NHS Band 1 salary, England 2026/27
Closed to new entrants. Held by remaining staff who were not migrated to Band 2.
Minimum
£25,272
Maximum
£25,272
Hourly at entry
£12.92
Hourly at top
£12.92
Band 1 pay scale, England 2026/27
| Step | Years from entry | Annual | Hourly (37.5h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | From day one | £25,272 | £12.92 |
England, 2026/27, effective 2026-04-01. Source: Pay scales for 2026/27 — NHS Employers.
About Band 1
Band 1 is the lowest pay band on the Agenda for Change scale and it has been closed to new entrants for over a decade. The roles that historically sat at Band 1 (mostly domestic, driver and housekeeping work) were re-evaluated and moved up to Band 2 in 2018 to keep them above the National Living Wage. A small number of staff remain on Band 1 today, because they were employed before the change took effect and never moved to a new contract.
What Band 1 staff actually do
Band 1 work was traditionally focused on keeping NHS sites running rather than direct patient care. Typical duties included cleaning wards and clinical areas, transporting laundry and supplies, basic housekeeping, and minibus driving for patient transport services. If you see a Band 1 role described in any Trust documentation today, treat it as a legacy reference rather than a live vacancy.
How to get on Band 1
You cannot start a new NHS role on Band 1. Any vacancy that would once have been Band 1 is now advertised at Band 2 instead, with the same duties but a higher salary. Internal staff who were on Band 1 before it closed have been able to transfer to Band 2 with pay protection.
Moving up from Band 1
Existing Band 1 staff can apply for Band 2 roles or other vacancies internally. Once moved to Band 2, the usual progression rules apply: a single pay point with no annual increment, but eligibility to apply for Band 3 senior support roles after gaining experience and completing the Senior Healthcare Support Worker apprenticeship.
Band 1 across the four UK nations
All four nations of the UK have closed Band 1 to new entrants. The few remaining Band 1 staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are paid the same rate as Band 2 entry. In Scotland the rate is also aligned with the lowest Living Wage spinal point.
| Nation | Minimum | Maximum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £25,272 | £25,272 | View pay scale |
| Scotland | £26,557 | £26,557 | View pay scale |
| Wales | £26,300 | £26,300 | View pay scale |
| Northern Ireland | £24,465 | £24,465 | View pay scale |
Band 1 pay over time
Band 1 pay rose from £24,465 to £25,272 at entry between 2025/26 and 2026/27, a 3.3% change. Top of band moved from £24,465 to £25,272.
Band 1 common questions
- Why is Band 1 closed to new entrants?
- When the National Living Wage caught up with and then overtook the bottom of the Agenda for Change scale, Band 1 ended up paying less than the legal minimum. The NHS Staff Council agreed to close the band rather than uplift it every year, and re-banded every live post to Band 2 in 2018. The handful of staff who chose not to move are paid the same as Band 2 entry under pay protection rules.
- What jobs were on Band 1?
- Typical Band 1 roles were domestic assistants, drivers, housekeeping assistants and entry-level porters. Most of these have now been re-banded to Band 2. If you applied for one of these jobs today you would join at Band 2 from day one.
- Can I be moved from Band 1 to Band 2 against my will?
- No. The original re-banding offer in 2018 was voluntary, and Trusts could not force staff to accept the new contract. In practice the offer was financially better than staying on Band 1 (a small uplift and pay protection), so most staff accepted. Anyone who declined remains on Band 1 with all the original contractual terms.