NHS Physiotherapy Assistant Pay 2026/27

Last updated: 22 October 2026 · Figures verified against the NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular.

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

What NHS physiotherapy assistants earn in 2026/27: the Band 2 and Band 3 salaries, hourly rates, the Band 2 vs Band 3 split, unsocial hours and overtime, London weighting, pension, and the route from therapy assistant to registered physiotherapist.

Physiotherapy assistants are the support workforce behind NHS physiotherapy: the people who help patients regain movement after surgery, injury, stroke or long-term conditions. They supervise exercise programmes, assist with walking practice and mobility aids, set up treatment areas and support registered physiotherapists in clinics, on wards and in the community. Job titles vary between trusts - physiotherapy assistant, therapy assistant, rehabilitation support worker, physio support worker - but the pay follows one simple pattern: Band 2 for entry-level assistant posts, Band 3 for experienced or senior assistants.

Unlike registered physiotherapists, who need an HCPC-approved degree and sit at Band 5 and above (see our physiotherapist salary guide), therapy assistant roles are typically open to people without prior clinical qualifications. They are one of the most accessible routes into an NHS clinical career, and many assistants use the role as a launchpad toward assistant practitioner posts at Band 4 or a full physiotherapy degree. This page covers physiotherapy assistant pay for 2026/27 in England in full, including what separates Band 2 from Band 3, when unsocial-hours pay applies, London weighting, pension and the progression ladder.

NHS physiotherapy assistant salary 2026/27

The 2026/27 Agenda for Change rates for physiotherapy assistants in England, full-time at 37.5 hours a week, with 2025/26 for comparison:

Source: NHS Employers Agenda for Change pay circular 2026/27 (England, full-time 37.5 hours a week). Hourly rates are annual salary divided by 52.2 weeks and 37.5 hours. The 2026/27 figures include the 3.3% consolidated award effective 1 April 2026.

Note that Band 2 is a single spot rate: there are no pay steps within it, so a newly appointed physiotherapy assistant and one with several years' service earn the same £25,272 basic. Band 3, by contrast, is a genuine range - the £1,716 gap between entry and top is crossed through annual progression steps, and reaching the top of Band 3 adds £2,204 a year compared with the Band 2 spot rate. For the full band pictures, see our Band 2 pay guide and Band 3 pay guide.

Band 2 vs Band 3: where physiotherapy assistants sit

The line between Band 2 and Band 3 for therapy assistants comes down to experience, delegated responsibility and the complexity of the patients you work with, rather than the job title alone - many trusts advertise both bands under the same "therapy assistant" or "rehabilitation support worker" heading. A typical Band 2 physiotherapy assistant post is entry-level: you work under direct supervision of a registered physiotherapist, helping with basic mobility, supervising simple and pre-set exercise programmes, assisting patients with walking aids, preparing treatment areas and recording basic progress information. Trusts commonly recruit to these posts with no prior health-service experience, providing on-the-job training, which makes Band 2 one of the easiest ways into an NHS clinical role.

A Band 3 post expects significant experience, usually a year or more as a therapy assistant or in a related support role, and carries a greater degree of delegated responsibility. Senior physiotherapy assistants and rehabilitation support workers at Band 3 may progress patients through exercise programmes with less direct supervision, work more independently in community and intermediate-care settings, carry out treatment delegated by a physiotherapist with an agreed scope, support and orientate new or junior Band 2 assistants, and handle more complex patients - for example in stroke rehabilitation, musculoskeletal outpatients or elderly care wards, where judgement about when to escalate a concern to the registered clinician matters more.

The pay consequence is straightforward. Join at Band 2 on £25,272, build your experience and clinical confidence, then move to a Band 3 post - internally or at another trust - to unlock a range that tops out at £27,476. The jump from the Band 2 spot rate to the top of Band 3 is £2,204 a year, which is the clearest financial reward available inside the therapy support workforce. Internal Band 3 vacancies are common, and managers often encourage reliable Band 2 assistants to apply.

It is also worth knowing where physiotherapy assistants sit relative to other support roles. The work is closely related to healthcare assistant posts (covered in our healthcare assistant salary guide), which are also typically Band 2, but therapy assistants are employed within the physiotherapy or therapy department rather than on general wards, and their delegated clinical tasks - exercise programmes, mobility rehabilitation - are more specialised than general patient care duties.

