NHS Pay Rise for 2026/27 Confirmed at 3.3% — What Agenda for Change Staff Need to Know

The government has confirmed how much NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts will be paid from April 2026, after NHS Employers published the outcome of this year's pay review process on 12 February 2026. Staff across nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support work, ambulance services and NHS administration will see a 3.3 per cent consolidated uplift to their pay.

This is a consolidated rise, meaning it is added directly to base pay rather than paid as a one-off bonus, so it also feeds into pension contributions and future pay rises. The increase was confirmed several weeks ahead of the new financial year, giving NHS trusts more time to prepare payroll systems than in some recent years, when pay awards have been settled much later in the year.

The 3.3 per cent uplift applied to salaries paid in April 2026, in line with the usual lead times for updating the NHS Electronic Staff Record system. The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, which sets out the detailed pay scales for every Agenda for Change band, was updated on 1 April 2026 to reflect the new rates, giving payroll teams and staff a single point of reference for the exact figures on every pay point.

The pay story does not end there, though. Alongside the headline uplift, the Department of Health and Social Care said it would move quickly into talks with trade unions and NHS employers, through the NHS Staff Council, to agree further funded changes to the pay structure itself. The stated aim is to improve pay specifically for staff on the lowest Agenda for Change bands and for graduates entering the NHS, with any agreed changes to be backdated to 1 April 2026.

What this means for jobseekers

• If you're applying for an NHS role advertised now, the salary band shown should already reflect the post-April 2026 Agenda for Change rates.
• The 3.3 per cent uplift applies across the board, from entry-level healthcare support worker posts up to senior nursing and allied health professional bands, but it's a flat percentage, so it doesn't close pay gaps between bands on its own.
• Watch for news from the NHS Staff Council on structural pay reform. If agreed, further increases targeted at lower bands and graduate staff could be backdated to April 2026, which may affect starting salaries in these roles later in the year.

This is a summary for general information. Read the original source for full detail before relying on it.