. Notifying Acas for early conciliation is a step before a tribunal claim, and time limits are strict. The time limit for most claims arising on or after 1 October 2026 changed under the Employment Rights Act 2025, so read our guide to the new time limits and check Acas before relying on a date. Wages claims can also cover linked underpayments going back further than one pay period, which is another reason to speak to Acas or your union early.
NHS Payslip Checker
Check tax, NI and pension deductions on a payslip.
NHS Overpayment Recovery Checker
Test an overpayment demand and see what a fair repayment looks like.
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Sources and date checked
All checked 19 October 2026.
- NHS Shared Business Services: Contact us
- Acas: helpline, raising an issue with your employer if wages are not paid and payslips
- NHSBSA: contact NHS Pensions
- Scotland Deanery: payroll enquiries
- NHSBSA, "Understanding your payslip" (PDF on the ESR Hub)
Related guides
NHS Overpayment of Wages: What Are Your Rights?
If the error is in the employer's favour.
How to Read Your NHS Payslip
Checking the lines before you contact payroll.
NHS Grievance Procedure Explained
The formal route if informal attempts fail.
NHS Staff Representation Explained
Which unions can help with a pay dispute.
How to See Your Payslip on ESR
Getting the payslip in the first place.
NHS Pay Dates: How They Work
Finding your payday.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I ring if my NHS pay is wrong? +
Is there a national NHS payroll helpline? +
My trust uses NHS Shared Business Services. How do I contact them? +
How quickly must an overpayment or underpayment be fixed? +
What if payroll says I was overpaid? +
Should I involve my union? +
Who deals with a wrong tax code or NHS Pension deduction? +
General information based on Acas, NHS Shared Business Services, NHSBSA and Scotland Deanery pages at the date shown. Not legal advice and not affiliated with any NHS employer or payroll provider. Contact details change, so check the source page before relying on a number.
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