What the role involves

Physiotherapy assistants support registered physiotherapists to assess, treat and rehabilitate patients. The day-to-day work is hands-on with patients and varies with the setting - outpatient musculoskeletal clinics, orthopaedic and surgical wards, stroke and elderly care units, pulmonary rehabilitation, community teams and, increasingly, intermediate care and virtual wards - but the core duties are consistent:

• Supervising exercise programmes: guiding patients through exercises prescribed by the physiotherapist, correcting technique, monitoring repetitions and recording progress against the agreed plan.
• Assisting with mobility: helping patients practice walking with frames, crutches and other aids, assisting with transfers between bed, chair and standing, and supporting stair practice where the treatment plan requires it.
• Preparing treatment areas and equipment: setting up gym equipment, plinths, walking aids and heat or electrotherapy equipment, and cleaning equipment between patients to infection-control standards.
• Supporting clinics and wards: chaperoning assessments, preparing patient notes, booking follow-up appointments, answering patient queries and liaising with other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Community and home visits: senior assistants in community teams may visit patients at home to supervise rehabilitation exercises, assess progress and report back to the registered physiotherapist.

Importantly, physiotherapy assistants always work under the supervision and delegation of a registered physiotherapist. They do not assess patients independently or devise treatment plans - the registered clinician remains responsible for the clinical decisions. The assistant's role is delivery and support: carrying out the treatment programme safely, spotting problems early and escalating them. Because most physiotherapy is delivered in clinics and on daytime ward rounds, the standard working pattern is daytime, Monday to Friday, which is why unsocial-hours pay works out differently here than for ward nursing staff.

Unsocial hours: mostly daytime, but enhancements exist

The Section 2 unsocial-hours rates apply to physiotherapy assistants exactly as they do to everyone else on Agenda for Change. At Band 2, the enhancements are +41% for Saturdays and weekday night shifts, which works out at about £18.20 an hour on the 2026/27 basic rate, and +83% for Sundays and bank holidays, about £23.63 an hour. At Band 3, the rates are +35% for Saturdays and weekday nights (about £17.77 to £18.95 an hour across the band range) and +69% for Sundays and bank holidays (about £22.24 to £23.73 an hour).

In practice, most physiotherapy assistants see little of these enhancements because therapy services run standard daytime hours. The exceptions are inpatient rehabilitation roles covering weekend ward rounds - many stroke units, orthopaedic wards and elderly care wards run Saturday physiotherapy services to keep rehabilitation moving seven days a week - and community or intermediate-care teams providing weekend cover. If you are considering a post that mentions weekend or evening cover in the advert, the unsocial-hours rates above are what turns the basic salary into the real earnings figure, and our unsocial hours and overtime guide works through the Section 2 rules in detail.

One related point: assistants who cover twilight or evening sessions - for example pulmonary rehabilitation groups running into the early evening - can attract the weekday night enhancement for hours worked in the defined night window. Check how your trust defines its unsocial-hours window in the contract, since local arrangements can differ within the national framework.

Overtime for physiotherapy assistants

Where unsocial-hours enhancements are the occasional top-up for therapy assistants, overtime is the more common route to earnings above basic. Under AfC Section 3, overtime for staff in Bands 1 to 7 is paid at time-and-a-half: about £19.37 an hour for Band 2, and £19.74 to £21.06 an hour for Band 3. Overtime on bank holidays is paid at double time, about £26.32 to £28.08 an hour for Band 3.

The therapy-specific catch is that overtime usually means extra clinical capacity: Saturday morning outpatient clinics to clear waiting lists, or covering a colleague's ward rounds. Part-time assistants earn plain time for additional hours up to 37.5 a week, with overtime rates only applying above that threshold. As with unsocial hours, whether overtime is offered at all depends on the department's budget and waiting-list pressure - musculoskeletal outpatient services running weekend clinics are the most likely setting.

