Free tools | NHS pay record
Calculate your NHS unsocial-hours pay
Under Agenda for Change Section 2 (England), Bands 4 to 9 are paid time plus 30% for Saturdays and weekday nights (8pm to 6am) and time plus 60% for Sundays and public holidays. Bands 1, 2 and 3 carry higher uplifts, up to 47% and 94% for Band 1. Drop in your band, base rate and shift times to see what a shift should pay at the national floor.
Percentages checked on against the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, Section 2 (England), Table 2 published by NHS Employers. Local trust terms can differ.
Interactive worksheet | Agenda for Change
Your shift
End before start is treated as an overnight shift ending on the following day. For an overnight shift, tick each day that is a bank holiday: only the hours that fall on that day are paid at the bank holiday rate.
Expected pay
£205.44
Band 4+, base £17.12 an hour
Advisory only. Some trusts pay slightly different percentages locally. If your payslip is materially below this, ask your rostering team to show their working.
These are the England rates. Scotland and Wales publish their own tables.
Reference table | National floor
England enhancement rates at a glance
| Band | Saturday + weekday night | Sunday + bank holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | base × 1.47 | base × 1.94 |
| Band 2 | base × 1.41 | base × 1.83 |
| Band 3 | base × 1.35 | base × 1.69 |
| Bands 4 to 9 | base × 1.30 | base × 1.60 |
Reference notes | Enhancement questions
Frequently asked questions
What counts as unsocial hours under Agenda for Change?
Monday to Friday between 20:00 and 06:00 (night), all of Saturday, all of Sunday, and bank holidays. Standard hours are Monday to Friday, 06:00 to 20:00.
What are the enhancement percentages?
Per the NHS Employers AfC handbook section 2 (England), unsocial-hours uplifts are: Band 1 +47% on Saturday and weekday nights, +94% on Sunday and bank holidays; Band 2 +41% / +83%; Band 3 +35% / +69%; Bands 4 to 9 +30% / +60%. Bands 1, 2, and 3 are NOT grouped: each carries its own rate. Some trusts pay slightly different local percentages.
Does this apply to agency and NHSP shifts?
NHS Professionals bank shifts follow the AfC floor. Framework agency rates are capped by the national framework and typically include enhancements. Off-framework agency shifts are whatever you and the agency negotiate: the calculator still helps you benchmark whether the offer covers the national floor.
What if a shift spans a boundary (e.g. 18:00 to 22:00)?
The calculator splits the shift at each boundary, unless the whole-shift rule below applies. In that example, 2 of the 4 hours fall between 20:00 and 06:00, which is exactly half and not more than half, so 18:00 to 20:00 is paid at the standard rate and 20:00 to 22:00 at the weekday-night rate.
Does a weekday evening or night shift pay the enhancement on the whole shift?
Yes, when more than half of it falls between 20:00 and 06:00. AfC Section 2 paragraph 2.11 says: "Where a continuous night shift or evening shift on a weekday (other than a public holiday) includes hours outside the period of 8pm to 6am, the enhancements in column 2 should be applied to the whole shift if more than half of the time falls between 8pm and 6am." Worked example: a Tuesday 17:00 to 01:00 shift is 8 hours, 5 of them between 20:00 and 01:00. Five of eight is more than half, so all 8 hours are paid at the Saturday and weekday-night rate. For a Band 5 on a base of 17.12 pounds an hour that is 8 hours at 1.30, which is 178.05 pounds, not the 162.64 pounds you get by splitting the shift at 20:00 into 3 standard hours and 5 enhanced. The rule does not apply to a shift that touches a Sunday or a public holiday: those hours carry the higher column 3 rate and paragraph 2.12 allows only one rate per hour.
What if a night shift runs into a bank holiday?
Tick each day that is a bank holiday. When the end time is before the start time the calculator treats the shift as running into the next day and offers a second tick for that day. Only the hours that fall on the bank holiday itself, midnight to midnight, are paid at the Sunday and bank holiday rate. Worked example: Band 5 at £20 an hour, 24 December 20:00 to 25 December 08:00 with 25 December ticked, is 4 hours at 1.3 and 8 hours at 1.6, which is £360.
Is this official?
No. The calculator is advisory. It encodes the national AfC Section 2 rules as of 2026. Local trust terms, acting-up payments, and professional-leadership allowances are outside its scope. Always check the rostering team if your payslip is materially below what this tool suggests.