London weighting across the public sector

London weighting is extra pay for public sector staff who work in or near London, to reflect higher living costs. There is no single scheme, and each part of the public sector does it differently. NHS staff in England get a High Cost Area Supplement of 20 per cent of basic pay in inner London. Teachers are paid on separate, higher pay ranges for each London area, and council and Civil Service rates are set locally.

NHS: High Cost Area Supplements

NHS staff on Agenda for Change in England get a High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) worked out as a percentage of basic pay, with a minimum and a maximum. The rates from 1 April 2026 are:

Zone	% of basic pay	Minimum	Maximum
Inner London	20%	£5,794	£8,746
Outer London	15%	£4,870	£6,137
Fringe	5%	£1,346	£2,270

For a band 5 nurse on the entry point of £32,073, total pay is £38,488 in inner London, £36,943 in outer London and £33,677 in the fringe. The minimums matter for lower bands: 20 per cent of a band 2 salary would be under £5,794, so the minimum applies instead. The zone depends on where you work, not where you live. The NHS high cost area supplement guide lists the areas in each zone.

HCAS is paid in England. NHS Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not use it.

Teachers: separate pay ranges

Teachers in England get no add-on. The pay ranges themselves are higher in four areas: the rest of England, the fringe, outer London and inner London. The figures below are from 1 September 2026, as recommended by the STRB and accepted by the government.

Point	Rest of England	Fringe	Outer London	Inner London
M1	£34,069	£35,602	£39,196	£41,729
M6	£46,940	£48,479	£52,241	£54,131
U3	£52,835	£54,328	£58,120	£64,684

At M1, inner London pays £7,660 a year more than the rest of England. Leadership, leading practitioner and unqualified ranges have London versions too. The 2026 pay document was still in draft at the time of writing, so maintained schools may not pay the new rates until it comes into force. The teacher pay in London and the fringe guide covers which boroughs fall in which area.

Police and fire

Police officers in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police get London weighting and, for many officers, a London allowance on top of the national pay scale. Both went up by 3.5 per cent from 1 September 2026 along with the main scale. The figures were not in the sources used here, so check the Police Federation’s current tables. Some forces around London pay a smaller south-east allowance.

Firefighters in London are paid under the national NJC scale with a London allowance set locally. The amount was not in the sources.

Councils and school support staff

Local government London weighting is not part of the national NJC pay spine. London boroughs pay inner or outer London weighting set through their own London-wide arrangements, and councils just outside London may pay a fringe allowance. Amounts vary, so look at the advert or the council’s pay policy. Support staff in London schools usually get the same weighting as the borough’s other staff.

Civil Service

Civil Service departments set their own pay ranges for each grade, and most have a separate, higher London range instead of a London allowance. The gap between national and London ranges varies by department and grade. Adverts for jobs available in several locations often list the London salary and the national salary side by side, so check which applies to the office you choose.

The London Living Wage

Some public sector employers are accredited Real Living Wage employers. For them, the London rate of £15.45 an hour from the October 2026 announcement sets the floor for staff and some contractors in London, against £14.10 elsewhere in the UK. Accredited employers have up to six months to bring it in. The rate is voluntary and separate from the legal minimum of £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over. See the Real Living Wage vs the National Living Wage for how it works.

London weighting and take-home pay

London weighting is taxed and counted for National Insurance like the rest of your pay. In the NHS and teachers’ schemes it is pensionable, which can move you into a higher contribution tier: in the NHS scheme the band 5 inner London total of £38,488 falls in the 9.8 per cent tier, where the basic £32,073 alone would be in the 8.3 per cent tier. Use the take-home pay calculator with the full London figure. For vacancies across the capital, see public sector jobs in London.