Kent Council Pay Scales 2026/27: Grades and Take-Home
Kent County Council pay grades 2026/27 - every grade and step of the Kent Scheme with salary, hourly rate and take-home after tax, NI and the LGPS.
How the Kent Scheme works
Kent County Council is not on the national NJC pay spine. It bargains locally, so its grades, its steps and its money are all set by the council rather than nationally. That means none of the figures here can be checked against a national circular the way a spine council's can - they are what Kent itself published, in the document listed under sources.
The 2026/27 award is settled. County Council agreed a pay award of at least 3.8% for all employees at its budget meeting, together with a minimum salary of £13.56 an hour. Kent bargains locally, so its 2026/27 pay was settled months before the national NJC round reached agreement in August 2026. That floor of £13.56 an hour is what grade KSA pays, at £26,168 a year on a 37-hour week.
Councils on the national spine are in a different position: their 3.3% award for 2026/27 was offered on 24 March 2026, rejected by the union side (GMB formally on 28 May 2026; the employers declined to reopen talks on 9 June 2026) and only accepted in August, backdated to 1 April 2026, with the uplifted spine published on 24 August 2026. A council that has not yet restated its own scales owes the rise as arrears. Compare an offer here with one from a spine council knowing that.
- Kent Scheme pay is set by local bargaining, not by the NJC. The council's pay policy statement lists the NJC among the schemes whose terms are set nationally and which the statement does not cover, so NJC terms may still apply to some staff - the Kent Scheme is what the statement itself governs.
- Progression through the steps is not automatic in the way an annual spine increment is: the Kent Scheme links it to performance.
- The 2025/26 scales carried temporary transition points, described by the council as applying for 2025/2026 only. They are not in the 2026/27 table. How individuals on one were moved across is not stated in the published documents.
- Grades KSA and KSB are spot rates: entry and top are the same figure.
Every grade and step, and what it nets
Effective 1 April 2026. Hourly rates are the annual salary over 37 hours, and take-home runs through Income Tax, National Insurance and the Local Government Pension Scheme band for that salary. The LGPS is a net pay arrangement, so the contribution comes off before tax but National Insurance is charged on the full gross.
| Grade | Step | Annual | Hourly | LGPS | Take-home | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KSA | Spot rate | £26,168 | £13.56 | 5.8% | £21,146 | £1,762 |
| KSB | Spot rate | £26,822 | £13.90 | 5.8% | £21,587 | £1,799 |
| KSC | Entry | £26,956 | £13.97 | 5.8% | £21,677 | £1,806 |
| Top | £27,765 | £14.39 | 5.8% | £22,222 | £1,852 | |
| KSD | Entry | £27,904 | £14.46 | 5.8% | £22,316 | £1,860 |
| Top | £29,020 | £15.04 | 6.5% | £22,905 | £1,909 | |
| KSE | Entry | £29,167 | £15.12 | 6.5% | £23,003 | £1,917 |
| Top | £30,934 | £16.03 | 6.5% | £24,184 | £2,015 | |
| KSF | Entry | £32,140 | £16.66 | 6.5% | £24,989 | £2,082 |
| Top | £35,035 | £18.16 | 6.5% | £26,923 | £2,244 | |
| KSG | Entry | £36,264 | £18.80 | 6.5% | £27,744 | £2,312 |
| Middle | £38,012 | £19.70 | 6.5% | £28,912 | £2,409 | |
| Top | £39,760 | £20.61 | 6.5% | £30,079 | £2,507 | |
| KSH | Entry | £41,782 | £21.66 | 6.5% | £31,430 | £2,619 |
| Middle | £44,194 | £22.91 | 6.5% | £33,041 | £2,753 | |
| Top | £46,606 | £24.16 | 6.5% | £34,652 | £2,888 | |
| KSI | Entry | £47,990 | £24.87 | 6.8% | £35,462 | £2,955 |
| Middle | £50,718 | £26.29 | 6.8% | £37,304 | £3,109 | |
| Top | £53,446 | £27.70 | 6.8% | £39,284 | £3,274 | |
| KSJ | Entry | £55,764 | £28.90 | 6.8% | £40,625 | £3,385 |
| Middle | £59,150 | £30.66 | 6.8% | £42,451 | £3,538 | |
| Top | £62,535 | £32.41 | 8.5% | £43,638 | £3,637 | |
