NHS Midwife Hourly Pay 2026/27: What Each Band Earns an Hour

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

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

Annual salaries tell only half the story for maternity staff. Midwifery is a 24 hour service, so the hourly rate, and what each kind of hour is worth, matters more than the headline salary when you compare posts, check a payslip or weigh up overtime. This page sets out every midwife hourly rate for 2026/27 in England, step by step, with the unsocial hours, overtime, London and part-time figures worked through in full.

If you want the annual picture, the midwife salary guide covers the same bands from the yearly side, and the NHS hourly rate calculator will convert any band salary to an hourly rate for you. The rates below are all full-time equivalent for England under Agenda for Change, after the 3.3% award effective 1 April 2026.

Midwife hourly rates 2026/27 at a glance

Midwives are usually employed on Bands 5 to 7, with consultant midwives at Band 8a. A newly qualified midwife starts on Band 5, but midwifery is unusual in how quickly most practitioners settle at Band 6: the majority of midwife posts, in delivery suites, birth centres, community teams and antenatal clinics, are graded Band 6, so many midwives reach it within a year or two of qualifying. Team leaders, ward managers and specialist midwives are usually Band 7, and consultant midwives who lead practice across a service are Band 8a.

Two steps in the table deserve a second look. The move from the top of Band 5 (£19.95 an hour) to the bottom of Band 6 (£20.41) is worth only £0.46 an hour, or £916 a year, because the bands overlap. The move from the top of Band 6 (£24.58) to the bottom of Band 7 (£25.23) is worth £0.65 an hour, or £1,270 a year. Both steps matter more than the hourly gap suggests, because a higher band also changes which unsocial hours and overtime rates apply to every enhanced hour that follows, and because most midwife posts sit at Band 6, the step within that band is where most of the money is.

How the NHS hourly rate is worked out

The formula is simple, and it is worth knowing because it lets you check any figure on a payslip in seconds. Take the full-time annual salary, divide it by 52.2, which is the number of weeks in the NHS pay year, and divide again by 37.5, the standard full-time week. That gives the plain-time hourly rate.

Worked example: a Band 6 midwife at the entry step earns £39,959 a year. Divide £39,959 by 52.2 and you get £765.50 a week. Divide £765.50 by 37.5 and you get £20.41 an hour. The same arithmetic gives £16.38 an hour for a Band 5 entrant on £32,073 (£614.43 a week) and £24.58 an hour for a Band 6 midwife at the top of the band on £48,117 (£921.78 a week). Monthly pay is the annual salary divided by 12, so the Band 6 entrant takes £3,329.92 a month gross before deductions.

One common mistake is to divide by 52 weeks instead of 52.2. That small change inflates every hourly rate by a few pence, which is why some online calculators disagree with payroll by a small amount. Another is to use the wrong week: Agenda for Change full time in England is 37.5 hours, not 40. Scotland is the exception, with a 36 hour week from April 2026, and its hourly rates are covered separately near the end of this page.

Band 5 midwife hourly pay in detail

Band 5 is where every midwife career starts. The newly qualified period runs at the entry step, and the band has three steps in total. At £16.38 an hour, a newly qualified midwife earns £122.85 for a standard 7.5 hour day and £614.43 for a 37.5 hour week. At the intermediate step, £17.67 an hour gives £132.53 a day and £662.68 a week. At the top of Band 5, £19.95 an hour gives £149.63 a day and £747.95 a week.

Band 5 is also where the unsocial hours uplift starts to matter most in cash terms, because maternity rotas are unsocial by design. A Band 5 entrant earns £21.29 for a Saturday or night hour and £26.21 for a Sunday or bank holiday hour. At the top of the band, those figures rise to £25.94 and £31.92. A single 12 hour Sunday shift at the entry step is therefore worth £314.52 at the enhanced rate, against £196.56 at the plain rate, a difference of £117.96 for one shift.

Pension sits on top of these rates rather than inside them. Under the provisional 2026/27 tiers, a Band 5 entrant on £32,073 pays 8.3% of pensionable pay, which is £221.84 a month, and the employer adds 23.7%, which is £633.44 a month. The intermediate step at £34,592 also falls in the 8.3% tier at £239.26 a month, while the top step at £39,043 falls in the 9.8% tier at £318.85 a month. Those tiers are provisional for 2026/27, calculated from the published 2025/26 thresholds, so treat the monthly pension figures as the best current estimate rather than a final published rate.

