NHS Band 5 Salary 2025/26 — Take Home Pay, Hourly Rate & Pension

NHS Band 5 salary in England runs from £31,049 at entry to £37,796 at the top of the band in 2025/26, following a 3.6% pay award backdated to 1 April 2025. After income tax, National Insurance, and the NHS pension, a full-time Band 5 nurse at entry point takes home approximately £2,016 per month.

This guide covers the full Band 5 pay scale, what you actually take home at each pay point, your hourly rate, how the NHS pension tiers work, and what part-time contracts look like in practice. Use the NHS take home pay calculator at the bottom of this page to get your exact figure.

Band 5 pay scale 2025/26 — England

Band 5 has three pay points. You start at entry and progress to mid after two years of satisfactory performance, then to the top after a further two years. <cite index=”41-1″>Progression is subject to local appraisal policies.</cite>

Pay point	Annual salary	Monthly gross	Hourly rate
Entry	£31,049	£2,587	£15.88
Mid	£33,488	£2,791	£17.13
Top	£37,796	£3,150	£19.33

<cite index=”38-1″>These figures are sourced from NHS Employers Agenda for Change pay scales for 2025/26, effective 1 April 2025.</cite> Hours are based on a standard 37.5-hour working week.

These are your gross figures — what you earn before deductions. The table below shows what actually lands in your bank account.

Band 5 take home pay 2025/26 — after tax, NI, and pension

The NHS pension is a salary sacrifice scheme, which means your contribution is taken before income tax and National Insurance are calculated. At Band 5 entry salary of £31,049, the pension contribution rate is 7.5% (see pension section below).

These figures use a standard 1257L tax code, no student loan, and full-time hours.

Pay point	Gross	NHS pension (7.5%)	Income tax	NI	Take home (annual)	Take home (monthly)
Entry	£31,049	−£2,329	−£3,230	−£1,294	£24,196	£2,016
Mid	£33,488	−£2,512	−£3,783	−£1,394	£25,799	£2,150
Top	£37,796	−£2,835	−£4,478	−£1,794	£28,689	£2,391

The difference between the bottom and top of Band 5 is just over £6,700 gross, but only around £375 per month in take home — because more of the higher salary is taken in tax.

For your exact figure with your own tax code, student loan, or part-time hours, use our NHS take home pay calculator.

Who works in Band 5?

Band 5 is the entry point for most registered NHS professionals. Roles at this band include:

• Registered nurses (staff nurses)
• Midwives
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Radiographers
• Biomedical scientists
• Dietitians
• Speech and language therapists
• Operating department practitioners

It is the band where most newly qualified clinical staff begin their NHS careers. Progression to Band 6 requires demonstrating specialist skills or taking on a leadership or specialist practitioner role — it is not automatic with time, and you typically need to apply for a Band 6 post.

The NHS pension at Band 5 — and why it matters

The NHS pension is one of the most valuable benefits of working in the NHS, but it does reduce your take home pay — and the amount depends on your salary.

The NHS pension uses a tiered contribution system. Your rate is set by your pensionable pay, not by your choice. <cite index=”33-1″>At Band 5 entry level, the pension contribution rate is 7.5% for salaries between £26,832 and £47,846.</cite>

Pensionable pay	Contribution rate	Applies to
Up to £13,246	5.1%	Band 2 minimum
£13,247 – £26,831	5.4%	Lower Band 4
£26,832 – £47,846	7.5%	All of Band 5
£47,847 – £111,376	8.5%	Band 7 top upwards
£111,377 – £156,000	11.2%	Band 8c and above
Above £156,000	13.5%	Senior leadership

All three Band 5 pay points fall within the 7.5% tier. That means your pension contribution is the same rate at entry as at the top of Band 5.

Why salary sacrifice saves you money Because the NHS pension is salary sacrifice, your contribution comes off your gross pay before income tax and NI are calculated. On a £31,049 salary, your 7.5% pension contribution of £2,329 reduces your taxable income to £28,720. This saves you roughly £465 in income tax and £186 in NI — approximately £651 per year more in your pocket compared to a standard pension arrangement. Our salary sacrifice and pension calculator shows this in detail.

Your employer’s contribution Your employer also pays into your NHS pension — at a rate of 23.7% of your pensionable pay. On a Band 5 entry salary, that is over £7,300 per year going in from your employer, in addition to your own contribution. This does not appear on your payslip and does not affect your take home, but it is a significant part of your total remuneration.

