NHS Band 3 salary 2026/27: £25,760–£27,476 and hourly rate

The pay points

Step	2026/27	2025/26	Hourly	Time to next step
Entry	£25,760	£24,937	£13.17	2 years
Top	£27,476	£26,598	£14.05	—

Hourly figures are derived — how, and why they are not published.

What work sits in band 3

7 published profiles score into band 3 from the radiography and nursing and ambulance service and occupational therapy and physiotherapy job families — these are the profiles a radiographer’s or nurse’s or ambulance service worker’s or occupational therapist’s or physiotherapist’s post is matched to. A post is banded by matching it to one of these, not by its job title, which is why two jobs with the same title can sit in different bands.

Clinical Support Worker, Higher Level (Radiography)

Job evaluation score 216–244

Undertakes a range of delegated radiography-related duties
Carries out clerical and reception duties

Nursing: 3

Job evaluation score 217–267

Undertakes a range of delegated clinical care duties in hospital, community or other settings
Records patient observations and changes to patient clinical conditions
Carries out limited clinical care duties

Patient Transport Services Patient Carer, Higher level(

Job evaluation score 221–227

Collects high dependency, non-ambulatory patients and escorts to vehicle
Drives passenger vehicle to and from hospitals, clinics, departments
Escorts patients to appropriate clinic or department

Clinical Support Worker Higher Level (Occupational Therapy)

Job evaluation score 223–252

Carries out duties delegated by Occupational Therapist in a variety of settings
Supervises and instructs patients/clients in activities relating to their treatment programme

Dispatcher – entry level

Job evaluation score 232–243

Ensure the effective deployment and efficient management of non- emergency vehicles (under supervision) e.g. patient transport.
Liaison with appropriate services.

Call handler

Job evaluation score 241–252

Provides a front-line service answering emergency and urgent care calls and/or calls for health advice.
Provides clinical triage advice and Inputs key information into computerised system; provides condition related advice from protocols.
Escalates calls / refers to appropriate service.

Clinical Support Worker Higher Level (Physiotherapy)

Job evaluation score 245–259

Implements treatment programmes for patients/clients
Assists physiotherapists in implementing treatment programmes
Administers stock of mobility aids; orders supplies

Quoted from National profiles for diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles; National profiles for nursing — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles; National profiles for ambulance service — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles; National profiles for occupational therapy — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles; National profiles for physiotherapy — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles.

The same jobs at every band they reach, on one page each: ambulance service pay, nursing pay, physiotherapy pay and radiography pay.

What changes between band 2 and band 3

A nurse’s post moves up when the job evaluation score does, not when enough time has passed. In the nursing family the highest band 2 profile (Nursing: 2) tops out at 212, and the lowest here (Nursing: 3) starts at 217 — the band boundary sits in that gap. Crossing it means the work described at band 2 has changed.

A ambulance service worker’s post moves up when the job evaluation score does, not when enough time has passed. In the ambulance service family the highest band 2 profile (Patient Transport Services Patient Carer) tops out at 209, and the lowest here (Patient Transport Services Patient Carer, Higher level() starts at 221 — the band boundary sits in that gap. Crossing it means the work described at band 2 has changed.

A occupational therapist’s post moves up when the job evaluation score does, not when enough time has passed. In the occupational therapy family the highest band 2 profile (Clinical Support Worker (Occupational Therapy)) tops out at 209, and the lowest here (Clinical Support Worker Higher Level (Occupational Therapy)) starts at 223 — the band boundary sits in that gap. Crossing it means the work described at band 2 has changed.

A physiotherapist’s post moves up when the job evaluation score does, not when enough time has passed. In the physiotherapy family the highest band 2 profile (Clinical Support Worker (Physiotherapy)) tops out at 209, and the lowest here (Clinical Support Worker Higher Level (Physiotherapy)) starts at 245 — the band boundary sits in that gap. Crossing it means the work described at band 2 has changed.

Nights, weekends and bank holidays

Band 3 has its own unsocial hours rate — bands 1, 2 and 3 are each paid differently, and more than bands 4 and above. All four nations’ rates, and the rules for which hours qualify. Work out the take-home on this band.

When	Enhancement	Hourly at the entry step	At the top
Saturday, and weekdays 8pm–6am	+35%	£17.78	£18.97
Sundays and public holidays	+69%	£22.26	£23.74

Which hours qualify, and the rules that decide it — including what is excluded and how the other nations differ.

If you work in or near London

A percentage of basic salary, but with a floor and a ceiling — so what band 3 actually gets is not simply the percentage.

Zone	Rate	At the entry step	At the top
Inner London	20%	£5,794.00 (the minimum)	£5,794.00 (the minimum)
Outer London	15%	£4,870.00 (the minimum)	£4,870.00 (the minimum)
Fringe London	5%	£1,346.00 (the minimum)	£1,373.80

At band 3 the straight 20% would come to less than the minimum, so inner London pay is lifted to £5,794.00 — worth proportionally more here than further up the scale.

What band 3 actually pays after deductions

The gross figure is not what reaches your bank. Run through income tax, National Insurance and the pension contribution for an England member in the scheme, each step of band 3 comes out at:

Step	Gross	Hourly	Pension tier	Take-home	A month
Entry	£25,760	£13.17	6.5%	£20,727.80	£1,727.32
Top	£27,476	£14.05	6.5%	£21,874.09	£1,822.84

England, in the pension scheme, standard tax code, no student loan and no salary sacrifice. Unsocial hours and overtime are paid on top of these figures and are not in them. An estimate from published rates, not a payslip and not financial advice — check it against your own before acting on it. Change any assumption, or pick another nation.

Band 3 in the other nations

The four nations set their own Agenda for Change rates, and this year they set four different ones. One of them has not made an award yet, so its figures are the previous year’s — the table says which.

Nation	Entry	Top	Steps	Week	Hourly at entry
England	£25,760	£27,476	2	37.5h	£13.17
Scotland	£29,103	£31,409	2	36h	£15.50
Wales	£26,300	£27,890	2	37.5h	£13.45
Northern Ireland 2025/26 — no newer award	£24,937	£26,598	2	37.5h	£12.75

Hourly rates are not comparable across the row without reading the week column: Scotland works 36 hours where the others work 37.5, so the same salary buys a higher hourly rate there.

If you work part time

What you keep does not scale with your hours. The pension tier is set by your actual pensionable pay too, so some part-time hours fall into a lower tier and pay a lower percentage as well as a smaller amount.

Hours a week	Gross	Pension tier	Take-home	A month	Kept
18.8a lower pension tier	£12,880	5.2%	£12,185.88	£1,015.49	94.6%
22.5	£15,456	6.5%	£13,844.69	£1,153.72	89.6%
30	£20,608	6.5%	£17,286.18	£1,440.52	83.9%
37.5 — full time	£25,760	6.5%	£20,727.80	£1,727.32	80.5%

Entry step, England, in the pension scheme. Enter your own hours.

The step before and after

Below this sits band 2. The next band up is band 4, which most people reach by applying for a different post rather than by progression — the steps within a band are time-served, but moving between bands is not.

Other bands

Band 2 Band 4 Band 5 Band 6 Band 7 Band 8a

All bands in one table · Methodology · Sources