Answers · UK 2025/26

What is a Band 5 staff nurse's salary and take-home pay in the UK?

A newly qualified NHS Band 5 staff nurse in England earns around £31,000 a year on the Agenda for Change pay scale. On £31,000 in 2026/27, take-home pay after Income Tax (£3,686) and National Insurance (£1,474.40) is £25,839.60 a year, or about £2,153.30 a month, before the NHS Pension Scheme deduction.

Last updated: 3 July 2026Last reviewed: 3 July 2026How we verify

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NHS Band 5 covers newly qualified staff nurses, midwives and other registered healthcare professionals on the Agenda for Change pay scale, with salaries in England typically starting around £31,000 and rising with experience points within the band toward the mid-£30,000s. Taking a representative starting salary of £31,000 for 2026/27: taxable income after the £12,570 Personal Allowance is £18,430, taxed entirely at the 20% basic rate, giving £3,686 Income Tax. National Insurance is 8% of £18,430, which is £1,474.40. Combined deductions of £5,160.40 leave £25,839.60 take-home pay a year, around £2,153.30 a month, before any pension deduction. Nearly all NHS staff are automatically enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme, which for Band 5 staff typically deducts around 6.5% to 7% of pensionable pay -- roughly £2,015 to £2,170 a year on a £31,000 salary -- but this is a highly valuable defined benefit pension, and contributions receive full tax relief at your marginal rate, reducing the true cost. Many Band 5 nurses also receive unsocial hours enhancements for night shifts, weekends and bank holidays, which are added to gross pay and taxed in the normal way, sometimes pushing take-home pay noticeably higher than the base salary figure in months with heavy shift work. Nurses in Scotland are paid on a broadly similar but not identical pay scale (agreed separately by the Scottish Government) and are subject to Scottish Income Tax rates, which for a £31,000 salary produce Income Tax of approximately £3,656 -- slightly less than the rest of the UK at this income level.