Part-time Band 5 take home pay

Many Band 5 staff work part-time. Your gross salary is pro-rated by your FTE (full-time equivalent) fraction. Here are the take home figures at common part-time fractions at Band 5 entry (£31,049 gross):

FTE	Gross salary	NHS pension	Income tax	NI	Monthly take home
1.0 (full-time)	£31,049	−£2,329	−£3,230	−£1,294	£2,016
0.8	£24,839	−£1,863	−£2,454	−£985	£1,628
0.6	£18,629	−£1,007	−£1,212	−£487	£1,244
0.5	£15,525	−£838	−£783	−£238	£1,056

Important note for part-time staff: your pension contribution rate is based on your actual earnings, not the full-time equivalent. A 0.5 FTE Band 5 nurse earning £15,525 falls into the 5.4% pension tier (not the 7.5% tier), because their actual salary is below £26,831. This means part-time staff often pay a lower pension rate than full-time colleagues on the same band.

Use the FTE slider in our NHS take home pay calculator to get your exact pro-rata figure.

London weighting (HCAS) at Band 5

If you work in London or the surrounding area, you receive a High Cost Area Supplement on top of your basic salary. The three zones for 2025/26 are:

Zone	HCAS	Minimum	Maximum
Inner London	20% of basic	£4,551	£6,469
Outer London	15% of basic	£3,839	£4,771
London Fringe	5% of basic	£1,346	£2,270

A Band 5 nurse at entry in inner London receives the 20% supplement, but because the calculated amount (20% × £31,049 = £6,210) falls within the minimum/maximum range, they receive £6,210 on top of their basic salary — giving a total gross of £37,259 before any deductions.

HCAS is taxable and pensionable. The calculator does not include it automatically. If you receive HCAS, switch to “Enter my salary” mode in our NHS calculator and add your supplement to your basic salary for an accurate take home figure.

Student loan repayments at Band 5

Many nurses, paramedics, and AHPs graduated with student loan debt. Here is what that adds to your deductions at Band 5 in 2025/26:

Plan	Threshold	Annual repayment at £31,049	Monthly reduction
Plan 1	£24,990	−£546	−£46
Plan 2	£27,295	−£338	−£28
Plan 4 (Scotland)	£31,395	£0 (below threshold)	£0
Plan 5	£25,000	−£545	−£45
Postgraduate	£21,000	−£603	−£50

Most nursing and AHP graduates who started after 2012 in England are on Plan 2. At Band 5 entry, this reduces monthly take home by approximately £28.

Select your plan from the dropdown in our NHS take home pay calculator to include it in your results.

Band 5 pay in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

Pay rates differ by region. Scotland applies its own NHS Scotland pay deal, which delivered a higher uplift than England in 2025/26.

Region	Entry	Top
England	£31,049	£37,796
Wales	£31,049	£37,796
Scotland (NHS Scotland)	£33,247	£41,424
Northern Ireland	£29,970	£36,483

Scottish Band 5 salaries are higher, but Scottish income tax rates are also higher for most earners. The combination means the take home difference between England and Scotland is smaller than the gross gap suggests. For NHS Scotland staff, use our Scottish take home pay calculator for an accurate SRIT-based result.

What about unsocial hours?

The Band 5 figures on this page cover basic pay only. NHS Agenda for Change also provides enhanced rates for unsocial hours:

• Saturday: Time and a third (1.33×)
• Sunday and public holidays: Time and a half (1.5×)
• Nights (8pm–6am): Time and a third (1.33×)

These enhancements are pensionable, which means they count towards your NHS pension and affect your pension contribution tier if they are significant enough. A Band 5 nurse working regular night shifts or weekends will take home more than the basic figures shown above — and may move into a higher pension tier.

Band 5 to Band 6 — is it worth it?

The Band 6 minimum salary in 2025/26 is £38,682 — just £886 above the Band 5 maximum of £37,796. At first glance, the immediate pay rise looks small.

But the benefit of Band 6 is the ceiling, not the starting point. Band 6 tops out at £46,580 — nearly £9,000 above the Band 5 maximum. Over a career, the difference is substantial. The marginal income tax rate stays the same (20% basic rate) across most of Band 6, so the take home difference grows more predictably as you progress through Band 6 pay points.

To compare Band 5 and Band 6 take home side by side, select both from the dropdown in our NHS take home pay calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Calculate your exact Band 5 take home pay

The figures in this guide are based on a standard 1257L tax code, no student loan, and full-time hours. Your actual take home will vary based on your tax code, student loan plan, part-time FTE, and whether you receive HCAS or other enhancements.

Use our NHS take home pay calculator to get your exact figure in under 30 seconds. Select Band 5, choose your pay point, adjust the FTE slider for part-time, and add your student loan if you have one.

Sources: NHS Employers Agenda for Change pay scales 2025/26 · NHSBSA pension contribution rates · HMRC income tax rates · Last updated July 2026.