NHS Band 3 pay 2026/27
In England for the 2026/27 Agenda for Change year, Band 3 basic pay runs from £25,760 to £27,476 a year across 2 pay points. Modelled take-home is about £1,727 to £1,823 a month after tax, National Insurance and NHS pension, that net range assumes pension membership, England tax/NI, no student loan, no HCAS and full-time hours, so one net figure does not apply to every contract.
Calculate Band 3 take-home pay - choose nation, pay point, hours, pension and student loan on the NHS pay calculator.
Source: NHS Employers AfC pay scales. Source checked on .
Band 3 at a glance, England 2026/27
- Entry: £25,760 a year (£13.16 / hour est.)
- Top of band: £27,476 a year (£14.04 / hour est.)
- Pay points: 2
- Pension tier on both points: 6.5%
- Modelled take-home: about £1,727 to £1,823 / month under the assumptions below the pay table
Band 3 pay points 2026/27
Gross figures are the England Agenda for Change rates for 2026/27 (effective 1 April 2026). Take-home is modelled with the same arithmetic as the NHS pay calculator. See all NHS pay bands for the full scale.
| Pay point | Annual gross | Monthly gross | Hourly (est.) | Take-home / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point 1 | £25,760 | £2,147 | £13.16 | £1,727 |
| Point 2 | £27,476 | £2,290 | £14.04 | £1,823 |
Hourly estimate = annual gross ÷ 1,957.5 (52.2 × 37.5 hours). Sources: NHS Employers AfC pay scales 2026/27; take-home from the same engine as the NHS pay calculator.
Modelled take-home assumes NHS pension membership, England income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27, a standard tax code, no student loan, no High Cost Area Supplement, and 37.5 hours a week full-time (1,957.5 annualised hours at 52.2 × 37.5). Part-time figures scale basic pay by WTE. Progression between pay points depends on Agenda for Change rules and a satisfactory appraisal, it is not an automatic award for every member of staff.
Full-time and 0.6 WTE take-home
Same Band 3 pay point 1 (£25,760 full-time basic), England 2026/27. Full-time uses 37.5 hours a week; 0.6 WTE uses 22.5 hours (0.6 × full-time). Both assume NHS pension membership, no student loan and no HCAS.
| Scenario | Hours / wk | Gross / yr | Pension | Tax + NI | Take-home / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 37.5 | £25,760 | £1,674 (6.5%) | £3,358 | £1,727 |
| 0.6 WTE | 22.5 | £15,456 | £1,005 (6.5%) | £607 | £1,154 |
Net pay changes with pension membership (and the cliff-edge tier on whole pensionable pay), income tax and National Insurance, student loans, High Cost Area Supplement and contracted hours. A 0.6 WTE contract is not always 60 percent of full-time take-home, because personal allowance and tier thresholds do not scale the same way as gross pay. In Scotland the full-time week is 36 hours in 2026/27 (1,879.2 annualised hours), so hourly estimates and WTE hours differ from England even when the cash salary table looks similar. Use the NHS pay calculator for other nations, loans or HCAS.
Enhancement scope and progression
Band 3 clinical staff who work shifts can receive Agenda for Change Section 2 unsocial hours enhancements on the hours that qualify. Under the arrangements that apply to this pay band, eligible weekday nights and Saturday hours attract a 35 percent enhancement on basic pay, and eligible Sunday and bank holiday hours attract 69 percent. The percentages depend on the pay band and on the unsocial hours arrangements in the member of staff's contract, so they do not apply to every NHS role. Overtime is paid under separate rules and is not combined with these enhancements. The basic pay table above excludes unsocial hours pay.
Progression from £25,760 to £27,476 follows Agenda for Change time-based rules and a satisfactory appraisal. After the top point, basic pay only rises through the national award or by moving to a higher band such as Band 4. Both Band 3 points sit in the 6.5% pension tier. For contribution tiers see the NHS pension contribution calculator.
How Band 3 compares to Band 2 and Band 4
Band 2 is effectively a single rate of £25,272, while Band 3 runs from £25,760 to £27,476 with room to progress. Band 4 entry is £28,392, about £916 above the top of Band 3, and rises to £31,157. Band 4 roles such as nursing associates usually need more training and autonomy than Band 3 support roles.
Hourly rate and four nations
The hourly rate is worked out by dividing the annual salary by 1,957.5, which is 52.2 weeks multiplied by 37.5 hours. In Scotland the standard week is 36 hours in 2026/27, so the hourly rate uses 1,879.2 annualised hours and is not a copy of the England figure. Band 3 sits above the National Living Wage on the England table, though it remains one of the lower AfC bands. Wales and Northern Ireland follow closely related cash scales; Scotland has a separate deal and the shorter week above. Select your nation in the calculator for an exact figure.
Frequently asked questions
On the £25,760 England entry point, modelled take-home is about £1,727 a month after income tax, National Insurance and the 6.5% NHS pension. At the top of the band (£27,476) it is about £1,823 a month. Those figures assume pension membership, a standard tax code, full-time hours, no student loan and no HCAS, they do not apply to every contract.
The England Band 3 entry salary for 2026/27 is £25,760 a year, including the 3.3 percent pay award from 1 April 2026. The top of the band is £27,476, reached after the Agenda for Change progression period if the appraisal requirements are met.
Eligible Band 3 clinical staff can receive Agenda for Change Section 2 unsocial hours enhancements on qualifying hours: 35 percent on eligible weekday nights and Saturdays, and 69 percent on eligible Sundays and bank holidays. The percentages depend on the pay band and the unsocial hours arrangements in the contract, so they do not apply to every NHS role. Overtime is paid under separate rules and is not combined with these enhancements.
Band 3 has 2 pay points. Movement from £25,760 to £27,476 follows Agenda for Change time-based progression and a satisfactory appraisal, it is not an automatic award for every member of staff.
About £13.16 an hour at entry and about £14.04 an hour at the top of the band in England 2026/27, dividing annual salary by 1,957.5 hours (52.2 × 37.5). Scotland uses a 36-hour full-time week in 2026/27 (1,879.2 annualised hours).
Moving to Band 4 usually means taking on a more skilled role such as nursing associate or assistant practitioner. Band 4 entry is £28,392, about £916 above the top of Band 3, and rises to £31,157.
NHS pay bands · NHS take-home calculator · Pension contributions · Band 4 pay · Page updated 2026-09-10 (pay rates effective 1 April 2026).
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