Band 3 on the England Agenda for Change scale is £25,760 to £27,476 a year for 2026/27, depending on pay point. Take-home pay is £1,727 to £1,823 a month after income tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension.
Band 3 pay points and take-home pay 2026/27
Pay point
Annual
Monthly gross
Hourly
Take-home / year
Take-home / month
Entry point
£25,760
£2,146.67
£13.21
£20,727.40
£1,727.28
Top point
£27,476
£2,289.67
£14.09
£21,873.58
£1,822.80
Assumptions: full-time (37.5 hours a week), England and standard tax code, member of the NHS Pension Scheme at the tier for the pay point
(6.5%), no student loan, no HCAS.
These are the England scales from NHS Employers; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own NHS pay.
Hourly = annual pay divided by 37.5 hours over 52 weeks.
Years until pay progression
Entry point (£25,760): 2 years until eligible for pay progression.
Band 3 with London weighting (HCAS) 2026/27
The High Cost Area Supplement is a percentage of basic pay, with a minimum and maximum annual payment:
inner london 20% (minimum £5,794, maximum £8,746); outer london 15% (minimum £4,870, maximum £6,137); fringe 5% (minimum £1,346, maximum £2,270).
The table shows the supplement for each pay point and the monthly take-home with it added.
Pay point
Inner London HCAS
Inner London take-home / month
Outer London HCAS
Outer London take-home / month
Fringe HCAS
Fringe take-home / month
Entry point (£25,760)
£5,794
£2,011.94
£4,870
£1,961.63
£1,346
£1,802.20
Top point (£27,476)
£5,794
£2,105.42
£4,870
£2,055.08
£1,374
£1,899.28
HCAS is pensionable, so the take-home figures include the higher NHS Pension tier where the supplement moves total pay across a boundary.
Work out your own figure
Part-time hours, a student loan, opting out of the pension or a different pay point change the numbers above.
Open the NHS Pay Calculator with Band 3 selected
and enter your own details.
Band 3 runs from £25,760 at the entry point to £27,476 at the top point for 2026/27, for a full-time 37.5-hour week (England, NHS Employers scale).
What is Band 3 take-home pay in 2026/27?
At the entry point (£25,760) take-home pay is £1,727.28 a month (£20,727.40 a year); at the top point (£27,476) it is £1,822.80 a month (£21,873.58 a year). Both assume England tax rules, NHS Pension at the matching tier (6.5% at entry, 6.5% at top), no student loan and no HCAS.
How long until pay progression on Band 3?
Entry point (£25,760): 2 years. These are the years the NHS Employers 2026/27 table lists before a member is eligible for pay progression.
How much HCAS do Band 3 staff get in London?
HCAS is a percentage of basic pay between a minimum and maximum. At the entry point (£25,760), inner London adds £5,794, outer London £4,870 and the fringe zone £1,346 a year; at the top point (£27,476) the figures are £5,794, £4,870 and £1,374.
Is Band 3 pay the same in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Not necessarily. This page uses the England Agenda for Change scale published by NHS Employers. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own NHS pay, so do not read these figures as theirs.