Band 6 midwife hourly pay in detail

Band 6 is where most midwives sit. The band runs from £20.41 an hour at entry to £24.58 at the top, with an intermediate step at £21.54. In day terms, that is £153.08, £161.55 and £184.35 for a 7.5 hour day. In weekly terms, it is £765.50, £807.85 and £921.78 for a full 37.5 hour week.

The unsocial hours figures for Band 6 are the ones most working midwives will recognise from their payslips. At the entry step, a Saturday or night hour pays £26.53 and a Sunday or bank holiday hour pays £32.66. At the intermediate step, the figures are £28.00 and £34.46. At the top of the band, they are £31.95 and £39.33. Put those rates against a 12 hour shift and the rota effect becomes concrete: a Band 6 entrant earns £244.92 for a plain 12 hour day shift, £318.36 for a 12 hour Saturday or night shift, and £391.92 for a 12 hour Sunday or bank holiday shift.

A typical mixed rota shows why the average hourly rate on a midwife payslip sits well above the plain rate. Take a Band 6 entrant working one plain 12 hour day, one 12 hour night shift and one 12 hour Sunday shift in a week. The plain day pays £244.92, the night pays £318.36 and the Sunday pays £391.92, a total of £955.20 for 36 hours, which averages £26.53 an hour across the three shifts. That average is not a contractual rate, it is simply what that particular mix of hours produces, but it explains why two midwives on the same band can take home very different amounts in the same month.

Community midwives working a caseload model earn fewer Section 2 enhancements and may instead receive on-call payments: an availability payment for being on call plus call-out payments when attending births, set by local agreement. Because on-call arrangements vary by trust, the rates are not quoted here, and anyone comparing a caseload post with a delivery-suite post should ask for the trust's on-call policy in writing before comparing offers.

Band 7 specialist and team leader midwife hourly pay

Team leaders, ward managers and specialist midwives in areas such as bereavement, diabetes, perinatal mental health, safeguarding and fetal medicine are usually graded Band 7, and the hourly rates reflect that step up. Entry pays £25.23 an hour (£189.23 a day, £946.11 a week), the intermediate step pays £26.53 an hour (£198.98 a day, £994.87 a week), and the top of the band pays £28.87 an hour (£216.53 a day, £1,082.66 a week).

Unsocial hours at Band 7 follow the same Bands 4 to 9 percentages, so a Saturday or night hour pays £32.80 at entry, £34.49 at the intermediate step and £37.53 at the top, while a Sunday or bank holiday hour pays £40.37, £42.45 and £46.19. Overtime at Band 7 pays time and a half, which is £37.85 an hour at entry and £43.31 at the top, and double time on bank holidays, which is £50.46 at entry and £57.74 at the top. Pension at Band 7 is 9.8% at the entry and intermediate steps (£403.33 and £424.11 a month) and 10.7% at the top step (£503.93 a month) under the provisional tiers. Consultant midwives at Band 8a, who lead practice across a service, earn £29.39 to £33.08 an hour and are usually on time off in lieu rather than paid overtime, so no overtime table is given for Band 8a.

Unsocial hours: what each kind of hour pays

Unsocial hours under Agenda for Change Section 2 cover weekday nights from 8pm to 6am, all of Saturday, and all of Sunday and public holidays. For Bands 4 to 9, which includes every midwife band, the enhancement is 30% on top of plain time for Saturday and weekday night hours, and 60% on top for Sunday and public holiday hours. The table below gives the resulting hourly rates for the three main midwife bands.

Two points catch people out. First, the enhancement applies to the hour worked, not to the whole shift: a shift that starts in the evening and runs past 8pm earns plain time before 8pm and the enhanced rate after it, unless local arrangements say otherwise. Second, the percentages above are the current Section 2 rates. Older figures still circulate online, including 44% and 88% for Band 2 and 37% and 74% for Band 3, but those are the pre-September 2018 rates and they do not apply to midwives on Bands 5 to 7 in any case. If a calculator or forum post quotes them, it is out of date.

For the full unsocial hours rules, including how the enhancements interact with part-time hours, see the unsocial hours and overtime guide. Midwives should also check their own contract: some maternity roles have locally agreed on-call arrangements that sit alongside Section 2, and the contract rate prevails where it differs from the standard table.

