Band 6 is often described as the big step up from Band 5, and over a career it is. But the first day of a Band 6 post is a smaller change than many people expect, especially for someone who has already reached the top of Band 5. The larger gains come with time in the band. The calculator above shows take-home pay at each Band 6 step. This guide puts those steps in order.
Promotion from the top of Band 5
When you're promoted, you move to the entry step of the higher band. For someone at the top of Band 5, on £39,043, that means Band 6 entry at £39,959, a gross rise of £916. Both salaries sit in the same pension contribution tier, so the increase is only reduced by income tax, National Insurance and the pension on the extra pay. Take-home rises from about £28,570 to about £29,157 a year, under £50 a month.
That isn't a reason to turn down the role. Band 6 is where specialist and senior clinical posts sit, and progression through the band is substantial. But if you're moving from the top of Band 5, budget around the modest first-day change, not the headline difference between the bands.
How progression works
Band 6 has three pay steps. You start at entry, move to the middle step of £42,170 after two years, and reach the top of £48,117 after five, provided your appraisals confirm you're meeting the expected standards. Progression isn't automatic: a missed appraisal can delay a step, so it's worth making sure yours is completed on time.
In take-home terms the steps are clearer. At entry a Band 6 on the national rate takes home about £29,157 a year, around £2,430 a month. The middle step adds about £1,419 a year, taking monthly pay to roughly £2,548. The top step adds a further £3,816, to around £2,866 a month. Over the five years, take-home rises by about £5,234 a year, or £436 a month, while pensionable pay and the pension it builds rise with it. All three steps stay in the same contribution tier at the national rate, so the gross-to-net relationship is predictable.
Where it gets less predictable
Two things can change that picture. London weighting adds to pensionable pay and can move a Band 6 into a higher tier, particularly towards the top of the band in Inner London. And regular unsocial hours enhancements do the same, because they also count as pensionable pay. If either applies to you, check each step in the calculator rather than assuming the national figures, because a tier change applies to all your pay at once.
Acting up and secondments
Many Band 6 staff spend time acting up into a Band 7 role or on a secondment before a permanent promotion. Acting-up pay is usually paid as an allowance or at the higher band's rate for the period, and it's taxed and normally pensionable in the same way as your salary. Because it's temporary, it's worth checking whether it pushes you into a higher pension tier while it lasts, and making sure the payment stops cleanly when the arrangement ends, so you aren't asked to repay an overpayment later.
Band 6 and student loans
Many staff reach Band 6 within a few years of graduating, so student loan repayments are often still running. Plan 2 takes 9% of everything above £29,385 and Plan 5 takes 9% above £25,000, on top of tax, National Insurance and the pension. At the top of Band 6 a Plan 2 borrower repays about £1,690 a year, so each step up in the band is worth roughly 9% less in take-home than the figures above. Select your plan in the calculator to see the effect on each step.
Next steps
Choose your step and zone above for the exact figures. The Band 7 page covers the next promotion, including how it compares with Band 6 pay that includes enhancements, and the NHS London weighting calculator shows the effect of HCAS on each step.
For a longer walk-through, see our guide NHS pay bands explained, with take-home pay at every Agenda for Change band.