Agenda for Change pay in Northern Ireland

Health and Social Care (HSC) staff in Northern Ireland are paid on Agenda for Change (AfC) bands 1 to 9, and the latest scales I could confirm are the 2025/26 ones, effective from 1 April 2025. A Band 5 nurse starts on £31,049 and reaches £37,796 at the top. The 2026/27 award of 3.3% was recommended, and the Health Minister said he intends to pay it, but I found no official notice that it has been implemented.

HSC pay bands from 1 April 2025

The figures are annual, full-time basic pay from the HSC careers site, matching the 2025/26 arrangements set out by the Department of Health. The wait is the time you spend on a point before moving to the next one, where you are eligible.

Band	Entry	Intermediate	Top
2	£24,852		£24,852
3	£24,937 (2 years)		£26,598
4	£27,485 (3 years)		£30,162
5	£31,049 (2 years)	£33,487 (2 years)	£37,796
6	£38,682 (2 years)	£40,823 (3 years)	£46,580
7	£47,810 (2 years)	£50,273 (3 years)	£54,710
8a	£55,690 (2 years)	£58,487 (3 years)	£62,682
8b	£64,455 (2 years)	£68,631 (3 years)	£74,896
8c	£76,965 (2 years)	£81,652 (3 years)	£88,682
8d	£91,342 (2 years)	£96,941 (3 years)	£105,337
9	£109,179 (2 years)	£115,763 (3 years)	£125,637

Band 1 is closed to new entrants, and the Band 1 rate is £24,852. These figures are basic pay and exclude unsocial hours enhancements. Medical and dental staff are outside this framework, and their pay scales appear in individual job adverts.

How the 2025/26 award worked

The circular dated 3 December 2025 gave a 3.6% consolidated increase on the 2024/25 scales from 1 April 2025, following the NHS Pay Review Body recommendation. It also raised the sleep-in and on-call allowances by 3.6%, and said incremental progression continues for eligible staff. HSC payroll then confirmed that staff would get the award and full arrears in February 2026, with pay dates between 19 and 26 February. The arrears covered pay back to 1 April 2025.

Anyone who has a pay query on what they were owed should ask their employer’s payroll or HR team, since the Department of Health says it cannot advise on individuals’ circumstances.

Where 2026/27 stands

The NHS Pay Review Body recommended 3.3% for 2026/27, effective from 1 April 2026. On 12 February 2026 the Health Minister said he intended to proceed with a headline award of 3.3% for AfC staff, but that timing depended on the Department’s budget position. England and Wales confirmed the same figure. England’s 3.3% has been paid, so Band 5 there now starts at £32,073, while Northern Ireland staff are still on the 2025/26 values until the uplift is implemented.

The Minister also said that changes to the AfC structure, with priority for the lowest bands and for new graduates, would be backdated to April 2026 if agreed. Talks between the NHS Staff Council and the three nations began at the end of April 2026, and I found no confirmed deal.

I could not find a more recent official notice, so check the Department of Health’s workforce policy page and your employer for the current position. The NHS pay award 2026/27 guide tracks the UK-wide picture.

How it compares with England

Northern Ireland follows the same AfC bands and the same Pay Review Body process, so the structure is the same as the NHS Agenda for Change pay bands in England. The differences are timing and the pension. A Band 5 entry point of £31,049 in Northern Ireland compares with £32,073 in England from April 2026, which is the 3.3% England has already paid. The HSC pension has contribution rates a little above the NHS in England in every tier except the lowest, covered in the NHS pension for HSC staff.

The tier thresholds for the HSC pension rise each year in line with AfC pay scales, and may change if the 2026/27 award exceeds 3.8%.

Moving up a band

Pay progression within a band follows the waiting periods in the table, where you are eligible. Moving to a higher band means a new post at that band. NHS pay progression explains the rules in more detail, and the HSC how to apply guide covers applications through the HSC jobs site.

Take-home pay

Income tax and National Insurance in Northern Ireland follow the England rules, and the take-home pay calculator will turn any band point into a monthly figure.