We understand that the Chief Nursing Officer has written to employers about the review. Your employer will be in touch with you once specific timescales and deadlines for this process have been agreed nationally and we hope before the 1 April 2026. This has been confirmed by NHS England.
Your employer will be in touch with you once specific timescales and deadlines for this process have been agreed nationally and we hope before 1 April 2026. This has been confirmed by NHS England.
The commitment for a review of band 5 roles in the NHS in England is supported with a government funding commitment. This is essential for the process to be meaningful and has taken time to advocate for and agree with Ministers. There are lots of factors that impact government decisions and announcement timelines.
NHS employers in England will review all band 5 roles. As your union, we’ll monitor the process carefully at a workplace, employer and national level as part of the official oversight group.
The process of this review may differ between employers. That’s why we’ll be asking you throughout this programme of work if your employer has contacted you about this, if reviews are taking place in your workplace and if they are being carried out fairly.
The Westminster government has made a package of commitments that invest in the infrastructure of NHS career progression for nursing staff. They are detailed on the RCN website. They include a review of band 5 jobs in the NHS in England with additional funding available to support this review and the salary uplifts that come from it.
We expect these changes to take some time to implement fully. Tens of thousands of reviews must take place.
These commitments are separate to the funding for the 2026/27 annual pay award and structural reform discussions with NHS Staff Council to address long standing issues in NHS pay structure.
Yes and the government’s commitment to review the outcome of the band 5 review programme of work provides us with another opportunity to advocate for automatic progression following a period of preceptorship.
In this review we want as many band 5 nurses as possible to get upgraded to band 6. It is a strong step and in combination with the commitment to a national nursing preceptorship and changes to Annex 20 nursing staff should not be stuck in band 5 in future as many are today.
As part of the structural reform negotiations, the government has indicated that an increase to graduate salaries should be prioritised. If this is achieved, this will not only benefit graduate nurses, but also other vital NHS professions such as occupational therapists, pharmacists, and speech and language therapists.
In June 2025, the updated national nursing profiles were launched. Further, in January 2026, an important change was made to Annex 20 of the NHS Terms and Conditions.
National job profiles are summaries of commonly occurring roles. NHS jobs are matched to the profiles to determine your pay band, affecting how much you get paid. The NHS Staff Council’s Job Evaluation Group reviewed and revised job profiles for bands 2 and 3 in 2021. This led to a significant number of band 2s being rebanded to band 3. In June 2025, the latest review published updated profiles for all nursing roles.
The new profiles, supported by an accessible, transparent and timely job evaluation process, will mean you're properly rewarded, alongside cost-of-living pay awards each year.
In January 2026, a change to Annex 20 in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook removed a significant barrier to nursing progression. Nurses were specifically added to the section which concerns the development of professional roles, enabling progression from band 5 to 6 for certain graduate-level roles when appropriate. Read more about what's changed with banding.
These changes strengthen the foundations and opportunities for nursing staff in the NHS across the UK.
However, this is not automatic, and this is why the RCN has pushed for the band 5 review process.
This review is about recognising and valuing nursing staff working at band 5 who take on additional responsibilities beyond their job description, whose role has been inappropriately banded.
The band 5 national role profile has been updated to more accurately reflect the role and responsibilities expected of a band 5 registrant.
In the updated role profiles, the band 6 profile is split between a specialist (6i) and a team leader (6ii). There has been a significant change to the narrative examples within both profiles.
For the band 6i (specialist) profile, the aim is to ensure that the specialist nature of the role is reflected and clearly differentiated from band 5. The knowledge, training and education wording is quite lengthy to ensure the breadth at which nursing staff gain knowledge is reflected. There is also a corresponding increase in the communication and responsibility factors to reflect that the 6i role is a step up from the band 5 role.
The band 6ii (previous team leader) profile has also had significant changes to the narrative examples. This profile may support current band 5 registrants who are taking on additional responsibilities, for example, as shift leader or person in charge in the absence of the relevant manager. The new profile captures the responsibilities of current band 5 who are taking on the role of shift leader.
You can find all the details of nursing role profiles and how they have changed.
You should be paid for the responsibilities and requirements in your current role. This review will ensure that nursing staff who deliver essential care to patients are recognised and rewarded for their work.
The number of band 5 roles in a workplace or setting should be set by proactive workforce planning based on patient need. Band 5 roles should be available for newly qualified nurses to join theprofession, with support to progress in their careers following preceptorship.
Nursing has been cut, squeezed and devalued. That has resulted in 44% of the NHS nursing workforce in England being paid at band 5.
The package of commitments announced by the Westminster government for nursing in the NHS in England is a significant shift in how NHS England supports and develops the nursing workforce.
These commitments should support newly registered nurses in joining the workforce and participating in a national preceptorship programme. Alongside opportunities for progression, this should transform the early-career experience for nurses in England when implemented.
Additional funding to support the review of band 5 roles and the salary uplifts that come from it has been committed by Westminster government.
The government hasn’t confirmed the specific sums allocated to each NHS trusts to pay for the salary uplifts. The RCN will keep pushing the government to ensure each employer has sufficient funding to carry out the reviews and staff get the pay they deserve.
