Nursing Careers UK

Agenda for Change · 2026/27

NHS pay scale: Wales

A newly qualified registered nurse in Wales starts on band 5, at £32,557 in 2026/27, rising to £39,631 at the top of the band. Band 7, advanced practice or team lead, runs from £50,129 to £57,365. Every figure on this page is the Wales scale for 2026/27, uplifted by 3.3%.

Pay year 2026/273.3% upliftFrom 1 April 2026
£32,557 Band 5 starting salary Wales, 2026/27
£40,559 Band 6 starting salary Wales, 2026/27
£50,129 Band 7 starting salary Wales, 2026/27
3.3% Uplift for this year Effective 1 April 2026

How pay works in Wales

Agenda for Change (AfC) covers almost every NHS job in Wales apart from doctors, dentists and very senior managers. The band is set by national job evaluation of the post, not by the employer, so basic pay for the same job is the same wherever in Wales you work. You do not negotiate a salary; you apply for a banded post.

Wales negotiates through the NHS Wales Partnership Forum and publishes its rates in a Welsh Health Circular. The structure matches the rest of the UK band for band, so a band 6 post in Cardiff is the same job evaluation as a band 6 in Manchester, but the money is set separately and the two have not always moved together.

The scale is uplifted each April. The 2026/27 settlement was an uplift of 3.3%, effective from 1 April 2026. Because the four nations settle separately, a figure from one is never a safe proxy for another — and neither is last year's figure for this one. Everything below is the 2026/27 Wales circular and nothing else.

Nation
Wales
Pay year
2026/27
Uplift
3.3%
Effective from
1 April 2026
Bands published
11
Scale range
£26,300 to £131,732
London weighting
No zone system

The full Wales scale, 2026/27

Annual full-time rates for every band published in the 2026/27 circular. Within a band you move up the points by time served; between bands you apply.

Agenda for Change annual pay, Wales, 2026/27
Band Starting Point 2 Point 3 Top of band
Band 2 £26,300£26,300 £26,300
Band 3 £26,300£27,890 £27,890
Band 4 £28,819£31,626 £31,626
Band 5 Entry level £32,557£35,114£39,631 £39,631
Band 6 £40,559£42,805£48,841 £48,841
Band 7 £50,129£52,712£57,365 £57,365
Band 8a £58,379£61,317£65,723 £65,723
Band 8b £67,583£71,952£78,530 £78,530
Band 8c £80,698£85,611£92,984 £92,984
Band 8d £95,773£101,643£110,448 £110,448
Band 9 £114,475£121,377£131,732 £131,732

The nursing career ladder in Wales

The ladder below covers most nursing careers. All figures are Wales, 2026/27.

Nursing career ladder — Wales, 2026/27
Band Stage Starting Top of band What the post is
Band 4 Newly qualified £28,819 £31,626 First post after registration, for roles that start at band 4 (e.g. nursing associates).
Band 5 Newly qualified £32,557 £39,631 First post after registration, usually rotational.
Band 6 Specialist £40,559 £48,841 Typically two to four years in; a defined clinical specialty.
Band 7 Advanced or team lead £50,129 £57,365 Clinical leadership, complex caseload, supervision.
Band 8a Consultant or service lead £58,379 £65,723 Service-wide responsibility or consultant practice.

Wales against the other nations

Starting salary at each of the four career bands. Each column carries its own pay year — the nations have not all settled the same year, so part of any difference below is timing rather than a permanent gap.

Starting salary by band and nation (each nation on its own pay year)
Band Wales · 2026/27 England · 2026/27 Northern Ireland · 2025/26 Scotland · 2026/27
Band 5 £32,557£32,073£31,049£34,544
Band 6 £40,559£39,959£38,682£43,231
Band 7 £50,129£49,387£47,810£52,845
Band 8a £58,379£57,528£55,690£65,125

At band 5 entry, Wales (2026/27) sits £484 above England (2026/27), £1,508 above Northern Ireland (2025/26) and £1,987 below Scotland (2026/27) . These are differences between published circulars, not adjusted for the pay year, for the cost of living, or for allowances that exist in one nation and not another.

Every band published in Wales

Band 2

£26,300 to £26,300 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 3

£26,300 to £27,890 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 4

£28,819 to £31,626 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 5

£32,557 to £39,631 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 6

£40,559 to £48,841 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 7

£50,129 to £57,365 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 8a

£58,379 to £65,723 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 8b

£67,583 to £78,530 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 8c

£80,698 to £92,984 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 8d

£95,773 to £110,448 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

Band 9

£114,475 to £131,732 in Wales, 2026/27.

Wales 2026/27

The other nations

Pay by profession

Next

Where this page’s data comes from

Pay values are the numeric annual rates published in the 2026/27 Agenda for Change circular for Wales. Only the figures are reused; the circular text and tables are not reproduced.