Does anyone know about how NHS banding works?

[BippityBopper]

I've seen a current role advertised. The grade says it's 'band 4 (subject to formal banding)' but then the salary shows as £27,485-£30,162. My understanding was that band 4 was £28,392 - £31,157. Am I wrong?

Also, I assumed the 'subject to formal banding' meant it that the band could change. Does anyone know if it means anything else as I don't understand why the current advertised salary doesn't match the current advertised banding.

I'd like to apply and negotiate being at the top end of the band.

They probably just haven't updated the pay scale, it increases sometimes.

They have probably copied and pasted an old job ad with the 25/26 agenda for pay scale rather than the new one that started on 1st April?

Not sure on your other question I’m afraid!

The £28392 is the band 4 starting salary in England from April 2026.
if your in Northern Ireland you’ll still be starting on the £27485

generally speaking you always start at the bottom of the band in the NHS, I don’t believe they let you negotiate that - I could be wrong though

I’ve never known anyone be able to negotiate salary with the NHS - if you are a current NHS employee on the same band they will keep you at the same pay point, otherwise you start at the bottom.

The pay banding has just changed from 2026 so the higher numbers will be the correct ones, but the lower ones were correct when posted.

formal banding hasn’t happened so the final banding could go up or down but expected to be a four when approved.

negotiating top of band in the nhs can be very challenging, the progression point at band four is three years to get the top increment, so if they did agree that then you’d only get inflationary pay rises unless you progressed into a band five role.

If you’re coming from outside the NHS then you can negotiate your starting salary within the banding if you can demonstrate you have x years of experience in an equivalent role.

I’ve never known anyone be able to negotiate to the top of a pay band without having worked the requisite number of years to work up the scale. Much less someone only at Band 4

Thank you.

Do you (or anyone else) happen to know whether being on the BANK register has any bearing? I'm aware I don't technically count as an employee, moreso a 'worker'.

I'm technically on the the register (band 6) but I haven't carried out any work with them for over a year. My interview was over 5 years ago. I'd really love to get the advertised role but the biggest downside is the banding/salary.

I'm really not in the know with NHS recruitment process, banding, etc. So these answers are all very useful!

You will not be able to negotiate a band 4 job being a band 6. Absolutely zero chance. Based on years of experience you may be able to negotiate being top of band 4 but that’s probably very unlikely too.

Is this a clinical role or non clinical?

Just asking as if you are on a professional register working as a band 6 then looking to move to a non registered role which a band 4 would be, this adds complications as some nhs trusts don't allow this as it blurs the lines of acting within your scope of competence. This is obviously different if your registration has lapsed etc.

This is irrelevant if non clinical so apologies if that's the case.

Sometimes able to negotiate if there is a clear reason should be considered. e. g mid band point in previous position and subsequent break in service but been doing bank at same pay point. Even though they are not obliged to honour due to break in substantive service. When I did a band 2 position for a while I was paid at the top of band 2 as previous role much higher banding, however the same trust has now stopped allowing registered HCP to work in unregistered clinical roles

Thanks. It's non clinical.

Thanks. I had no intention of it being negotiated up to a band 6. I was more wanting to know for sure what 'subject to formal banding' meant in the hopes that there was a chance it would end up being bumped to band 5.

Also, I'm wondering the chances of negotiating the top of the band. So if the formal banding changed to band 5, I was hoping to negotiate being at the top of that band. If it remains a band 4, I'm weighing up my options and whether to bother negotiating for the top of that band. I'm thinking the salary might be too low for me personally. Also the banding (band 4) doesn't match the job spec in my opinion.

It's been useful to gather insight here to help weigh up my options. Regarding the band 4/salary discrepancy in my original post, I understand now that it's likely due to what @FurForksSake said.

I had a colleague negotiate to start at the top of a band, she was moving from a local authority job and wasn't prepared to take a drop in pay (understandably!) It was quite a niche role with specific experience needed, I don't think it would be as likely with a more general role with plenty of applicants to choose from.

I have known someone new to nhs negotiate to start at mid rather than bottom of scale. She was able to do that because she had several years experience in exact same role but working for local authority rather than nhs. She was the only suitable candidate interviewed and when she was offered the role and told it was starting at bottom of scale she told them she wouldn’t be able to afford to take the job if she couldn’t start well up the pay scale.

Subject to formal banding means that they have reviewed the role and decided it was a band 4, but they are waiting for this to be made official. It doesn't mean it is being reviewed for consideration of moving up to a vand 5. If anything, there is a risk it could be made band 3! Certainly a question to ask at interview.

Whether you can start at the top of the band is likely to depend on whether you can show you have significant experience on all aspects of the job description.

£28,392 - £31,157 is this the new rate for band 4? Maybe just an error on the advert.

The job may have been updated, in which case it needs to go to an Agenda for Change panel for scoring. Unless it’s changed massively, this will likely confirm the new additions keep the job at Band 4 but this won’t be known for certain until the panel.

You can negotiate to any point within the band but the onus is on you to demonstrate you have the equivalent relevant 2-3 years experience. This usually includes recent pay slips, examples work and sometimes a detailed references from current employer. What’s accepted is up to the particular NHS organisation. Some are more switched on than others.

Subject to formal banding means it needs to go to a job evaluation panel for approval. Agree with others though, the numbers are probably just a copy paste of old salary range.