NHS Secondment Pay 2026/27: Do You Keep Your Salary?

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

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

A secondment moves you to a different post for a fixed period while your substantive employment continues. The pay question has no single national answer, because there is no separate secondment rate: the agreement decides whether you keep your substantive salary or move to the host post rate, and that one clause is worth thousands of pounds a year.

Secondments are everywhere in the NHS, and they are rarely explained in pay terms. A ward nurse covers a project post for a year. A therapist joins a regional team for six months. A manager steps into a neighbouring trust to lead a service review. In each case the person changes desks, managers, rotas and sometimes employers, while the question that matters most at home, what happens to my pay, is left to a paragraph in an agreement that few people read closely enough.

This page answers that question with the 2026/27 Agenda for Change figures, and it is blunt about the limits of those figures. The pay scales tell you what each band pays. They do not tell you which rate your secondment uses, because that choice is made in the agreement between the substantive employer, the host and you. Every worked example below therefore shows the maths for both models where the choice matters, so you can see the size of the decision before you sign.

What a secondment is, and what it is not

A secondment is a temporary move to another post, for a fixed period, with an expected return. It differs from a transfer, which is permanent, and from acting up, which is temporary cover of a higher post within your own organisation and normally pays the higher band rate. It also differs from a career break, where employment is paused and pay stops. On secondment you keep working and keep being paid; the argument is only ever about the rate and the terms.

Two shapes cover most cases. An internal secondment moves you within your own trust, to another ward, service or directorate. An external secondment moves you to a different employer, another trust, an integrated care board, a charity, a university or a national body. Internal secondments are usually simpler, because one payroll and one set of policies apply. External secondments need more care, because two employers, two payrolls and sometimes two pension routes are involved. The checklist near the end of this page is written for the external case, and it works for the internal case too.

Secondments also differ from bank and agency work. Bank shifts are extra hours on top of a substantive post, and agency work is a separate engagement entirely. Our guide to second job rules covers the tax and working-time side of extra work. A secondment, by contrast, replaces your normal post for its duration: you report to the host, work the host rota and are managed under the host arrangements, while your substantive post is held or covered in your absence.

The core pay rule: the agreement decides

Agenda for Change sets the pay for each band, not a separate rate for seconded staff. The 2026/27 England rates, including the 3.3% award effective 1 April 2026, are the building blocks, but the secondment agreement selects which block applies. In practice there are two models, and the agreement should name one of them in plain words.

Under the preserved-rate model, you keep your substantive salary for the whole secondment, whatever the host post would normally pay. This model is common for short internal secondments and for project posts where the person, rather than the post, is being borrowed. Under the host-rate model, you are paid the rate of the host post for the secondment period, which may be higher or lower than your substantive rate. This model is common where the host post is a defined vacancy being filled for a fixed term.

Neither model is automatically better. A preserved rate protects you if the host post pays less than your substantive post, and it costs you if the host post pays more. A host rate rewards a step up, and it cuts your pay if the host post sits below your substantive band. The danger is not either model. The danger is starting a secondment without knowing which one applies, and discovering the answer on the first payslip. Ask for the model in writing, with the annual figure stated, before you accept.

One more distinction matters. If the host post is at a higher band and the agreement pays the host rate, the uplift is a secondment uplift, not a promotion. It lasts for the secondment period only, and your substantive band on return is the band you left, unless the agreement or a separate process says otherwise. Staff who treat a secondment uplift as a permanent promotion are disappointed at the end of every fixed term. The return terms matter as much as the starting rate.

What the pay looks like, by band

The table below gives the 2026/27 England annual, monthly and hourly figures for the bands most often involved in secondments. Day and month figures in the worked examples use the published rounded hourly rate, and monthly figures are the annual salary divided by 12. The same rates apply whether you are seconded or not: the secondment changes which row applies, not the row itself.

Two rows drive most secondment maths. The step from Band 5 entry (£32,073) to Band 6 entry (£39,959) is £7,886 a year, and the step from Band 6 entry to Band 7 entry (£49,387) is £9,428 a year. Those are the figures at stake when an agreement chooses between a preserved rate and a host rate, and they are large enough to decide whether a secondment is worth taking.

Worked example 1: internal secondment at the same band

A Band 6 physiotherapist at the entry step earns £39,959 a year, which is £3,329.92 a month and £20.41 an hour. She is seconded internally for nine months to a community team in the same trust, at the same band. Under either pay model the salary is unchanged, because the substantive rate and the host rate are the same row of the table. Her payslip looks identical, her pension contributions continue unchanged, and the only things that change are the rota, the manager and the work.

Same-band secondments still need a written agreement, because the non-pay terms can still catch you out. Confirm the return post, the notice period for ending early, and who approves annual leave during the secondment. A same-band move that is simple on pay can still go wrong on leave approvals, because two managers may each assume the other is handling requests. Our guide to flexible working pay covers the pattern changes that often accompany a move like this.

