NHS Acting Up Pay 2026/27

Last updated: 27 October 2026 · Figures verified against the NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular.

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

Acting up means temporarily covering a higher band post, and the pay follows the post, not your substantive salary: for the period you act up you are paid at the higher band rate, normally its entry step, with unsocial hours, overtime, London weighting and pension all calculated on that acting rate.

Every ward has lived through the gap that acting up fills. A ward sister goes on long-term sick leave, a matron post sits vacant while recruitment runs, a team leader is seconded to a project for three months. Somebody has to run the rota, hold the budget meetings and answer for the service in the meantime, and in most services that somebody is already on the team, one band below the vacant post. Acting up is the formal version of that cover. It is not an informal favour and it is not unpaid extra responsibility. It is a recognised arrangement under Agenda for Change in which the person covering the higher post is paid at that post's rate while the cover lasts.

The distinction matters because informal cover still happens. A Band 5 nurse who picks up the odd senior shift without any acting-up agreement is doing Band 6 work at Band 5 pay, and that is exactly the situation a written acting-up arrangement is meant to prevent. If you are regularly deputising, chairing meetings, managing staff or holding a caseload that belongs to the band above, ask for the arrangement to be put in writing. The rest of this page sets out what that written arrangement should pay, worked out from the verified 2026/27 Band 6 and neighbouring band rates.

How acting up pay is calculated

The calculation has three parts, and none of them is complicated once the starting point is clear. First, find the entry step of the band being covered. Second, apply it pro rata if the person acting up is part-time. Third, calculate unsocial hours, overtime, London weighting and pension on the acting rate, not the substantive rate, for hours worked while acting up. Every figure below uses the England 2026/27 Agenda for Change rates, which include the 3.3% award effective 1 April 2026.

The entry step is the normal acting-up rate because the person acting up is new to the higher post. That mirrors how a newly appointed substantive post holder starts: at the entry step of the new band. It also explains why acting up can feel like a pay cut in one specific situation. If your substantive salary already sits above the higher band entry step, for example a Band 5 nurse at the top of Band 5 acting up to Band 6 entry, the acting rate can be lower than the substantive rate. That overlap needs to be settled in the written agreement before the arrangement starts, because local handling of it varies and this page does not invent a national rule for it.

Acting up pay by band move, 2026/27

The table shows the acting rate for the most common one-band moves, full-time at 37.5 hours a week. The acting rate is the entry step of the band being covered:

Two-band jumps happen too, usually where a small team has no middle layer, and the same rule applies: the acting rate is the entry step of the band actually covered. A Band 5 nurse covering a Band 7 post is paid at the Band 7 entry rate of £49,387 pro rata, not at an intermediate Band 6 figure. What changes with a bigger jump is the size of the uplift, not the method.

Worked example 1: Band 5 nurse acting up to Band 6

This is the most common acting-up move in hospital nursing, and it is worth working through in full because it shows every element of the calculation. A full-time Band 5 staff nurse at the entry step earns £32,073 a year, which is £2,672.75 a month and £16.38 an hour. Asked to act up as junior sister, a Band 6 post, she is paid at the Band 6 entry rate of £39,959 a year, which is £3,329.92 a month and £20.41 an hour.

The uplift is £7,886 a year, or £657.17 a month, full-time. For a single full month of acting up, gross basic pay rises from £2,672.75 to £3,329.92. For a three-month vacancy cover, the extra gross basic pay totals £1,971.50, which is a quarter of the £7,886 annual uplift. Those are basic pay figures only. Unsocial hours and overtime worked during the acting-up period are paid on top, at the acting rate, as the next section shows.

The same nurse at the top of Band 5, on £39,043 a year, faces the overlap case described above. Band 6 entry at £39,959 is only £916 a year above her substantive salary, an uplift of £76.33 a month. She should still get the acting rate, and the acting period still counts as Band 6 experience for her next substantive application, but the cash gain is small. Knowing that before accepting the arrangement is far better than discovering it on the first acting-up payslip.

Worked example 2: Band 6 nurse acting up to Band 7 ward manager

A Band 6 senior nurse at the entry step earns £39,959 a year, £3,329.92 a month, £20.41 an hour. Acting up to ward manager, a Band 7 post, pays the Band 7 entry rate of £49,387 a year, £4,115.58 a month, £25.23 an hour. The uplift is £9,428 a year, or £785.67 a month, full-time.

Ward manager acting-up periods are often the longest, because recruiting a substantive ward manager takes time and the post cannot safely sit empty. A six-month acting-up period at Band 7 entry therefore adds £4,714.00 of gross basic pay over the Band 6 entry salary, which is half of the £9,428 annual uplift, before any unsocial hours or overtime. It also carries the full ward manager workload: budget, staffing, quality and performance accountability. That workload point belongs in the conversation before accepting, not after. Acting up at Band 7 is a management job with a management salary, and the salary should arrive with the job.