London weighting (HCAS) for physiotherapy assistants

Physiotherapy assistants working for London trusts receive the High Cost Area Supplement on top of basic salary: 20% of basic pay in inner London (minimum £5,794, maximum £8,746), 15% in outer London (minimum £4,870, maximum £6,137) and 5% in the fringe zone (minimum £1,346, maximum £2,270). The minimums are what matter most at assistant pay levels, because the raw percentage calculation often comes in below the floor.

Worked example: a Band 2 physiotherapy assistant in inner London. 20% of £25,272 is £5,054.40, which is below the £5,794 inner London minimum, so the minimum applies: £25,272 + £5,794 = £31,066 a year. The same floor protection applies at Band 3 entry, since 20% of £25,760 (£5,152) is also below £5,794. Only at the top of Band 3 does the percentage calculation begin to approach the minimum. In practice, the £5,794 floor means London therapy assistants take home a meaningful uplift over colleagues outside London - worth factoring in if you are choosing between trusts. Our HCAS guide has the full zone map and explains how the supplement interacts with part-time pay.

Pension and benefits

Physiotherapy assistants are in the NHS Pension Scheme, a defined-benefit CARE (career average revalued earnings) scheme that is one of the most valuable workplace pensions available at this pay level. Contribution tiers for 2026/27 are provisional: Band 2 and Band 3 salaries all fall in the 6.5% tier (whole-time equivalent earnings £13,260 to £28,854), which works out as follows:

• Band 2 (£25,272): 6.5% of £25,272 is £1,642.68 a year, about £136.89 a month.
• Band 3 entry (£25,760): £1,674.40 a year, about £139.53 a month.
• Band 3 top (£27,476): £1,785.94 a year, about £148.83 a month.

The employer contributes 23.7% on top of your own contribution, which is why the scheme is such a large part of total reward - for a Band 2 assistant, the employer's share is worth far more per year than the employee's own payments. Because the tiers are provisional for 2026/27, confirm the final rates on your payslip against our pension contributions guide. And check each line of your first payslip - pension deductions, tax code and HCAS, where applicable - with our payslip guide.

Annual leave and other entitlements

Annual leave under AfC Section 13 (England) is 27 days plus 8 bank holidays (35 in total) for the first 5 years of service, 29 plus 8 with 5 or more years, and 33 plus 8 with 10 or more years - pro rata for part-timers. On top of leave, therapy assistants get the standard AfC package: full occupational sick pay, occupational maternity and parental leave provisions that are more generous than the statutory minimum, and access to staff benefits such as salary sacrifice schemes for cars, cycles and childcare in most trusts. Therapy departments are also generally good at supporting study: many trusts fund or part-fund relevant qualifications, and time off for study linked to your development plan is a realistic thing to ask for at appraisal.

Physiotherapy assistant pay across the UK nations

The figures on this page are England rates. The devolved nations have their own pay deals, and the differences matter for assistants moving between nations or working near borders:

• Scotland: 3.75% from 1 April 2026 under the two-year deal, with a 36-hour week from April 2026 (compared with 37.5 in England), which changes the hourly calculation for the same annual salary. The pay scales and steps differ slightly from England.
• Wales: 3.3% implemented from 1 April 2026, mirroring the English award, with the Welsh pay scales applying.
• Northern Ireland: the 3.3% award has been recommended but is not implemented - as of late August 2026 there is no confirmed uplift. Do not budget on the 2026/27 figures for NI posts until implementation is confirmed.

Because therapy assistant is an entry-level role with high vacancy rates in some areas, trusts in all four nations recruit actively - but the pay deal you are actually covered by depends on where your employer is based, not where you live.

Career progression: from assistant to registered physiotherapist

Physiotherapy assistant is one of the best launchpads in the NHS support workforce, because the skills you build - patient handling, exercise supervision, communication with rehabilitation patients - map directly onto the next steps:

• Senior therapy assistant / Band 3: the first step, covered above - more responsibility, community work and a top salary of £27,476 a year.
• Assistant practitioner (Band 4): the recognised middle rung at £28,392 to £31,157 a year in 2026/27. Assistant practitioners deliver protocol-based treatment with greater autonomy than Band 3 assistants and often complete a foundation degree or higher apprenticeship to get there. It is the natural target for an experienced Band 3 who does not want to do a full physiotherapy degree straight away.
• Registered physiotherapist (Band 5): the qualified clinician route at £32,073 to £39,043 a year in 2026/27. It requires a three-year physiotherapy degree approved by the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) followed by HCPC registration - without registration you cannot practise as a physiotherapist or use the protected title. Many trusts support experienced assistants through physiotherapy degrees, including apprenticeship degrees that let you earn while you train, which is why therapy assistant posts are such a popular way to test whether the clinical career suits you before committing to three years of study.