Overtime hourly rates for midwives

Overtime under Section 3 pays time and a half for Bands 1 to 7, and double time on bank and public holidays. Overtime only starts above 37.5 hours in a week. Part-time staff earn plain time, plus any unsocial enhancement that applies, for hours above their contracted hours up to 37.5, and overtime rates only kick in beyond that point. You cannot claim overtime and an unsocial enhancement for the same hour, and staff may elect time off in lieu instead of payment.

Worked example: a Band 6 midwife at the top of the band who works four overtime hours in a normal week earns 4 times £36.87, which is £147.48 on top of the normal week's pay. The same four hours on a bank holiday at double time earn 4 times £49.16, which is £196.64. If those overtime hours fall on a Sunday, the choice is between the overtime rate and the unsocial rate for the same hours, not both added together. The overtime calculator runs the same maths for any combination of hours and enhancements.

London midwife hourly rates with HCAS

High Cost Area Supplement is a percentage of basic pay, subject to a minimum and a maximum, and it is pensionable. Inner London pays 20% with 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 pays 5% with a minimum of £1,346 and a maximum of £2,270. Where the percentage gives less than the minimum, the minimum applies, and where it gives more than the maximum, the supplement is capped.

How the table is built, so you can check it: a Band 5 entrant on £32,073 earns a 20% inner supplement of £6,414.60, giving a total of £38,487.60 a year, which is £19.66 an hour. The outer minimum of £4,870 applies instead of 15%, because 15% of £32,073 is £4,810.95, below the minimum, giving £36,943 a year or £18.87 an hour. The fringe rate is 5%, which is £1,603.65, giving £33,676.65 a year or £17.20 an hour. At the top of Band 6, the inner supplement is capped: 20% of £48,117 is £9,623.40, above the £8,746 maximum, so the total is £56,863 a year or £29.05 an hour. The London weighting guide explains the zones and the caps in full.

Part-time midwife hourly pay

Part-time work does not change the hourly rate. A midwife on 0.6 whole time equivalent works 22.5 hours a week and earns the same rate per hour as a full-time colleague on the same band and step. The annual salary and the monthly pay are scaled by the fraction, and so is the weekly total.

At Band 5 entry, £16.38 an hour gives £368.55 a week at 22.5 hours (£19,243.80 a year) and £491.40 a week at 30 hours (£25,658.40 a year). At Band 6 top, £24.58 an hour gives £553.05 a week at 22.5 hours (£28,870.20 a year) and £737.40 a week at 30 hours (£38,493.60 a year). Part-time staff also accrue annual leave pro rata, and hours above contracted hours up to 37.5 are paid at plain time plus any unsocial enhancement, as set out in the overtime section above. The part-time pay guide works through the leave and pension effects in detail.

Career progression in hourly terms

Progression through the midwife bands is usually driven by the post rather than by time served: a newly qualified post is Band 5, a clinical midwife post is Band 6, and a team leader or specialist post is Band 7. In hourly terms, the full journey from Band 5 entry (£16.38) to Band 7 top (£28.87) is worth £12.49 an hour, or £24,442 a year full time. The single biggest step in the journey is inside Band 6, from entry (£20.41) to top (£24.58), worth £4.17 an hour or £8,158 a year.

That progression also changes the value of every enhanced hour. A Sunday hour rises from £26.21 at Band 5 entry to £32.66 at Band 6 entry, £39.33 at Band 6 top and £46.19 at Band 7 top. For a midwife working regular weekends, the band step therefore matters twice: once in the plain rate and again in every unsocial hour that follows. The Band 6 pay guide and the Band 5 pay guide set out the full salary tables for the two bands where most midwives sit.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland agreed a two-year deal with a 3.75% award from 1 April 2026 and moved to a 36 hour week, which changes the hourly calculation: the divisor becomes 52.2 times 36, or 1,879.2 hours a year, instead of 1,957.5. The published Scotland Band 5 range of £34,494 to £42,977 therefore works out at £18.36 to £22.87 an hour. The full Scotland step-by-step scale is not in the verified data used for this page, so this page gives the range endpoints only and does not invent intermediate steps.

