NHS band 2 pay and jobs

NHS band 2 pays £25,272 a year full time in England from 1 April 2026. There is only one pay point, so everyone on band 2 earns the same basic salary from their first day to their last. It is the entry band for most support jobs that need no formal qualification, including healthcare assistants on some wards, porters, domestics and catering staff.

Jobs you will find at band 2

Band 2 covers work where you follow set procedures under supervision, often with patients around you but without making clinical decisions. Typical vacancies include:

• healthcare assistant or clinical support worker (some trusts now put this role at band 3)
• hospital porter
• domestic or housekeeping assistant
• catering assistant
• linen, stores and sterile services assistant
• some reception and clerical assistant posts

Job evaluation sets the band, and the job title does not. Two trusts can advertise a “healthcare assistant” at different bands because one job includes tasks like taking bloods or recording observations independently and the other does not. Read the job description before you compare adverts. The healthcare assistant profile explains where that line usually falls.

What band 2 pays

The 2026/27 award in England was a 3.3% consolidated rise from 1 April 2026, paid in April salaries. Before it landed, bands 1 and 2 had been lifted to £24,853 (£12.71 an hour) to keep them at the National Living Wage. The 3.3% rise replaced that adjustment and took band 2 to £25,272. The gap between band 2 and the legal minimum is narrow, which is part of why the lowest bands are under review.

Where you work	Band 2 pay, 2026/27
England (basic)	£25,272
England, Inner London	£31,066 (basic plus £5,794 minimum supplement)
England, Outer London	£30,142 (basic plus £4,870 minimum supplement)
England, fringe	£26,618 (basic plus £1,346 minimum supplement)
Scotland	£26,658 to £28,947

The London figures come from the confirmed supplement rules: the percentage of band 2 pay falls below each zone’s minimum, so the minimum applies. The high cost area supplement guide shows how that works for other bands. Scotland has its own scale with higher values and, unusually, more than one point at band 2.

Part-time work is paid pro rata. Many band 2 jobs are shift work, and nights, weekends and bank holidays attract unsocial hours enhancements on top of basic pay. For a lot of band 2 staff those enhancements make a noticeable difference to the monthly total.

Deductions and leave

On £25,272 you pay into the NHS Pension Scheme at 6.5% of pensionable pay, the tier for pay between £13,260 and £28,854. Income tax and National Insurance come off what is left above the £12,570 Personal Allowance. The take-home pay calculator shows the monthly figure once all of that is taken off.

Annual leave under Agenda for Change starts at 27 days for full-time staff, rising to 29 days after five years and 33 days after ten years of NHS service, plus 8 public holidays. NHS sick pay also builds with service, and the NHS sick pay guide sets out the scale.

Hours, shifts and extra work

Band 2 jobs are often advertised part time or on rotating shifts, especially for domestic, portering and ward-based support work. Part-time pay is a straight pro rata share of £25,272: someone contracted for half of full-time hours gets half the salary, and the same share of the London supplement if it applies.

Many band 2 staff also pick up extra shifts through their trust’s staff bank. The bank sets its own hourly rates and pays them through payroll, usually on the same payslip. Bank shifts with a different trust count as a second job for tax purposes and may come with a BR tax code, so check your payslip after the first shift.

Working time limits still apply. You should average no more than 48 hours a week over 17 weeks unless you have opted out in writing, and night workers should average no more than 8 hours in each 24.

Why the band may change

The NHS Staff Council has a mandate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland to negotiate reform of the lowest pay bands and graduate pay. Talks began at the end of April 2026. The Staff Council has said that if a deal is reached, backdating to 1 April 2026 will apply. As of 16 October 2026 nothing had been agreed, so £25,272 is the only confirmed band 2 rate in England. Any number quoted for a “new” band 2 is a proposal until NHS Employers publishes it.

Getting from band 2 to band 3

Band 2 has no steps, so the only way to raise your basic pay is a regraded or new job at band 3 or above. Band 3 starts at £25,760 and reaches £27,476 after two years. The rise is modest, but band 3 is also the usual route towards band 4 assistant practitioner and nursing associate roles.

Common moves include:

1. Completing the Care Certificate and then a level 2 or level 3 apprenticeship through your trust.
2. Applying for senior healthcare assistant or clinical support worker posts at band 3 once you have the competencies the person specification asks for.
3. Moving into a band 3 admin role if you have office or reception experience.

The band 3 guide covers those jobs, and NHS apprenticeships explains how trusts fund training for existing staff. Support vacancies are listed under healthcare support jobs and facilities jobs.