Worked example 2: internal secondment to a higher band, both models

A Band 5 staff nurse at the entry step earns £32,073 a year, or £2,672.75 a month. She is seconded for a year to a Band 6 project post at the entry step, worth £39,959 a year, or £3,329.92 a month. The two models give very different years.

If the agreement pays the host rate, she gains £7,886 over the year, which is £657.17 a month. Over a 12-month secondment that is the full £7,886, before tax, National Insurance and pension deductions. If the agreement preserves the substantive rate, she gains nothing in pay, and the secondment is worth taking only for the experience, the CV and the chance of a permanent post afterwards. Both outcomes are legitimate. What is not legitimate is leaving the choice unstated and hoping for the higher figure.

The same logic runs in reverse. A Band 6 nurse at the top step (£48,117) seconded to a Band 5 post would lose £9,074 a year against the Band 5 top rate (£39,043) if the host rate applied, and would keep £48,117 if the substantive rate were preserved. Downward secondments happen, usually for experience, a change of direction or a return after a break, and the preserved-rate model is what makes them affordable. Check which model applies before you agree to a lower-banded host post, because the difference is the whole point of the agreement.

Worked example 3: external secondment, London weighting and pension

A Band 5 nurse at the entry step (£32,073) is seconded externally for a year to an inner London trust. Her substantive employer keeps paying her and recharges the host, and the agreement states that London weighting follows the place of work. Inner London weighting is 20% of basic pay, which is £6,414.60 on £32,073, giving £38,487.60 in total for the year. That figure sits inside the inner London minimum of £5,794 and maximum of £8,746, so the full percentage applies.

If the host post were in outer London instead, the 15% calculation would give £4,810.95, but the outer London minimum of £4,870 applies instead, giving £36,943 in total. In the fringe area, 5% gives £1,603.65, for £33,676.65 in total. The minimum and maximum limits apply to the annual salary, and the full detail is in our guide to London weighting (HCAS). The lesson is the same as with the base rate: weighting follows the agreement and the place of work, not the home address, so a secondment across a weighting boundary changes pay even when the band does not.

Pension follows the payroll route. Because the substantive employer keeps paying her, contributions continue through payroll at her tier. Under the provisional 2026/27 tiers, £32,073 attracts 8.3%, which is £221.84 a month, and the employer contribution of 23.7% adds £633.44 a month. If the host paid her directly instead, the agreement would need to state that pensionable membership continues, because a break in membership affects the pension built up over the secondment year. The full tier table is in our guide to NHS pension contributions.

Unsocial hours, overtime and part-time hours on secondment

Unsocial hours follow the rota you actually work, not the rota you left. 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. A Band 5 entry nurse on £16.38 an hour therefore earns £21.29 an hour on a Saturday, giving a 7.5-hour Saturday day of £159.68. On a Sunday, £16.38 plus 60% gives £26.21 an hour, or £196.58 for a 7.5-hour day. A Band 6 entry nurse on £20.41 an hour earns £26.53 on a Saturday and £32.66 on a Sunday under the Bands 4 to 9 rates. Full detail is in our guide to unsocial hours and overtime pay.

Overtime follows the same principle. Bands 1 to 7 receive time and a half for overtime, and double time on bank and public holidays, while Bands 8 and 9 receive time off in lieu only. A Band 5 entry nurse working overtime therefore earns £24.57 an hour at time and a half, and £32.76 an hour at double time. The trap on secondment is assuming the host rota carries the same enhancements as the substantive rota. A move from a ward with heavy unsocial hours to a Monday to Friday project post can cut take-home pay sharply even when the basic salary rises, because the enhancements disappear. Compare the whole package, not just the basic rate.

Part-time secondments are pro rata in the usual way. A Band 6 nurse at the entry step (£39,959) seconded at 0.6 whole time equivalent earns £23,975.40 a year, or £1,997.95 a month. A Band 5 nurse at 0.8 whole time equivalent earns £25,658.40 a year, or £2,138.20 a month. Our guide to part-time NHS pay explains the pro rata method in full, including how contracted hours up to 37.5 are paid at plain time before overtime rates apply.

Pension, annual leave and increments

Pension is the item most often left vague in secondment agreements, and it is the item with the longest tail. If your substantive employer keeps paying you, membership normally continues without a break, and contributions continue at your tier. If the host pays you, confirm that the host is an NHS Pension Scheme employing authority for your post, and that contributions will be deducted and recorded. A year without pensionable membership is a year of pension not built up, and it cannot be bought back cheaply afterwards. Ask the pensions officer at both employers to confirm the position in writing.

Annual leave is simpler. Entitlement normally continues on the standard tiers: 27 days plus 8 bank holidays up to 4 years of service, 29 plus 8 from 5 years, and 33 plus 8 from 10 years, pro rata for part-time staff. What the agreement must still settle is practical: who approves leave, what happens to leave already booked, and whether leave accrued but untaken at the start carries across. Our guide to annual leave covers the tiers and the part-time pro rata method.

