What is take-home for a Band 2 HCA?

On the £25,272 Band 2 point, with the 6.5% NHS pension tier, take-home is about £20,401 a year, or £1,700 a month, after Income Tax, National Insurance and the £1,643 contribution. An inner London HCA on the same point is paid the £5,794 supplement floor on top, taking gross to £31,066 and take-home to about £23,824, because the supplement is pensionable and moves the contribution to the 8.3% tier.

Is the 6.5% NHS pension worth it?

Yes, and unusually so for low-paid employment. A Band 2 HCA on £25,272 builds £468 a year of indexed pension under CARE accrual at 1/54th, for a contribution of £1,643 before tax relief. The employer pays 23.7% of pensionable pay on top, against the 3% of qualifying earnings that is the auto-enrolment minimum for an employer.

How fast can I progress from HCA to Registered Nurse?

Two main routes: a nursing degree apprenticeship, three to four years and employed throughout, or a pre-registration BSc in nursing, three years with an NHS Learning Support Fund grant. Both end at Band 5 entry, £32,073, which is £6,801 a year more than the Band 2 point and £4,597 more than the top of Band 3.

Healthcare Assistant Salary 2026/27: NHS Band 2/3 Take-Home

NHS Healthcare Assistants sit on Agenda for Change Band 2, a single point of £25,272 for 2026/27, or Band 3, £25,760 to £27,476, depending on responsibility and clinical setting. Unsocial hours enhancements and a High Cost Area Supplement of 20% of basic pay in inner London are paid on top.

Typical pay & take-home

Agenda for Change Band 2, a single pay point: £25,272
Band 2 single point to the top of Band 3: £25,272–£27,476
Take-home on that salary: £20,401 England, after the 6.5% NHS pension contribution, Income Tax and NI.

At £25,272, you earn 35% below the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you between the 10th percentile (£23,990) and the 25th percentile (£29,262) of UK full-time earnings.

See exact take-home for £25,272 →

What influences healthcare assistant (hca) pay

HCA base pay is taxed entirely at the basic rate on a standard rota. The Section 2 unsocial hours enhancement is higher at the bottom of the scale than above it: Band 2 pays time plus 41% for Saturdays and for weekdays between 8pm and 6am and time plus 83% for Sundays and public holidays, and Band 3 time plus 35% and time plus 69%, against time plus 30% and 60% from Band 4 up. What that adds in a year depends entirely on the rota.

The NHS pension contribution is 6.5% across Bands 2 and 3, the tier covering £13,260 to £28,854 of pensionable pay; the 5.2% tier below it only applies under £13,260. The 2015 scheme is a career average scheme that builds 1/54th of pensionable pay each year, and the employer pays 23.7% of pensionable pay on top.

High Cost Area Supplements at this end of the scale are set by the collar rather than the percentage, because the percentage of a Band 2 or 3 salary falls short of the minimum. Inner London is 20% of basic pay with a £5,794 floor, so an HCA gets £5,794; outer London is 15% with a £4,870 floor, so an HCA gets £4,870. Both are taxable and pensionable, which takes an inner London Band 2 HCA to £31,066 gross.

Career progression

Domestic or catering, Band 1, closed to new entrants and paid at the Band 2 rate: £25,272.
HCA Band 2, a single point: £25,272 (2026/27 England).
Senior HCA Band 3 entry: £25,760.
Senior HCA Band 3 top: £27,476.
Nursing associate Band 4: £28,392 to £31,157.
Registered nurse Band 5, with the degree: £32,073 to £39,043.

Frequently asked questions

What is take-home for a Band 2 HCA?: On the £25,272 Band 2 point, with the 6.5% NHS pension tier, take-home is about £20,401 a year, or £1,700 a month, after Income Tax, National Insurance and the £1,643 contribution. An inner London HCA on the same point is paid the £5,794 supplement floor on top, taking gross to £31,066 and take-home to about £23,824, because the supplement is pensionable and moves the contribution to the 8.3% tier.
Is the 6.5% NHS pension worth it?: Yes, and unusually so for low-paid employment. A Band 2 HCA on £25,272 builds £468 a year of indexed pension under CARE accrual at 1/54th, for a contribution of £1,643 before tax relief. The employer pays 23.7% of pensionable pay on top, against the 3% of qualifying earnings that is the auto-enrolment minimum for an employer.
How fast can I progress from HCA to Registered Nurse?: Two main routes: a nursing degree apprenticeship, three to four years and employed throughout, or a pre-registration BSc in nursing, three years with an NHS Learning Support Fund grant. Both end at Band 5 entry, £32,073, which is £6,801 a year more than the Band 2 point and £4,597 more than the top of Band 3.

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Typical pay & take-home

What influences healthcare assistant (hca) pay

Career progression

Frequently asked questions

Related professions

Sources