NHS Scotland pay bands

NHS Scotland pay runs from £26,519 at band 1 to £132,853 at the top of band 9 from 1 April 2026. Scottish scales are higher than England’s at every band, because Scotland agreed a separate two-year deal: 4.25 per cent from April 2025 and 3.75 per cent from April 2026.

Pay for each band in 2026/27

The figures are annual, full-time and basic, from the Scottish Government’s circular PCS(AFC)2025/5. England’s figures come from NHS Employers.

Band	Scotland pay points	England
1	£26,519	£25,272 (closed band)
2	£26,658, then £28,947	£25,272
3	£29,061, then £31,364	£25,760 to £27,476
4	£31,492, then £34,254	£28,392 to £31,157
5	£34,494, £36,857, £42,977	£32,073 to £39,043
6	£43,169, £45,070, £52,603	£39,959 to £48,117
7	£52,769, £54,784, £61,377	£49,387 to £56,515

Bands 8a to 9 are published as a range: 8a is £65,032 to £70,202, 8b £76,778 to £82,133, 8c £90,678 to £97,199, 8d £107,655 to £112,264 and band 9 £127,338 to £132,853.

How long each step lasts

The circular sets out each band’s pay steps by year. On band 5 you are on £34,494 for years one and two, £36,857 for years three and four, and £42,977 from year five. On band 6 it is £43,169 for two years, £45,070 for three and then £52,603. Band 7 follows the same pattern from £52,769. Bands 2 to 4 have two steps: band 2 moves up in year three, band 3 in year three and band 4 in year four. You reach the top of bands 3 to 7 in the same number of years as in England. The NHS pay progression guide explains the rules that can delay a step.

How far above England

At the entry point, Scottish pay is £1,386 above England at band 2, £2,421 at band 5, £3,210 at band 6 and £3,382 at band 7. At the top of each band the gap is wider: £3,934 at band 5, £4,486 at band 6 and £4,862 at band 7. The English figures are the Agenda for Change pay bands for England, which also covers London supplements. The England figures exclude the High Cost Area Supplement, which lifts band 5 entry to £38,488 in inner London.

The living wage commitment

NHS Scotland says it is a Living Wage employer. Its circular says the lowest salary available in 2025/26, £25,560, was £13.25 an hour, above the real Living Wage then, and that if the lowest rate on 1 April 2026 fell below the real Living Wage it would be adjusted. See the real Living Wage guide.

Inflation guarantee

The deal includes a guarantee that each year’s award is at least one percentage point above average CPI inflation. For 2026/27, if average CPI from January to December 2026 is above 2.75 per cent, a consolidated, pensionable payment is made in March 2027, calculated on the salary at 31 March 2026. Whether it applies depends on the ONS figures for 2026.

Tax and take-home pay

Scottish residents pay Scottish income tax. The 2026/27 bands are 19 per cent on income from £12,571 to £16,537, 20 per cent to £29,526, 21 per cent to £43,662, 42 per cent to £75,000, then 45 per cent and 48 per cent. Here is what that does at two pay points, before pension:

Salary	Scottish income tax	Same pay at England and Wales rates
£34,494 (band 5 entry)	about £4,395	about £4,385
£52,603 (band 6 top)	about £10,075	about £8,473

At band 5 entry the tax is almost the same. At the top of band 6 the Scottish worker pays about £1,600 more, so the headline gap over England shrinks at higher bands. The take-home pay calculator handles both sets of rates, and moving to or from Scotland explains how residence is decided.

Other differences

Health boards, not trusts, employ staff in NHS Scotland, and jobs are advertised on the NHS Scotland recruitment site. Health services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compares the systems, including pre-employment checks and pensions. NHS Scotland’s on-call availability allowance is £27.47 a session from 1 April 2026.