NHS Trusts
King's College Hospital: Pay and HCAS
Last updated September 2026 · Independent guidance, not affiliated with NHS England or DHSC
Short answer
Agenda for Change bands at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are identical to the national pay scale used everywhere else — a Band 5 or Band 6 post here sits on exactly the same base pay as its counterpart outside London. The difference is that King's College Hospital falls within the Inner London High Cost Area Supplement zone, so most roles also attract HCAS on top. Run the NHS Pay Calculator with Inner London selected to get your combined figure.
What kind of trust is King's College Hospital?
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a large acute trust based in south London, employing across the typical broad spread you'd expect from a major hospital employer: nursing, medicine, midwifery, a wide range of allied health professional roles, pharmacy, healthcare science, healthcare assistants, and the administrative, estates and support staff an acute site depends on. Our nursing and medicine guides cover how pay progresses band by band, which applies here as much as at any other acute trust.
Inner London HCAS, in practice
Because King's College Hospital sits inside the Inner London HCAS zone, the supplement makes a real and material difference to take-home pay — but it's designed to offset south London's higher cost of living, not as a bonus layered on top for its own sake. Before weighing an offer here against one elsewhere, it's worth running the actual combined figure rather than judging by the base band rate alone: the pay calculator factors in your band, point and HCAS zone together.
Your employer, not just your role
King's College Hospital, rather than "the NHS" as a single body, is your legal employer if you work here, which matters for continuous service and for how redundancy pay would be calculated in the event of restructuring. If you want the wider picture of how trusts and the rest of the NHS in England connect, see our explainer on NHS structure.
Frequently asked questions
Does King's College Hospital pay London weighting? +
Yes. King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust sits in the Inner London High Cost Area Supplement zone, so most staff receive HCAS on top of standard Agenda for Change band pay. Use the NHS Pay Calculator with Inner London selected for your specific figure.
Is the base salary at King's College Hospital higher than elsewhere in the country? +
No — Agenda for Change band and pay point rates are identical nationally. The Inner London HCAS added at King's College Hospital is a separate location-based addition, not a change to the underlying band rate itself.
What kinds of roles exist at a large acute trust like this one? +
The typical range for a large acute trust — nursing, medicine, midwifery, allied health professions, pharmacy, healthcare science, healthcare assistants, and administrative, estates and support staff — all on national Agenda for Change or medical and dental pay structures.