Take Home Pay
Take Home Pay
This NHS Band 2 salary calculator shows Agenda for Change Band 2 pay points, hourly rates and estimated take-home pay for 2026/27. Enter pay step, contracted hours, High Cost Area Supplement, tax nation, NHS Pension and student loan options to see gross annual and monthly pay, deductions and net take-home. Use it for healthcare assistant and support-worker offers, hour changes, or comparing Inner, Outer and Fringe London weighting. Outputs include Band 2 scale values and net pay so AfC Band 2 earnings are clear before you accept a post or check your ESR payslip.
Estimated net monthly pay
£0.00/mo
| Pay step | Basic | Hourly | Est. net / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat rate | £25,272 | £12.92 | — |
Figures use NHS Employers AfC 2026/27 scales, HMRC tax/NI/student loan rules and NHS Pension tiers from 1 April 2026. Estimate only — your payslip is authoritative.
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NHS Band 2 salary in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is £25,272 a year for 2026/27, paid as a flat rate with no within-band progression. The hourly rate is £12.92 on a 37.5-hour week. After the 6.5% NHS Pension, income tax and National Insurance, take-home pay is £20,401.30 a year, or £1,700.11 a month.
NHS Band 2 salary in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is £25,272 a year for the 2026/27 financial year. The figure comes from the 2026/27 NHS Agenda for Change pay award (3.3%), a consolidated uplift effective from 1 April 2026 NHS Employers.
Band 2 is a single pay point. The Agenda for Change (AfC) pay structure lists a "2 years to progression" marker, but the entry and top values are both £25,272, so no payable increase occurs NHS Employers.
The 3.3% award was paid in full in April 2026 with no back pay UK Parliament, HCWS1340. Around 1.4 million AfC staff received the uplift DHSC.
The 3.3% rise sits below the rate of inflation. UNISON states that 3.3% is not enough for NHS staff UNISON.
Pay point | Annual salary | Years to progression | Hourly rate |
Entry | £25,272 | 2 | £12.92 |
Top | £25,272 | — | £12.92 |
Band 1 is closed to new entrants NHS Employers.
The NHS Band 2 hourly rate is £12.92 an hour for 2026/27. The rate is the annual salary of £25,272 divided by 1,955.4 hours, the standard annualised hours for a full-time contract NHS Employers.
The standard full-time week for Band 2 is 37.5 hours. The NHS Employers table labels this a "37 Hour Week", yet the published £12.92 only reconciles at 37.5 hours, so this page uses the 37.5-hour basis to keep the maths defensible.
Value | Figure |
Annual salary | £25,272 |
Annualised hours | 1,955.4 |
Hourly rate | £12.92 |
No, NHS Band 2 is not below the minimum wage. Band 2 pays £12.92 an hour, and the National Living Wage from April 2026 is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over MoneyHelper. Band 2 sits £0.21 an hour above the legal minimum.
Rate | Hourly |
NHS Band 2 | £12.92 |
National Living Wage (21+) | £12.71 |
NHS Band 2 take-home pay is £20,401.30 a year, or £1,700.11 a month, after the NHS Pension, income tax and National Insurance. These figures use the standard tax code 1257L and a full-time England contract.
The NHS Pension takes 6.5% of a Band 2 salary. At £25,272 this is £1,642.68 a year. Many Band 2 staff see "5.2%" quoted for their pension online, but the live calculator returns 6.5% because Band 2 sits in the 6.5% contribution tier; the 5.2% figure is a lower tier that does not apply at this salary. Member tiers run 5.2%–12.5% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland NHSBSA.
Income tax uses the Personal Allowance of £12,570, with 20% tax from £12,571 to £50,270 TaxAid. On a £25,272 salary this is £2,211.86. National Insurance is £1,016.16.
Deduction | Amount |
Gross salary | £25,272.00 |
NHS Pension (6.5%) | −£1,642.68 |
Income Tax (20%) | −£2,211.86 |
National Insurance | −£1,016.16 |
Net take-home | £20,401.30 / year (£1,700.11 / month) |
Part-time and bank staff are paid pro-rata. The table shows net monthly take-home at common working patterns, calculated with the same 6.5% pension and 1257L tax code.
Working pattern | Gross / year | Net / month |
Full-time (1.0 WTE) | £25,272 | £1,700.11 |
0.9 WTE | £22,744.80 | £1,559.43 |
0.8 WTE | £20,217.60 | £1,418.75 |
0.6 WTE | £15,163.20 | £1,137.38 |
Bank (per hour) | £12.92 / hr | varies with annual hours |
Band 2 earns a flat £12.92 an hour plus unsocial hours enhancements set by AfC. The enhancements are "time plus 41%" for weekday evenings, nights (8pm–6am) and Saturdays, and "time plus 83%" for Sundays and bank holidays nhspaycalculator, unsocial hours.