Worked example 3: Band 2 support worker acting up to Band 3

At the lower bands the cash uplift is smaller but the principle is identical. A Band 2 healthcare support worker on the single spot rate of £25,272 a year, £2,106.00 a month, £12.91 an hour, acting up to a Band 3 post is paid at the Band 3 entry rate of £25,760 a year, £2,146.67 a month, £13.16 an hour. The uplift is £488 a year, or £40.67 a month, full-time.

Small as that looks, the move still changes the unsocial hours calculation, because Band 2 and Band 3 attract different enhancement percentages. Band 2 staff receive time plus 41% for Saturday and weekday night hours and time plus 83% for Sundays and public holidays, while Band 3 staff receive time plus 35% and time plus 69% for the same periods. A Band 2 worker acting up to Band 3 is therefore paid unsocial hours at the Band 3 percentages on the Band 3 rate for hours worked while acting up. The next section works those numbers out.

Unsocial hours and overtime on the acting rate

Unsocial hours enhancements follow the acting band, not the substantive band. Under Section 2 of the Agenda for Change handbook, Bands 4 to 9 receive time plus 30% for Saturday and weekday night hours and time plus 60% for Sundays and public holidays. Band 3 receives time plus 35% and time plus 69%, and Band 2 receives time plus 41% and time plus 83%. Full detail is in our guide to unsocial hours and overtime pay.

For the Band 5 nurse acting up to Band 6, Saturday and weekday night hours pay £26.53 an hour, which is the Band 6 entry hourly rate of £20.41 plus 30%, and Sunday and public holiday hours pay £32.66 an hour, which is £20.41 plus 60%. For the Band 2 worker acting up to Band 3, Saturday and weekday night hours pay £17.77 an hour, which is the Band 3 entry rate of £13.16 plus 35%, and Sunday and public holiday hours pay £22.24 an hour, which is £13.16 plus 69%. The enhancement is always applied to the rate being paid for those hours, so acting up lifts shift pay as well as basic pay.

Overtime follows the same logic, with one important exception. Under Section 3, overtime at Bands 1 to 7 is paid at time and a half, and at double time on bank and public holidays. The Band 5 nurse acting up to Band 6 therefore earns overtime at £30.62 an hour, which is £20.41 times 1.5, and double time at £40.82 an hour on bank holidays. But Bands 8 and 9 receive no contractual overtime pay and take time off in lieu instead. A Band 7 nurse acting up to Band 8a therefore loses contractual overtime pay for the acting period and takes time off in lieu for extra hours instead. That trade-off should be understood before accepting a Band 8a acting-up post, because it can outweigh the basic pay uplift in a service with heavy extra hours.

Part-time acting up

Part-time staff act up pro rata, exactly as substantive part-time pay works. The acting annual salary is multiplied by the whole time equivalent fraction, and the monthly figure follows from that. Our guide to part-time NHS pay explains the pro rata method in full.

Take a Band 5 nurse at 0.6 whole time equivalent acting up to Band 6 entry. Her substantive part-time salary is 0.6 of £32,073, which is £19,243.80 a year or £1,603.65 a month. Her acting salary is 0.6 of £39,959, which is £23,975.40 a year or £1,997.95 a month. The acting-up uplift is £394.30 a month at that fraction, which is 0.6 of the full-time uplift of £657.17. The hourly rate does not change with the fraction: she is paid £20.41 an hour for acting hours, the same as a full-time colleague acting up to the same post, and unsocial hours enhancements apply to that hourly rate in the same way.

London weighting and pension on acting pay

London weighting is calculated on the salary actually paid, so it follows the acting rate. Inner London pays 20% of basic salary, subject to a minimum of £5,794 and a maximum of £8,746. Outer London pays 15%, with a minimum of £4,870 and a maximum of £6,137. The fringe area pays 5%, with a minimum of £1,346 and a maximum of £2,270. Full detail is in our guide to London weighting (HCAS).

A Band 6 entry salary in inner London attracts 20% weighting of £7,991.80, giving a total of £47,950.80. The same nurse on her substantive Band 5 entry salary in inner London would receive 20% of £32,073, which is £6,414.60, giving £38,487.60. Acting up therefore adds £1,577.20 of London weighting on top of the £7,886 basic uplift in this example. In outer London, 15% of the Band 6 entry salary is £5,993.85, giving £45,952.85 in total, and in the fringe area 5% is £1,997.95, giving £41,956.95. All three sit inside their minimum and maximum limits, so the percentage applies in full.

Pension contributions are also taken on the pay actually received, so an acting-up period can move a member into a higher contribution tier. The 2026/27 pension tiers are provisional, calculated figures, not yet published, and the full table is in our guide to NHS pension contributions. Band 5 entry at £32,073 sits in the provisional 8.3% tier, giving £221.84 a month. Band 6 entry at £39,959 sits in the provisional 9.8% tier, giving £326.33 a month. The higher contribution buys higher pensionable service for the acting period, and the employer contribution of 23.7% applies to the acting salary as well. Check the first acting-up payslip against these figures, because a payroll system that has not picked up the acting arrangement will show the substantive contribution instead.