The earnings arc tells the story: £25,272 at Band 2, £27,476 at the top of Band 3, £31,157 at the top of Band 4, and up to £39,043 at Band 5 - roughly a 55% rise in basic pay from entry-level assistant to registered physiotherapist, before enhancements. If you are already a Band 3 assistant, read our registered physiotherapist salary guide next to see exactly what the HCPC route is worth, and keep the full Band 2 and Band 3 pictures handy for comparing any internal vacancy.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an NHS physiotherapy assistant earn?

In 2026/27, an NHS physiotherapy assistant in England earns Agenda for Change Band 2 (£25,272 a year full-time) for entry-level posts, or Band 3 (£25,760-£27,476 a year) for experienced or senior posts. Most therapy work is daytime, so unsocial-hours enhancements are less common than for ward-based clinical roles.

What is the difference between a Band 2 and a Band 3 physiotherapy assistant?

Band 2 covers entry-level physiotherapy assistant posts: assisting with basic mobility, supervising simple exercise programmes and supporting registered physiotherapists under direct supervision. Band 3 covers experienced assistants who carry a greater degree of delegated responsibility, such as progressing patients through exercise programmes, working more independently in community and rehabilitation settings, and supporting junior or new Band 2 assistants.

What is the hourly rate for an NHS physiotherapy assistant in 2026/27?

For 2026/27 in England, the Band 2 physiotherapy assistant hourly rate is £12.91, based on the £25,272 spot rate divided by 52.2 weeks and 37.5 hours a week. Band 3 hourly rates run from £13.16 at entry to £14.04 at the top of the band (£25,760-£27,476 a year).

What does an NHS physiotherapy assistant do day to day?

Physiotherapy assistants support registered physiotherapists to deliver treatment. Day-to-day work typically includes supervising patients through exercise programmes, assisting with mobility and walking practice, setting up and cleaning treatment equipment, preparing clinic rooms and ward areas, recording basic progress notes, and supporting patients in outpatient clinics, inpatient wards, community visits and rehabilitation units.

Do NHS physiotherapy assistants get paid extra for weekends and nights?

The Section 2 unsocial-hours enhancements apply to physiotherapy assistants too (+41% for Saturday and weekday nights and +83% for Sundays and bank holidays at Band 2; +35% and +69% at Band 3), but therapy work is mostly daytime, so weekend and night enhancements are less common than for ward-based roles. Community and inpatient rehabilitation posts are the most likely to attract them. Overtime, paid at time-and-a-half under Section 3, is the more common top-up.

Do NHS physiotherapy assistants get London weighting?

Yes. Physiotherapy assistants employed by London trusts receive the High Cost Area Supplement: 20% in inner London (minimum £5,794), 15% in outer London (minimum £4,870) and 5% in the fringe zone (minimum £1,346). A Band 2 physiotherapy assistant in inner London earns £25,272 + £5,794 = £31,066 a year, because 20% of £25,272 (£5,054.40) is below the inner London minimum.

How do I become a physiotherapist from a physiotherapy assistant?

The usual route is a three-year physiotherapy degree approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), followed by HCPC registration, which qualifies you for Band 5 registered physiotherapist posts (£32,073-£39,043 a year in 2026/27). Many trusts support experienced assistants through the assistant practitioner route at Band 4 (£28,392-£31,157) first, or through apprenticeship degrees that let you earn while you train. Assistant practitioner roles are the recognised stepping stone between Band 3 support work and registered practice.

Can you work part-time as an NHS physiotherapy assistant?

Yes. Therapy assistant posts are widely offered part-time, with pay strictly pro rata. A Band 2 physiotherapy assistant working 22.5 hours a week earns 22.5/37.5 of the £25,272 full-time rate. Annual leave is pro rata too. Part-time assistants working extra hours up to 37.5 a week are paid at plain time, with overtime rates applying only above that.