Wales applied the 3.3% award from 1 April 2026 with a real living wage floor of £13.45 an hour for the lowest bands. Welsh Band 5 steps of £32,557, £35,114 and £39,631 give hourly rates of £16.63, £17.94 and £20.25 on the standard 37.5 hour week, slightly above the England equivalents at each step. Northern Ireland is the exception to the whole 2026/27 picture: the 3.3% award was recommended but had not been implemented at the last check, and staff there should not budget on rates that have not yet been paid. The Scotland pay guide and the Wales pay guide carry the nation-level detail.

Source: NHS Employers unsocial hours payments. Pay rates also published by Health Careers NHS.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NHS midwife hourly rate in 2026/27?

In England in 2026/27, a midwife on Band 5 earns £16.38 an hour at the entry step, £17.67 at the intermediate step and £19.95 at the top of the band. Most practising midwives are on Band 6, at £20.41 to £24.58 an hour, and team leaders and specialist midwives on Band 7 earn £25.23 to £28.87 an hour. Those are plain-time rates for a 37.5 hour week; night, Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday hours pay more.

How is the NHS hourly rate worked out?

Divide the full-time annual salary by 52.2 (the number of weeks in the NHS year) and then by 37.5 (the standard full-time week). A Band 6 midwife at the entry step on £39,959 a year therefore earns £39,959 divided by 52.2 divided by 37.5, which is £20.41 an hour. The same formula gives every hourly rate on this page, and it is the calculation payroll uses for Agenda for Change staff in England.

What is the hourly rate for a newly qualified midwife?

A newly qualified midwife starts at the bottom of Band 5: £32,073 a year, which is £16.38 an hour and £2,672.75 a month before tax, National Insurance and pension. The next Band 5 steps pay £17.67 an hour (£34,592 a year) and £19.95 an hour (£39,043 a year). Most midwives move to a Band 6 post within a year or two of qualifying, which is why Band 5 midwifery is often a brief staging post rather than a destination.

How much extra is a night or weekend hour worth for a midwife?

Midwives on Bands 5, 6 and 7 fall in the Bands 4 to 9 unsocial hours group, so a Saturday hour and a weekday night hour (8pm to 6am) pay plain time plus 30%, and a Sunday or bank holiday hour pays plain time plus 60%. A Band 6 midwife at the entry step therefore earns £26.53 for a Saturday or night hour and £32.66 for a Sunday or bank holiday hour, against a plain rate of £20.41.

What is midwife overtime pay per hour?

Overtime for Bands 1 to 7 pays time and a half, and double time on bank and public holidays. A Band 5 midwife at the entry step earns £24.57 an overtime hour and £32.76 on a bank holiday, while a Band 6 midwife at the top of the band earns £36.87 and £49.16. Overtime only starts above 37.5 hours a week, and you cannot claim overtime and an unsocial hours enhancement for the same hour.

What is the London midwife hourly rate with HCAS?

London weighting is added to the annual salary before the hourly rate is worked out, so it lifts the hourly figure directly. A Band 5 midwife at the entry step earns £19.66 an hour in inner London (£38,487.60 a year including the £6,414.60 supplement), £18.87 in outer London and £17.20 in the fringe. A Band 6 midwife at the top of the band earns £29.05 an hour in inner London, where the supplement is capped at £8,746.

Do part-time midwives get the same hourly rate?

Yes. The hourly rate depends on the band and pay step, not on how many hours you work, so a part-time midwife earns the same rate per hour as a full-time colleague on the same step. What changes is the total: a Band 5 midwife at the entry step working 22.5 hours a week (0.6 whole time equivalent) earns £368.55 a week, which is £19,243.80 a year, against £614.43 a week full time.

How does midwife hourly pay in Scotland and Wales compare?

Scotland agreed a 3.75% award from 1 April 2026 and moved to a 36 hour week, so Scottish hourly rates use a different divisor and cannot be read straight off the England table. The Scotland Band 5 range of £34,494 to £42,977 works out at £18.36 to £22.87 an hour on the 36 hour basis. Wales applied the 3.3% award with a £13.45 an hour living wage floor, and Welsh Band 5 steps of £32,557, £35,114 and £39,631 give £16.63, £17.94 and £20.25 an hour on the 37.5 hour week. Northern Ireland had not implemented the 3.3% recommendation at the last check, so do not budget on it.