Pay rates 2009/10

Pay rates effective from 1 April 2009.

Agenda for Change pay bands 1 April 2009

The Government has proposed a three year pay deal worth 7.99 per cent over three years for staff in the NHS. For this, the second year of the deal, there will be an uplift of 2.4 per cent on the 2008/09 pay scales and high cost area supplements for nurses on Agenda for Change terms and conditions.

Non NHS employers

The RCN recommends that employers outside the NHS should award a minimum uplift of 2.4 per cent to the current pay rates for all nurses and health care support workers.

Pay scales: Bands 1 - 7

Band 1	Band 2	Band 3	Band 4	Band 5	Band 6	Band 7
13,233	13,233	15,190	17,732	20,710	24,831	29,789
13,588	13,588	15,725	18,157	21,318	25,829	30,762
13,944	13,944	16,333	18,826	22,152	26,839	31,856
	14,359	16,698	19,495	23,019	27,844	33,436
	14,774	17,184	20,102	23,345	28,816	34,410
	15,190	17,732	20,710	24,013	29,789	35,504
	15,725	18,157	21,318	24,831	30,762	36,719
	16,333			25,829	31,856	37,996
				26,839	33,436	39,273

Pay scales: Bands 8-9

Band 8				Band 9
Range A	Range B	Range C	Range D	75,383
37,996	44,258	53,256	63,833	79,031
39,273	45,596	54,714	65,657	82,824
40,853	47,905	57,146	68,393	86,800
42,434	50,580	59,821	71,736	90,967
44,258	53,256	63,833	75,383	95,333
45,596	54,714	65,657	79,031

Note: With effect from 1 April 2009, band 1 will consist of three spine points only. Employees who are on the minimum of band 1 as at 31 March 2009 will transfer to the new minimum point with effect from 1 April 2009 and their increment point will become 1 April 2010.

As part of the three year pay arrangement the top point of pay band 5 is uplifted by a further 0.33 per cent. This means that the top point of 5 will rise by 2.73 per cent in total. The minimum starting salary for a registered nurse is £20,710.

To calculate your hourly rate, divide your annual basic salary by 52.14 and then by 37.5.

High cost area supplements from 1 April 2009

Inner London:
20 per cent of basic salary (subject to a minimum payment of £3,947 and a maximum payment of £6,080).
Outer London:
15 per cent of basic salary (subject to a minimum payment of £3,339 and a maximum payment of £4,256).
Fringe zone:
Five per cent of basic salary (subject to a minimum payment of £912 and a maximum payment of £1,581).

Payments for working or providing emergency cover outside normal hours (unsocial hours and on-call) are outlined in section two of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions handbook.

Overtime is payable for staff in bands one to seven when excess hours are worked over full-time hours (37.5). Overtime should be agreed with your line manager in advance of working excesss hours. Overtime is payable at time and a half with the exception of overtime on a public holiday which is paid at double time (see section three of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions handbook). As an alternative to overtime pay staff can request time off in lieu instead.

Agenda for Change handbook (PDF 366KB) [see how to access PDF files].

2009/10 Pay rates for Non-NHS staff

Nurses who are employed on non-NHS (AFC - Agenda for Change) contracts of employment do not automatically benefit from the annual Pay Review Body award. Nurses in this group might be practice nurses, or those nurses working in the independent or private sector.

In the past such nurses may have had their annual pay increase linked to 'Whitley rates'. Since the start of AfC in October 2004 there has been no mechanism to uplift these rates. Since 2004, the RCN has recommended that those on Whitley rates should have their pay uplifted by the same same rates as those staff employed on AfC in the NHS.

For 2009/10 this means that pay and any leads and allowances should be uplifted by 2.4 per cent from 1 April 2009.

For previous years the recommended increases are as follows: