NHS Ward Clerk Salary 2026/27: Band 2 and Band 3

This page is for people applying for ward clerk jobs, ward clerks wondering if their band is right, and healthcare assistants or porters who are thinking about a move into administration. A ward clerk is a non-clinical administrative post, usually based on a hospital ward. It is a different job from a healthcare assistant, a ward housekeeper or a medical secretary, though people move between all of them.

Ward clerk pay points 2026/27 (England)

Use the NHS Pay Calculator for your exact take-home pay at any band and point, including High Cost Area Supplement. For every band side by side, see the Agenda for Change pay scales guide.

Scotland's rates

NHS Scotland has its own 2026/27 table. For this role it runs from £26,696 to £31,409. Band 2: £26,696 to £28,988. Band 3: £29,103 to £31,409. See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27 for every band.

Band 2, one pay point and what that means

NHS Careers lists ward clerk as one of the job titles under clerk, alongside clinic clerk and admissions clerk. It says clerks are paid on Agenda for Change, typically start at Band 2, and can progress to Band 3 or 4 with further training and qualifications. The 2026 ward clerk adverts we found, in England and Wales, were Band 2. We did not find a Band 3 ward clerk post, so Band 3 here is the next step, not the norm.

For England in 2026/27, Band 2 has a single pay point. That is different from Band 3, which has two. A clerk on Band 2 therefore has no increment to wait for, and their basic pay changes only when the national pay award is applied or when they move to a post on a higher band. Our Band 2 pay page explains how close this is to the minimum wage, which matters if you work fewer hours or are comparing offers.

Some trusts offer progression within Band 2 administration posts. For example, one trust's advert for a patient administrator started on Band 2 with progression to Band 3 once competencies were completed. We did not see this for ward clerk posts, but it is worth asking at interview whether a progression route exists.

If you are on Band 2 and doing Band 3 work, see how to challenge your NHS pay band and Band 2 to Band 3 regrading and back pay, which deals with the same principle for healthcare assistants.

Entry requirements and training

NHS Careers says clerks have no set entry requirements. Employers usually expect good literacy, numeracy and IT skills and may ask for GCSEs or equivalent. Some roles require skills such as word processing or data entry. Relevant work experience is often requested, and experience in an administrative or customer service role is an advantage. Apprenticeships and traineeships are another way in.

Training is on the job. It covers the department, the IT and phone systems and procedures, and it may include customer care. Vocational qualifications may be offered through the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR) or the British Society of Medical Secretaries and Administrators (BSMSA), and membership of either gives access to training, forums and newsletters.

A supporting statement with real examples of your administrative and customer service experience will help your application. See our NHS Jobs supporting statement guide and values-based interview questions.

If you have no NHS experience, volunteering or work experience is a good way to get it. A DBS check applies before you start; see NHS DBS check explained. The wider guide is how to become an NHS administrator.

Shifts, weekends and what they add

NHS Careers gives the standard week for clerks as about 37.5 hours, and says some clerks work shifts that can include early starts, nights, evenings and weekends. Many ward clerk posts are weekday daytime, but that is not universal, so read the advert's working pattern.

Where you work qualifying hours, Section 2 of the Handbook adds an enhancement to basic pay in England. At Band 2 that is time plus 41% for Saturdays and for weekday hours between 8pm and 6am, and time plus 83% on Sundays and public holidays. At Band 3 it is time plus 35% and 69%. Those percentages are higher than the 30% and 60% paid at Band 4 and above, so weekend work counts for proportionally more at this level.

The enhancement is worked out on basic pay and excludes High Cost Area Supplement (paragraph 2.8), and you receive one rate per hour (paragraph 2.12). Overtime above 37.5 hours is paid at time and a half, or double time on public holidays, and Band 2 is eligible (Section 3). If you work on a public holiday you are also entitled to equivalent time off in lieu at plain time rates (paragraph 13.4).

Annual leave in England on appointment is 27 days plus eight general public holidays, rising to 29 days after five years and 33 days after ten (Section 13, Table 6). Our annual leave guide, bank holiday pay guide and unsocial hours calculator go further.

Where a ward clerk can go next

NHS Careers lists several routes. With experience, clerks can become team leaders or managers. They can move into specialist roles such as medical secretary, finance or human resources, or into informatics or IT. Training and qualifications, such as those from AMSPAR and BSMSA, support that progression.

The most direct step is into medical secretary work, which NHS Careers says is typically Band 3 or 4. Our medical secretary salary page explains how those posts are graded and what they need. Health records and patient administration roles are also common next steps, with entry roles typically at Band 2 or 3 according to NHS Careers.

Some ward clerks go on to clinical careers, with an NHS apprenticeship or a healthcare assistant post as the bridge. See NHS apprenticeships and the healthcare assistant guide for how that ladder works.

A band increase needs a post at the higher band, so progression normally means applying for a new job in the same or another trust. For timelines and the process, read NHS band progression: a realistic career timeline and the NHS admin and estates promotion guide. The promotion calculator shows the take-home effect of a move.

Scotland and Wales

Wales publishes its own scales. Its 2026/27 Band 2 figure is higher than England's, and Welsh ward clerk adverts we found showed that higher figure for Band 2 posts. Wales has no High Cost Area Supplement, and its unsocial hours percentages at Bands 2 and 3 are the same as England's (41% and 83%, then 35% and 69%). See NHS Wales pay scales for the figures.

Scotland has its own 2026/27 table, shown above, and its Band 2 has two pay points. The Scottish Handbook sets the full-time week at 36 hours from 1 April 2026. Scottish unsocial hours rates are higher at the lower bands: time plus 44% and 88% at Band 2, and time plus 37% and 74% at Band 3. Overtime in Scotland is open to every band from 1 to 9.

Because the band follows the duties and not the title, a ward clerk in one nation can be graded differently from a ward clerk in another, so read each job description. We found no Scottish ward clerk advert in the search we ran, so we have not verified how Scottish boards grade the post specifically. See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27 for the full table.

For what you take home after tax, National Insurance and pension at each band, use the NHS Pay Calculator.

Worked example: take-home pay for a ward clerk

Using the same 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension Scheme rules as our NHS Pay Calculator, here is what a full-time ward clerk on the England scale takes home outside a High Cost Area Supplement zone, before any unsocial hours enhancements.

Why you can trust these ward clerk pay figures

• ✓ Every band and pay point comes from the published 2026/27 Agenda for Change tables, not from job adverts.
• ✓ Facts about training, registration and progression are checked against the sources listed below, and the date is shown at the top.
• ✓ No NHS, DHSC or trust affiliation: an independent reference, not official guidance.

Sources: NHS Careers: clerk; NHS Careers: health records and patient administration; NHS Careers: medical secretary/personal assistant; NHS Employers: unsocial hours payments; NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (Sections 2, 3 and 13); NHS Scotland Agenda for Change Handbook (updated 2026), Sections 2, 3 and 10; Scottish Government circular PCS(AFC)2026/2: 36-hour working week. Last checked October 2026.

More on pay and the tools that go with it