| KSK | Entry | £63,376 | £32.85 | 8.5% | £44,083 | £3,674 |
| Middle | £66,692 | £34.57 | 8.5% | £45,837 | £3,820 | |
| Top | £70,007 | £36.29 | 8.5% | £47,591 | £3,966 | |
| KSL | Entry | £71,432 | £37.03 | 8.5% | £48,345 | £4,029 |
| Middle | £75,306 | £39.03 | 8.5% | £50,394 | £4,200 | |
| Top | £79,179 | £41.04 | 8.5% | £52,443 | £4,370 | |
| KSM | Entry | £81,015 | £41.99 | 8.5% | £53,414 | £4,451 |
| Middle | £85,473 | £44.30 | 9.9% | £55,055 | £4,588 | |
| Top | £89,931 | £46.61 | 9.9% | £57,375 | £4,781 | |
| KSN | Entry | £95,739 | £49.62 | 9.9% | £60,399 | £5,033 |
| Middle 1 | £101,647 | £52.69 | 9.9% | £63,475 | £5,290 | |
| Middle 2 | £107,555 | £55.75 | 9.9% | £66,551 | £5,546 | |
| Top | £113,463 | £58.81 | 9.9% | £69,180 | £5,765 | |
| KSO | Entry | £114,961 | £59.59 | 9.9% | £69,691 | £5,808 |
| Middle 1 | £121,458 | £62.95 | 10.5% | £71,610 | £5,968 | |
| Middle 2 | £127,955 | £66.32 | 10.5% | £73,807 | £6,151 | |
| Top | £134,452 | £69.69 | 10.5% | £76,002 | £6,334 | |
| KSP | Entry | £142,807 | £74.02 | 11.4% | £78,520 | £6,543 |
| Middle 1 | £151,202 | £78.37 | 11.4% | £82,443 | £6,870 | |
| Middle 2 | £159,597 | £82.72 | 11.4% | £86,366 | £7,197 | |
| Top | £167,992 | £87.07 | 11.4% | £90,289 | £7,524 | |
| KSQ | Entry | £179,579 | £93.08 | 11.4% | £95,704 | £7,975 |
| Middle 1 | £192,421 | £99.74 | 11.4% | £101,705 | £8,475 | |
| Middle 2 | £205,263 | £106.39 | 11.4% | £107,706 | £8,975 | |
| Top | £218,105 | £113.05 | 12.5% | £112,387 | £9,366 | |
| KSR | Entry | £220,526 | £114.30 | 12.5% | £113,504 | £9,459 |
| Middle 1 | £232,498 | £120.51 | 12.5% | £119,026 | £9,919 | |
| Middle 2 | £244,471 | £126.72 | 12.5% | £124,549 | £10,379 | |
| Top | £256,443 | £132.92 | 12.5% | £130,071 | £10,839 |
Basic pay only. Excludes overtime, market supplements and any local allowance, and assumes no student loan. The top grades reach into the personal allowance taper, where the effective marginal rate of Income Tax is 60%. That taper is assessed on income after the pension contribution, which is deducted before tax under a net pay arrangement, so with LGPS at 9.9% it starts at about £110,988 of gross pay rather than at £100,000.
Comparing this with a spine council
The grade letters do not translate. Kent's ladder runs from £26,168 at KSA to £256,443 at KSR, and a council on the national spine tops out at £56,293 before its own locally set points begin. The only thing that compares directly is the money: annual salary, and take-home after the pension.
At the bottom of this scheme, £26,168 nets about £21,146 a year, or £1,762 a month, after a 5.8% LGPS contribution. Put any other figure through the salary calculator, or read the national spine for what most councils pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is the lowest pay grade at Kent?
KSA, at £26,168 a year, which is £13.56 an hour on a 37-hour week. That is above both the National Living Wage of £12.71 and the Living Wage Foundation rate of £13.45.
Is Kent on the NJC pay spine?
No. Kent County Council sets its own pay through the Kent Scheme, with its own grades and steps, and bargains locally rather than through the National Joint Council. That is why its grade labels do not translate to another council's, and why its pay year can settle on its own timetable rather than waiting on the national round.
What is take-home on £26,168 at Kent?
About £21,146 a year, or £1,762 a month, after Income Tax, National Insurance and a 5.8% LGPS contribution. The LGPS is a net pay arrangement: the contribution reduces the pay you are taxed on, but National Insurance is still charged on your full gross.
Has Kent agreed a 2026/27 pay rise?
Yes. County Council agreed a pay award of at least 3.8% for all employees at its budget meeting, together with a minimum salary of £13.56 an hour. Kent bargains locally, so its 2026/27 pay was settled months before the national NJC round reached agreement in August 2026.