Increments are the honest gap in this page. The 2026/27 pay data does not state a national rule for whether time on secondment counts towards increment progression, or whether you return at the same step, a higher step or the step you would have reached. Local practice varies, and the agreement is the only document that settles it for your case. Ask three questions and get the answers in writing: does my increment date move while I am away, does secondment time count towards progression, and what step do I return to. The answers affect your pay for years, not just for the secondment term.

What to get in writing before you accept

Do not accept a secondment on a verbal assurance about pay. The agreement, or a side letter signed by both employers, should state each of the following in figures, not in generalities.

• The pay model and the annual figure: substantive rate preserved, or host rate, with the exact annual salary stated.
• Who pays you: substantive employer with recharge, or host employer directly, and which payroll issues the payslip.
• London weighting: whether HCAS applies, which zone, and the resulting annual total.
• Unsocial hours and overtime: which rota applies, and whether enhancements and overtime rates follow the host rota.
• Pension: confirmation that pensionable membership continues, and which employer deducts contributions.
• Annual leave: who approves leave, and what happens to leave already booked or accrued.
• Increments: whether the increment date moves, and what step you return to.
• Return terms: the return post, the return date, the notice period for ending early, and what happens if the substantive post has changed.
• Expenses and travel: whether travel to the host site, and any relocation costs, are covered, and on what basis.

If any item is missing, ask for it to be added. A secondment agreement that cannot state the annual salary in figures is not ready to sign, whatever the start date pressure. Start dates can move by a week. A year on the wrong pay rate cannot be undone.

At the end of the secondment

The normal expectation is a return to your substantive post, or to an equivalent post at the same band if the original post no longer exists. That expectation should be written into the agreement, with a return date and a named contact for the return process. Without it, a returning secondee can find the substantive post filled, restructured or absorbed, and the negotiation about what happens next starts from a weak position.

Extensions are common, and they need the same care as the original agreement. An extension that rolls forward on the same terms is straightforward. An extension that changes the host post, the band or the place of work is a new agreement in substance, and the pay figure should be restated for the extension period. Do not let an extension drift on an expired letter: if the end date passes without a written extension, your pay, pension and return rights are all uncertain at once.

Early endings need a notice clause both ways. The host may end a secondment early if funding stops or the project closes, and you may want to end early if the post is not what was described. The agreement should state the notice period, whether pay continues through the notice period, and what post you return to if the secondment ends early. Staff who discover an early ending has no notice clause usually discover it at the worst possible moment.

Frequently asked questions

Do you keep your pay on secondment?

Usually yes, but the secondment agreement decides the detail. There is no separate national secondment rate in Agenda for Change. Most secondments either preserve your substantive salary or pay the host post rate, and the agreement should state which one applies, who pays you, and what happens to London weighting, unsocial hours and pension.

Does a secondment to a higher band pay the higher rate?

Only if the agreement says so. If the host rate applies, a Band 5 nurse at entry (£32,073) moving to a Band 6 entry post (£39,959) gains £7,886 a year, or £657.17 a month. If the substantive rate is preserved instead, pay stays at £32,073 for the secondment. Do not assume the higher rate: check the written terms before you start.

Who pays you during an external secondment?

It depends on the agreement. In many external secondments your substantive employer keeps paying you and recharges the cost to the host, so your payslip, tax and pension look unchanged. In others the host employs and pays you for the secondment period. Either model can work, but the agreement must name the payer, the payroll route and the pension arrangement.

Does London weighting change on secondment?

It can do, because High Cost Area Supplement follows the place of work and the agreement. A Band 5 entry nurse on £32,073 moving to an inner London host post gains 20% weighting of £6,414.60, giving £38,487.60 in total. In outer London the 15% calculation gives £4,810.95, but the £4,870 minimum applies instead, giving £36,943 in total.

Does your NHS pension continue during a secondment?

On most substantive-employer secondments it does, because you stay employed by the NHS and contributions continue through payroll. A Band 5 entry salary of £32,073 attracts 8.3% under the provisional 2026/27 tiers, which is £221.84 a month, plus the 23.7% employer contribution of £633.44 a month. If the host pays you directly, confirm in writing that pensionable membership continues.

Do increments continue during a secondment?

There is no single national secondment increment rule stated in the 2026/27 pay data, so the agreement must say what happens. Ask whether your increment date moves while you are away, whether time on secondment counts towards progression, and what pay step you return to. Get the answer in writing: it affects your salary for years after the secondment ends.

Do you keep your annual leave on secondment?

Annual leave entitlement normally continues on the standard Agenda for Change tiers of 27 days plus 8 bank holidays up to 4 years of service, 29 plus 8 from 5 years, and 33 plus 8 from 10 years, pro rata for part-time staff. The secondment agreement should still confirm who approves leave during the secondment, the host manager or the substantive manager, so requests are not caught between two employers.

What happens when a secondment ends?

The normal expectation is a return to your substantive post or an equivalent post at the same band, but that expectation only has bite if the agreement says so. Confirm the return post, the return date, the notice period for ending early, and what happens if the substantive post has changed while you were away, before you accept the secondment.