NHS Band 6 Pay 2026/27

NHS Band 6 salary and pay points, 2026/27

Band 6 has three pay points: Entry, Intermediate and Top. Figures below are full-time equivalent, based on standard Agenda for Change hours of 37.5 a week. This page covers NHS England Agenda for Change staff only, not doctors, dentists, Very Senior Managers, or staff in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Estimated Band 6 take-home pay

Estimated figures for England, 2026/27, based on 37.5 contracted hours a week, NHS Pension Scheme membership, outside any High Cost Area, no undergraduate student loan and no Postgraduate Loan.

NHS Pension for Band 6 staff

Most Band 6 staff are automatically enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme. Your contribution rate is tiered and based on your actual annual pensionable pay (basic salary plus High Cost Area Supplement if applicable). At full-time hours, every Band 6 pay point in 2026/27 falls within the same contribution tier, an estimated 9.8% at entry through to 9.8% at the top point, but this is not guaranteed for every future tax year as thresholds are uplifted separately from pay scales.

Because the tier depends on your actual pay, working part-time can place you in a lower contribution tier than a full-time colleague on the same pay point. NHS Pension contributions are deducted from your pay before Income Tax is calculated, so you receive tax relief automatically through payroll; they are not deducted before National Insurance or student loan calculations, which use your full gross pay.

Band 6 part-time pay

Standard Agenda for Change full-time hours are 37.5 a week. Part-time basic salary is calculated proportionally: your contracted hours divided by 37.5, multiplied by the full-time equivalent salary. The examples below use the Band 6 entry point, including 30 hours a week, a common part-time pattern for this band.

Band 6 pay in London (HCAS)

The High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS), also called London weighting, is an additional payment for staff working in or near London, calculated as a percentage of basic salary and subject to a minimum and maximum for each zone. HCAS is based on your workplace location, not your home address, and is pensionable, taxable and subject to National Insurance in the normal way.

Student loans and Band 6 pay

Student loan repayments reduce take-home pay and are calculated on your full gross pay, in the same way as National Insurance, not on your pay after pension contributions. The NHS Pay Calculator supports Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5 and the Postgraduate Loan, including both an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate Loan at the same time.

Band 6 pay progression

Agenda for Change pay progression through a band's pay points is not automatic or guaranteed. Progression is normally linked to time in post and satisfactory performance, in line with the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook and local trust arrangements, rather than being a fixed annual salary increase.

Band 6 has three pay points: Entry, Intermediate and Top. Many staff move into Band 6 having progressed from Band 5, and then progress through these three points over time rather than starting at the top of the scale.

Why your Band 6 payslip can differ from this estimate

• Your specific tax code
• Whether you are a member of the NHS Pension Scheme
• Your actual contracted hours
• Your High Cost Area Supplement zone, if any
• Any student loan or Postgraduate Loan repayments
• Overtime
• Unsocial-hours enhancements
• On-call payments
• Local or individual deductions
• Prior-period payroll adjustments and back pay

Official sources

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