NHS pay in Scotland, 2026/27
Latest pay deal effective 2026-04-01, a 3.75% uplift on the previous year. Pay is negotiated by Scottish Government (Health Workforce Directorate).
Scotland pay scale, 2026/27
| Band | Minimum | Steps | Maximum | Hourly at top |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 closed | £26,557 | 1 | Single rate | £13.58 |
| Band 2 | £26,696 | 2 | £28,988 | £14.82 |
| Band 3 | £29,103 | 2 | £31,409 | £16.06 |
| Band 4 | £31,537 | 2 | £34,303 | £17.54 |
| Band 5 | £34,544 | 3 | £43,039 | £22.01 |
| Band 6 | £43,231 | 3 | £52,679 | £26.94 |
| Band 7 | £52,845 | 3 | £61,466 | £31.43 |
| Band 8a | £65,125 | 2 | £70,303 | £35.95 |
| Band 8b | £76,888 | 2 | £82,251 | £42.06 |
| Band 8c | £90,808 | 2 | £97,338 | £49.78 |
| Band 8d | £107,810 | 2 | £112,426 | £57.50 |
| Band 9 | £127,521 | 2 | £133,044 | £68.04 |
Scotland pay scales for 2026/27, effective 2026-04-01. Hourly rate uses the 37.5-hour NHS working week. Source: PCS(AFC)2026/1 — Pay rates from 1 April 2026 (Annex B).
About Scotland NHS pay
NHS Scotland negotiates its own pay deals through the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee, separately from the UK Pay Review Body process. Scottish settlements consistently pay more than England, Wales and Northern Ireland at every band. Pay circulars are published by the Scottish Government Health Workforce Directorate as PCS(AFC) letters.
How Scotland sets NHS pay
Scotland uses a partnership negotiation model rather than the Pay Review Body. The Scottish Government, NHS Scotland employers and the trade unions agree settlements directly through the Scottish Workforce and Governance Committee. Recent deals have included an inflation guarantee, meaning the headline uplift is adjusted upwards if CPI inflation exceeds expectations. That's a meaningful difference from the rest of the UK: NHS Scotland staff don't lose money if inflation spikes.
Recent settlements
The 2024/25 to 2026/27 settlement was originally agreed as a multi-year deal at 5.5%, 4.25% and 3.75% respectively. The 2024/25 component delivered 5.5%. For 2025/26, the inflation guarantee triggered (CPI confirmed at 3.4% versus the 3.25% deal-implied figure), so the 4.25% was lifted to 4.4%. The 2026/27 deal stays at 3.75%, applied to the revised 2025/26 baseline.
What Scotland staff actually take home
Scottish AfC staff haven't struck in the most recent rounds, partly because the multi-year deal removed annual uncertainty and partly because Scottish pay has remained meaningfully higher than England's. Band 5 staff in Scotland earn roughly £2,400 a year more than English counterparts at entry on the 2026/27 scales, rising to nearly £4,000 a year at the top step. The gap is wider in cash terms once unsocial hours pay is added, because the higher base rate also increases the unsocial hours uplift.
Jump to a band in Scotland
Pay history
Recent annual pay rounds for Scotland. Each year page shows the full table for every band.
Scotland common questions
- Why does Scotland pay more than England?
- Pay-setting was devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Successive Scottish Governments have made above-PRB awards a recruitment and retention priority, particularly to keep nurses from moving south for higher private-sector or English NHS pay. The current multi-year deal locks in this differential through 2026/27.
- Do Scottish NHS staff pay Scottish income tax?
- Yes. Scottish residents pay tax on their employment income using the Scottish tax bands, which are different from the rest of the UK. Scotland has six tax bands (starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced, top) versus three for rUK, and the higher rate kicks in at £43,663 instead of £50,270. For a Band 5 staff nurse, this means slightly lower take-home in Scotland than the gross headline suggests, but it's still meaningfully better than England in absolute terms. The take-home calculator on this site picks the right regime automatically when you select Scotland.
- Will I still get the Scottish pay if I move from England to a Scottish Trust?
- Yes, from your first payslip in the new role. Pay is determined by the Trust you work for and the contract you sign, not by where you trained or previously worked. You'll pay Scottish income tax once HMRC updates your tax code to reflect your new Scottish residence, which usually happens within a month or two of you registering a new address.
- When was the last NHS Scotland strike?
- NHS Scotland avoided the wave of strikes that hit England in 2022 and 2023 because the Scottish Government settled at higher levels than the UK Government's offer. Royal College of Nursing members in Scotland voted against strike action in 2022 after accepting an offer of around 11.3% over two years. Some other unions balloted but didn't reach the threshold for strikes.