What acting up is not

Acting up is temporary cover, and three nearby arrangements are often confused with it. A promotion is a permanent, substantive move to the higher band post, usually through recruitment, and only then does the higher salary become permanent. A secondment is a temporary move to a different post or organisation, often for a project or development opportunity, and it carries its own written terms. Pay protection applies when a substantive post is downgraded through organisational change, and it preserves the previous salary for a set period rather than paying a higher rate for temporary cover. Acting up is none of those three. It is cover for a higher post that still exists and still needs filling, paid at that post's rate while the cover lasts.

Acting up also does not, by itself, change incremental progression in the substantive post. The substantive post, its band and its pay step remain the anchor, and the acting period sits on top of it. How an acting period is treated for incremental dates and for future promotion applications is a local matter, and it is worth asking about it explicitly. The strongest use of an acting period is as evidence: a nurse who has run a ward as acting ward manager for six months has already done the job, and that record carries weight in a substantive application that no course certificate can match.

Getting the arrangement right

Four checks protect anyone starting an acting-up period. First, get the band and step in writing, with start and end dates or a review date. Second, confirm the contracted hours covered, because acting up for part of a week pays pro rata for those hours, not for the whole week. Third, confirm how unsocial hours and overtime will be paid, and whether time off in lieu applies if the acting band is Band 8a or above. Fourth, check the first payslip. Payroll errors on acting arrangements are common precisely because the arrangement is temporary, and a missing uplift is easier to fix in the first month than after six.

Duration, eligibility and approval arrangements for acting up are set locally and vary between trusts. Some services approve acting up for a single shift, others for a vacancy cover lasting months. Some require a formal expression of interest, others appoint the most senior available nurse on the day. This page does not state a national minimum duration or a national approval process, because no such single rule is verified in the 2026/27 pay data. Anything about duration or eligibility in your own case should come from your manager and your trust policy, confirmed in writing before the arrangement starts.

Frequently asked questions

How does acting up pay work in the NHS?

When you temporarily cover a higher band role, you are paid at the higher band rate for the period you act up, normally the entry step of that band, pro rata for part-time hours. A Band 5 nurse acting up to Band 6 is therefore paid at the Band 6 entry rate of £39,959 a year pro rata in 2026/27, not at their Band 5 salary, for as long as the acting-up arrangement lasts.

Which step of the higher band do you get when acting up?

Normally the entry step of the higher band. That is the established practice reflected across NHS pay guidance: acting up pays the rate of the post being covered, starting at its first pay point. If your substantive salary is already above the higher band entry step, check the written acting-up agreement with your manager and payroll before the arrangement starts, because local handling of that overlap varies.

How much extra does acting up from Band 5 to Band 6 pay?

In 2026/27, Band 5 entry is £32,073 a year and Band 6 entry is £39,959 a year, a difference of £7,886 a year, or £657.17 a month, full-time. Hourly, the move is from £16.38 to £20.41. For a single full month acting up at Band 6 entry, gross basic pay is £3,329.92 instead of £2,672.75.

Do unsocial hours and overtime change when you act up?

Yes. Unsocial hours enhancements and overtime are calculated on the acting rate, not your substantive rate, for hours worked while acting up. A Band 5 nurse acting up to Band 6 earns Saturday and weekday night hours at £26.53 an hour (Band 6 entry £20.41 plus 30%) and Sunday and public holiday hours at £32.66 an hour (plus 60%). Overtime at Bands 1 to 7 is time and a half, and double time on bank and public holidays, while Bands 8 and 9 receive time off in lieu instead of overtime pay.

Does acting up pay count for London weighting and pension?

London weighting is calculated on the salary actually paid, so it follows the acting rate. A Band 6 entry salary in inner London attracts 20% weighting of £7,991.80, giving £47,950.80 in total. Pension contributions are also taken on the pay actually received, so an acting-up period can move you into a higher contribution tier: Band 5 entry sits in the provisional 8.3% tier at £221.84 a month, while Band 6 entry sits in the provisional 9.8% tier at £326.33 a month. The 2026/27 pension tiers are provisional, calculated figures, not yet published.

Is acting up the same as a promotion?

No. Acting up is temporary cover for a higher band post, for example during a vacancy, sickness absence or a secondment. Your substantive post and substantive salary stay as they were, and when the acting-up period ends you return to your substantive salary. A promotion is a permanent move to the higher band post, usually through a substantive recruitment process, and only then does the higher salary become permanent.

Does acting up count for part-time staff?

Yes, pro rata. A part-time Band 5 nurse at 0.6 whole time equivalent acting up to Band 6 entry is paid 0.6 of £39,959, which is £23,975.40 a year or £1,997.95 a month, against 0.6 of their Band 5 entry salary, £19,243.80 a year or £1,603.65 a month. The acting-up uplift is £394.30 a month at that fraction.

What should you get in writing before acting up?

Get the band and step being paid, the start and end dates or review date, the contracted hours covered, and how unsocial hours and overtime will be paid, confirmed in writing before the arrangement starts. Duration, eligibility and approval arrangements for acting up are set locally and vary between trusts, so anything not in the written agreement should be confirmed with your manager and payroll rather than assumed.