NHS Pay Step Dates: Progression, Appraisals and What Each Step Is Worth

Last updated: 28 September 2026 · Figures verified against the NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular.

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

How the pay-step system works

Agenda for Change replaced automatic annual increments with a pay-step system. Instead of moving up a point every year, you progress through a small number of steps within your band — and each move is linked to a proper appraisal conversation and to keeping your statutory and mandatory training up to date. The system is designed so that progression reflects development in the role, not just length of service.

In England, Bands 2 and 3 have a simpler structure — Band 2 is effectively a single rate (£25,272 in 2026/27) and Band 3 has two steps (£25,760 to £27,476) — while Bands 4, 5, 6 and 7 each have an entry step, an intermediate step and a top step. The standard journey is: join on the entry step, move to the intermediate step after 2 years in the band, and reach the top step after 5 years. Bands 8 and 9 use a different structure with more, smaller steps and longer intervals, reflecting senior roles.

Two things surprise people. First, the steps are not annual — there is nothing to move to in years 2, 3 and 4 of Band 5 beyond the single intermediate step at the two-year mark. Second, the money is heavily back-loaded: the jump from intermediate to top is much bigger than the jump from entry to intermediate, which is why the top of each band is where long-term earnings really accumulate.

Your pay step date and when it falls due

Your pay step date is the anniversary of the date you entered the band — usually your start date in the post, or your promotion date if you moved up from a lower band. It is recorded in ESR, and it is the date your progression is measured from. Two years after you joined Band 5 as a newly qualified nurse, your intermediate step falls due; five years in, the top step falls due.

The step does not apply itself. In the weeks before your pay step date, your manager should arrange your appraisal, and your statutory and mandatory training record should be current. If everything is in order, payroll is notified and the new rate appears in the pay run covering your step date — sometimes a month later with a small arrears adjustment if the paperwork was late.

If you joined part-way through a pay year, your step date is still your own anniversary, not 1 April. The annual pay award (like the 3.3% for 2026/27) and your pay step are separate events that can fall in different months: you might get the cost-of-living uplift in April and your step increase in October, for example. Each is calculated independently, which is why payslips in step months deserve a careful look.

Appraisals, training and the requirements for progression

Progression to the next pay step requires two things beyond the calendar: a completed appraisal and up-to-date statutory and mandatory training. The appraisal is the formal review of your performance and development against your role's requirements — not a box-ticking exercise from the employer's perspective, and not optional from yours.

In practice this means keeping your training matrix green matters directly to your pay. Fire safety, manual handling, information governance, safeguarding, resuscitation — whatever your trust mandates for your role — needs to be in date when your step falls due. Many trusts run an appraisal "window" in the month or two before step dates, and managers are expected to schedule the conversation; but the responsibility to chase it if nothing is arranged sits with you.

If your appraisal has not been completed by your step date, progression can be deferred until the requirements are met. This is the single most common — and most avoidable — reason for a missing increment. Once the appraisal is done and training is current, the step is normally applied from the date the requirements were satisfied. A few weeks' delay costs a few weeks' higher pay; a delay that drifts for months costs real money, so diary-manage your step date like any other deadline.

Progression is about meeting the requirements, not about being rated exceptional. The system does not rank staff against each other for steps — if you have completed your appraisal and your training is in date, you progress. Withholding a step is a separate formal process, not something that happens by default.

What each pay step is worth in 2026/27

Here are the 2026/27 England values and the cash value of each move. These are the figures to compare when you are weighing up staying for your next step versus moving on:

The pattern is consistent: the second move is worth roughly twice the first. A Band 6 nurse who stays to the top of the band earns £5,947 a year more than at the intermediate step — nearly £500 a month gross, every month, for the rest of their time in the role. That back-loading is worth remembering when recruiters dangle a move: the step you are about to hit has a cash value, and leaving just before it means leaving that money behind.

Note that these are gross figures. The take-home increase is smaller after tax, NI and the higher pension tier that often comes with higher pay — but the pension effect cuts both ways, because the higher pensionable pay also builds a bigger career-average pension.

Promotion: what happens to your step and step date

Promotion resets the clock. When you move to a higher band, you are placed on a step in the new band — normally the lowest step that gives you a genuine pay increase over your current salary — and your pay step date resets to your promotion date. Your two-year and five-year progression in the new band is then measured from that date.