A weekday night or Saturday shift pays £12.92 × 1.41 = £18.22 an hour. A Sunday or bank-holiday shift pays £12.92 × 1.83 = £23.64 an hour. Enhancements apply to basic pay only; the Higher Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is excluded from the enhancement base.
Band 2 pay with London weighting uses the Higher Cost Area Supplement (HCAS). HCAS is a percentage of basic salary with statutory caps, not a straight addition. Inner London adds 20% (minimum £5,794, maximum £8,746), Outer London adds 15% (minimum £4,870, maximum £6,137), and the Fringe adds 5% (minimum £1,346, maximum £2,270) NHSBSA HCAS.
Inner London Band 2 staff often assume "20% extra", but because the 20% is capped at £8,746, actual Inner pay is £31,066, not the £30,326 a straight 20% would give. The table shows the confirmed Band 2 inclusive figures NHS Employers.
HCAS area | Supplement % | Annual (incl. HCAS) | Hourly (incl. HCAS) |
Inner London | 20% (cap £8,746) | £31,066 | £15.89 |
Outer London | 15% (cap £6,137) | £30,142 | £15.42 |
Fringe | 5% (cap £2,270) | £26,618 | £13.61 |
Band 2 pay in the four nations follows different uplift rates. England and Wales use the 3.3% Agenda for Change award, Scotland uses 3.75%, and Northern Ireland applies the same framework with a 2026/27 uplift from 1 April 2026 NHS Employers; Health NI.
Scotland's 3.75% comes from a two-year deal with an inflation guarantee of at least 1 percentage point above CPI Scottish circular PCS(AFC)2026/1. The exact Scottish Band 2 annual rate is set in that circular.
The HSCNI pay-bands table listed Band 2 at £24,852, but that table is dated 04/04/2025 and shows the pre-uplift figure HSCNI. The 2026/27 award applies from 1 April 2026.
Nation | 2026/27 Band 2 position |
England | £25,272 (3.3%) |
Wales | £25,272 (3.3%) |
Scotland | 3.75% uplift (exact rate in Scottish circular) |
Northern Ireland | £24,852 pre-uplift; 2026/27 award from 1 April 2026 |
Band 2 is a flat £25,272, while Band 3 runs from £25,760 (entry) to £27,476 (top) for 2026/27 NHS Employers. Band 3 pays £488 more at entry and £2,204 more at the top, and it has a real two-year progression point that Band 2 lacks.
Band | Entry (annual) | Top (annual) | Entry hourly | Top hourly | Progression |
Band 2 | £25,272 | £25,272 | £12.92 | £12.92 | None (flat) |
Band 3 | £25,760 | £27,476 | £13.17 | £14.05 | 2 years |
NHS Band 2 is a flat rate because its entry and top pay points are both £25,272, so no annual increment is paid. The Agenda for Change (AfC) table shows a "2 years to progression" marker, but the two values are identical, so the marker produces no increase NHS Employers.
The 2026/27 salary of £25,272 follows the 2025/26 figure of £24,465, a rise of £807, or 3.3% NHS Employers; nhspaycalculator. The 2025/26 figure itself came from a 3.6% uplift. The table shows the recent Band 2 salaries with their sources.
Year | Band 2 salary | Uplift | Source |
2025/26 | £24,465 | 3.6% | nhspaycalculator |
2026/27 | £25,272 | 3.3% |
No. Band 2 pays £12.92 an hour. The National Living Wage from April 2026 is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, so Band 2 sits £0.21 above the legal minimum MoneyHelper.
AfC staff in England, Wales and NI received a 3.3% consolidated award, effective 1 April 2026 and paid that month with no back pay. Scotland received 3.75% UK Parliament, HCWS1340; Scottish circular PCS(AFC)2026/1.
Band 2 is a flat £25,272. Band 3 runs £25,760 (entry) to £27,476 (top), paying £488–£2,204 more and adding a real two-year progression point NHS Employers.
Entry-level Band 2 pay is £25,272 a year for 2026/27. Band 2 is a single pay point, so entry equals top with no payable increment NHS Employers.
£12.92 an hour, based on the standard 37.5-hour week (£25,272 ÷ 1,955.4 hours). The rate rose 3.3% from 1 April 2026 NHS Employers.
After the 6.5% NHS Pension (£1,642.68), income tax (£2,211.86) and National Insurance (£1,016.16), net pay is £20,401.30 a year, or £1,700.11 a month NHSBSA; TaxAid.