NHS Band 8c Salary & Take Home Pay 2026/27
Band 8c pays £79,504, £84,346 and £91,609 in England for 2026/27: £4,226 to £4,735 a month take home full time. It's the third of the four Band 8 sub-bands, above 8a and 8b and below 8d, and covers senior managers, consultant clinical scientists and midwife consultants at the top of their range.
Salary (England)
£79,504 to £91,609
Take home a month
£4,226 to £4,735
Hourly rate (entry)
£40.66
NHS pension rate
12.5%
Work out your own Band 8c take home pay
Pay advice
England · 2026/27 · monthlyPayments
Deductions
£975.13 a week · £50,706.92 a year
Rates
Band 8c pay in each UK country, 2026/27
| Country | Pay points | Take home a month | Hourly (entry) |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £79,504 / £84,346 / £91,609 | £4,225.58 / £4,429.34 / £4,735.00 | £40.66 |
| Scotland | £90,808 / £97,338 | £4,503.55 / £4,753.95 | £48.38 |
| Wales | £80,698 / £85,611 / £92,984 | £4,275.82 / £4,482.58 / £4,792.86 | £41.27 |
| Northern Irelandaward pending | £76,965 / £81,652 / £88,682 | £4,111.03 / £4,307.81 / £4,602.95 | £39.36 |
Full time (36 hours a week in Scotland, 37.5 elsewhere), NHS pension at each country's own rates, 1257L tax code, Scottish tax for Scotland, no student loan, London weighting or shift pay. Northern Ireland is on the rates in force from 1 April 2025 until its 2026/27 award is paid.
Where your Band 8c pay goes each month
| England, full time | Entry | Top of band |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £6,625.33 | £7,634.08 |
| NHS pension (12.5%) | -£828.17 | -£954.26 |
| Income tax | -£1,271.53 | -£1,624.60 |
| National Insurance | -£300.06 | -£320.23 |
| Take home | £4,225.58 | £4,735.00 |
What "Band 8" salary means
Band 8 isn't one band: it's four, each with its own three pay points in England. "Band 8 salary" covers everything from £57,528 to £108,814:
| Band | Starts at | Top of band |
|---|---|---|
| Band 8a | £57,528 | £64,750 |
| Band 8b | £66,582 | £77,368 |
| Band 8c | £79,504 | £91,609 |
| Band 8d | £94,356 | £108,814 |
So 8c is higher than 8a. The letters run upwards: 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, then Band 9.
What is the highest pay band in the NHS?
On Agenda for Change it's Band 9, which tops out at £129,783 in England. Very senior managers and doctors are on separate pay arrangements, outside these scales. 8c is the third-highest of the 11 bands this site covers.
Take home on 8c
All three 8c points are in the 12.5% pension tier, so each step goes straight into take home: the middle point (after 2 years) adds £204 a month and the top (after another 3) a further £306. About £19,296 of income is taxed at 40% at the bottom of the band, rising to £29,888 at the top. There's no overtime, but unsocial hours payments still apply.
Scotland: the 45% rate starts here
Scotland's 8c has two points, £90,808 and £97,338. Both reach Scotland's 45% advanced rate (about £4,275 and £9,976 of income respectively), and both are in SPPA's top pension tier at 12.7%. Take home is £4,504 to £4,754 a month, a little more than England's 8c at both ends despite the higher tax, because Scotland's pay points are higher.
Extra pay on Band 8c: shifts, overtime and London
Unsocial hours. Band 8c gets 30% on top of the hourly rate for Saturdays and weekday nights (8pm to 6am) and 60% for Sundays and public holidays. Two Saturday shifts and one Sunday shift of 7.5 hours a month would add £365.94 a month before deductions at the bottom of the band in England, and lift take home from £4,225.58 to £4,410.37. The payments count towards your NHS pension.
Overtime. Band 8c isn't entitled to overtime payments: the handbook pays overtime to Bands 1 to 7 only. Unsocial hours payments still apply.
London weighting (England). The High Cost Area Supplement for Band 8c, a year:
| Zone | Entry | Top of band |
|---|---|---|
| Inner London (20%) | £8,746 (maximum) | £8,746 (maximum) |
| Outer London (15%) | £6,137 (maximum) | £6,137 (maximum) |
| Fringe (5%) | £2,270 (maximum) | £2,270 (maximum) |
Moving up the band. You become eligible for the middle point after 2 years and the top after another 3, so 5 years from the bottom to the top of Band 8c. In England you move up on your pay step date if your appraisal was done in the last 12 months and meets your trust's standards, you're not in a formal capability process, you have no live disciplinary sanction, and your statutory and mandatory training is up to date.
Jobs on Band 8c
Bands are set by job evaluation, so the same job title can sit in different bands at different trusts. These are the bands NHS Health Careers gives for each role.
Midwife consultant
Bands 8b to 8c.
Consultant clinical scientist
Bands 8a to 8d.
Strategic and senior management
Typically Bands 8 and 9.
Band 8c questions
£79,504, £84,346, £91,609 in England (£40.66 to £46.85 an hour); £90,808 and £97,338 in Scotland; £80,698, £85,611, £92,984 in Wales; £76,965, £81,652, £88,682 in Northern Ireland (2025/26 rates).
Sources (checked 18 October 2026)
- Midwife (NHS Health Careers)
- Decontamination science (sterile services and flexible endoscopy) (NHS Health Careers)
- Strategic management (NHS Health Careers)
- Scottish Income Tax: rates and bands, 2026 to 2027 (Scottish Government)
- Pay scales for 2026/27 (NHS Employers)
- NHS Circular PCS(AFC)2026/1: pay and conditions for Agenda for Change staff (Scottish Government)
- Pay Letter AfC(W) 02/2026 (Welsh Government)
- AFC February 2026 Pay Award (2025/26 rates) (HSC Business Services Organisation, Payroll Shared Services)
- NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (version 63) (NHS Employers)
- NHS Pension Scheme member contributions (NHS Employers)
- Member contributions (NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland)) (Scottish Public Pensions Agency)
- Membership, Contributions & Pay (HSC Pension Service)
- Income Tax rates and allowances for current and previous tax years (HM Revenue & Customs)
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (HM Revenue & Customs)