NHS pay scales 2020/21
Annual pay scales for every NHS band in 2020/21, drawn from the official circular for each of the four UK nations.
The 2020/21 NHS pay deal
The 2020/21 pay round was the third and final year of the 2018-2021 three-year deal. It completed the restructuring of the Agenda for Change pay scale by closing legacy spine points and consolidating bands down to the entry, intermediate and top steps used today.
The 2020/21 figures had been agreed in 2018 as part of the multi-year framework deal. Implementation was published in the NHS Employers 2020/21 pay poster on 1 April 2020. Because the structure changed substantively each year of the deal, the cash impact varied widely between bands and between staff at different points on the scale. The 2020/21 year saw legacy spine points 36 and 37 at Band 8a (and equivalent at higher bands) marked as transitional, with a footnote that staff on those points received one-off consolidated payments.
Headline figures, 2020/21
The most-searched NHS bands are 5, 6 and 7, covering staff nurses, specialist nurses and ward managers. Entry salaries for these bands are shown below for each nation.
| Band | England | Scotland | Wales | N. Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 entry | £24,907 | — | — | — |
| Band 6 entry | £31,365 | — | — | — |
| Band 7 entry | £38,890 | — | — | — |
What changed in 2020/21
The pay scale moved to the consolidated Entry, Intermediate and Top structure that has been in use since. Legacy spine points were retired, removing many of the small annual progression rises that existed in earlier years. Bands 1 to 4 reached their full reformed structure with two or three steps each.
Union response
Industrial relations in 2020/21 were dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic rather than pay disputes. The three-year deal had been ratified in 2018 and unions were not in dispute over the 2020/21 figures, although the lack of any pandemic-related top-up payment to NHS staff in England became a major source of friction by the end of the year and fed into the 2021/22 dispute that followed.
England
Pay scale, effective 2020-04-01
| Band | Minimum | Steps | Maximum | Hourly at top |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 closed | £18,005 | 1 | Single rate | £9.21 |
| Band 2 | £18,005 | 2 | £19,337 | £9.89 |
| Band 3 | £19,737 | 2 | £21,142 | £10.81 |
| Band 4 | £21,892 | 2 | £24,157 | £12.35 |
| Band 5 | £24,907 | 4 | £30,615 | £15.66 |
| Band 6 | £31,365 | 4 | £37,890 | £19.38 |
| Band 7 | £38,890 | 4 | £44,503 | £22.76 |
| Band 8a | £45,753 | 2 | £51,668 | £26.42 |
| Band 8b | £53,168 | 2 | £62,001 | £31.71 |
| Band 8c | £63,751 | 2 | £73,664 | £37.67 |
| Band 8d | £75,914 | 2 | £87,754 | £44.88 |
| Band 9 | £91,004 | 2 | £104,927 | £53.66 |
England pay scales for 2020/21, effective 2020-04-01. Hourly rate uses the 37.5-hour NHS working week. Source: NHS terms and conditions pay poster 2020/21 — NHS Employers.
Common questions about 2020/21 NHS pay
- What is the NHS pay scale for 2020/21?
- The 2020/21 NHS pay scale applies to all Agenda for Change staff. Each UK nation publishes its own circular. The figures shown are drawn from the relevant official documents.
- Do all four UK nations pay the same NHS rates in 2020/21?
- No. Each nation negotiates its own pay scale. England, Wales and Northern Ireland usually follow the NHS Pay Review Body recommendation, while Scotland negotiates directly between the Scottish Government and trade unions. Differences are usually small at lower bands but can be larger at senior bands.
- What was the 2020/21 NHS pay rise?
- The 2020/21 figures were the third year of the 2018-2021 three-year deal, agreed in 2018. There was no separate annual uplift negotiated for 2020/21. Cash increases over the 2019/20 figures varied by band and by point on the scale, with structural consolidation continuing to remove legacy pay points.
- Did NHS staff get extra pay during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21?
- There was no UK-wide pandemic bonus in 2020/21 for NHS staff in England. Scotland made a separate £500 thank-you payment in late 2020. Some Trusts ran their own internal recognition schemes. The absence of a meaningful pandemic top-up was a major source of friction and contributed to the 2021/22 dispute and the strike action that followed in 2022.