This creates a well-known trade-off. Promoting from the top of Band 5 (£39,043) to the entry step of Band 6 (£39,959) is a rise of just £916 a year — modest — but it puts you on the Band 6 ladder, where the intermediate step (£42,170 after two years) and top step (£48,117 after five) are worth far more. Promoting from Band 5 entry (£32,073) to Band 6 entry (£39,959) is a much bigger immediate jump of £7,886. Either way, the promotion-date reset means your next step in the new band is never more than two years away.

One more detail: if your promotion date falls close to your old band's step date, check which applies. Local policies handle the boundary slightly differently, and payroll will need the promotion recorded in ESR with the correct effective date — a promotion processed late can mean a month at the old rate followed by arrears, exactly like a late pay award.

Delays, deferrals and part-time staff

Part-time staff progress on the same timetable as full-time colleagues — the two-year and five-year marks are measured in calendar time in the band, not in hours worked. The step increase itself is pro-rated to your contracted hours, just like your basic pay: a 0.6 whole-time-equivalent Band 5 nurse moving from entry to intermediate gains 60% of the £2,519 full-time rise, or about £1,511 a year.

Career breaks, maternity leave and long-term sick leave can affect step dates depending on length and local policy — the principle is generally that progression reflects time genuinely in the role, so long absences may shift your step date. Check your trust's policy rather than assuming, and raise it at your return-to-work meeting if your step date looks wrong in ESR.

If your step is delayed, the fix is administrative, not adversarial: complete the appraisal, bring training up to date, and make sure the outcome is recorded in ESR so payroll is notified. If you believe you met the requirements on time and the step was still withheld, your first port of call is your manager, then your union representative — formal disputes over progression are rare precisely because the criteria are objective and checkable.

Finally, keep your own record. Note your pay step date when you start a post, set a reminder for two months before, and check the relevant payslip when the step should have landed. The system works well for people who watch it — and quietly costs money to people who do not.

Frequently asked questions

When is my NHS pay step date?

Normally the anniversary of the date you entered your current band — your start date in the post, or your promotion date if you moved up a band. It is recorded in ESR. Your intermediate step falls due 2 years after that date and your top step 5 years after, provided your appraisal is complete and your statutory/mandatory training is in date.

What happens if my appraisal is late or not done?

Your pay step can be deferred until the appraisal is completed and your training is up to date. Once the requirements are met, the step is normally applied from the date they were satisfied — so a late appraisal costs you the higher pay for the weeks or months of delay. Chase the appraisal in the month before your step date rather than after.

Do part-time NHS staff get pay steps at the same speed?

Yes. Progression is measured in calendar time in the band — 2 years to the intermediate step, 5 years to the top — regardless of contracted hours. The pay rise itself is pro-rated: a half-time Band 5 nurse moving from entry (£32,073) to intermediate (£34,592) gains half the £2,519 full-time increase, about £1,260 a year.

What pay step do new starters join on?

Almost always the entry step of the band — for example £32,073 for a newly qualified Band 5 nurse in 2026/27. Recognised prior experience in a directly relevant role can sometimes secure a higher starting step, but this is at the employer's discretion and must be agreed before you accept the post. It cannot be negotiated after you start.

What happens to my pay step date when I am promoted?

It resets to your promotion date. You are placed on the lowest step of the new band that gives you a pay increase over your current salary, and your 2-year and 5-year progression in the new band is measured from the promotion date. So promoting from Band 5 top (£39,043) to Band 6 entry (£39,959) starts a fresh two-year countdown to the Band 6 intermediate step (£42,170).

Can the NHS withhold my pay step?

A step can be deferred if the appraisal or training requirements are not met — that is a delay, not a withholding. Formally withholding progression is a separate process with its own procedure and right of response; it does not happen automatically or by default. If your step date has passed and nothing changed, the overwhelmingly likely cause is unrecorded appraisal paperwork or out-of-date training, both fixable.

Sources and independence

Source: NHS Employers — 2026/27 Agenda for Change pay circular (pay step values).

Source: NHS Employers — Agenda for Change pay progression framework.

Source: NHS Staff Council — Agenda for Change handbook provisions on pay progression.

This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the NHS. Pay-step structures and values are for England under Agenda for Change for 2026/27; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements. Progression rules are applied through local trust policies — the outline here reflects the national framework, but your trust's appraisal and training requirements are the ones that govern your step date.