NHS Scotland Health Boards: All 14 Boards, Pay and Links

This directory is for NHS staff and jobseekers who want to see how NHS Scotland is organised, which board covers which part of the country, what pay is the same across boards and what is different, and where to find jobs and official information. It lists every territorial health board and the national boards, links to our own pages for the boards we cover, and points to the official NHS Scotland directory and jobs site for contact details. FrontlinePay is independent and not part of NHS Scotland, so for anything about your own employment the board's HR team is the authority.

How NHS Scotland is organised

The official NHS Scotland directory (scot.nhs.uk) describes NHSScotland as 14 regional NHS boards, which are responsible for the protection and improvement of their population's health and for the delivery of frontline healthcare services, supported by special and national boards that provide specialist and national services. Unlike England, where most care is provided by NHS trusts, in Scotland the board employs the staff and runs the services in its area. Our explainer how the NHS is structured compares the four nations.

All Agenda for Change staff in the boards work to the same Scottish terms and conditions: the NHS Scotland Agenda for Change Handbook and the Scottish Government's pay circulars, which are addressed to the chief executives and HR and finance directors of all boards. The 2026/27 pay table is in NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27, and the full-time week is 36 hours (see the 36-hour week explained).

The 14 territorial boards

The table lists the boards as named on the NHS Scotland organisations directory. The directory page for each board has its website and contact links. Where we have a detailed page on a board, it is linked.

Sources: NHS Scotland organisations directory (scot.nhs.uk), for names and entries. Pay information from Scottish Government circular PCS(AFC)2026/1 and our guides to the Distant Islands Allowance and the Highlands.

National boards and bodies

Alongside the 14 territorial boards, NHS Scotland has national organisations that provide specialist or national services. The NHS Scotland organisations page lists these under its special NHS boards heading. They employ staff on the same Agenda for Change terms: the Scottish Government's pay circulars are addressed to NHS boards and special health boards alike, and staff of the Scottish Ambulance Service, for example, are recorded on Agenda for Change bands.

• NHS 24
• Public Health Scotland
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• NHS National Waiting Times Centre (Golden Jubilee)
• Scottish Ambulance Service
• The State Hospitals Board for Scotland
• Public Services Delivery Scotland (formed from NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland)

Pay at the boards

The salary you are paid depends on your band and point, not your board, and the band depends on the job. For each band see the 2026/27 pages: Band 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8a. For take-home pay after Scottish tax see NHS Scotland take-home pay 2026/27, and for how it compares with England see NHS Scotland vs England pay compared.

• Island boards. NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles staff can receive the Distant Islands Allowance, a flat annual payment on top of Agenda for Change pay; some Inner Hebridean island posts in NHS Highland qualify too. Rates and eligibility are in the Distant Islands Allowance guide.
• Highland mainland. There is no blanket allowance. Hard-to-fill posts can attract discretionary recruitment and retention premia; see the Highlands guide and recruitment and retention premia explained. In the Scottish Handbook, long-term premia count for overtime and unsocial hours, short-term ones do not.
• No London weighting. The High Cost Area Supplement is for London zones in England; the Scottish boards do not use it.
• Pension. Every board uses the NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland), run by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency; see NHS Scotland pension scheme differences.

Jobs, HR and contacts

FrontlinePay does not hold contact details for individual boards, and we have not tried to list phone numbers that may change. Use these official starting points:

• NHS Scotland jobs. Vacancies from across the boards are on apply.jobs.scot.nhs.uk, which is linked from NHS Scotland Careers. Careers also has pages for each career area and help with applications.
• The official directory. scot.nhs.uk/organisations lists each board with its website.
• Your own pay or contract. The Scottish Government's circulars say employees should direct personal enquiries to their employing NHS board or special health board. Start with your line manager, then HR or payroll, and bring in your union representative if needed.
• Disputes about banding. Job evaluation is run in partnership locally; see how to challenge your NHS pay band.
• General job-hunting. Our guide how to find NHS jobs near you covers searching and applying in all four nations.

What differs board by board

• Public holidays. The Scottish Government has said public holidays are the days designated locally, and staff should check their board's list. In 2026/27 that can mean 11 days rather than 8 where the Easter holidays are designated; see NHS Scotland annual leave in hours.
• The Band 5 nursing review. Each board runs its own project team for the national review of Band 5 nursing roles, and progress differs; for example, NHS Grampian's August 2026 staff brief reported 775 applications received and 272 complete, with most completed ones regraded to Band 6. See the Band 5 nursing review.
• Rota patterns and the 36-hour week. The Scottish Government left implementation to local partnership working, so how your hour is delivered is decided locally.
• Local policies. Time off in lieu, carry-over of leave, flexible working and many other practicalities are set in each board's policies within the national framework. Ask HR for your board's policy documents.

Sources

NHS Scotland organisations and its special NHS boards page; NHS National Services Scotland announcement of Public Services Delivery Scotland; NHS Scotland Careers; Scottish Government circulars PCS(AFC)2026/1 and PCS(PHG)2026/1; the NHS Scotland Agenda for Change Handbook; the Scottish Ambulance Service FOI 25-475 response. Last checked October 2026.