UK pay scales, straight from the source

Public-sector pay in the UK is set by published circulars: NHS Employers posters, the STPCD, NJC settlement letters, Home Office determinations, pay review body reports. Most sites quoting them are out of date or copy each other. This one goes back to the documents, names the source under every table, and records when each figure was last checked.

All figures last verified 7 September 2026

• NHSNHS pay bands 2026/27Bands 2 to 9, England and Scotland, with the 3.3% April 2026 uplift applied
• NHSNHS pay rise 2026What was awarded, when it was paid, and what the structure talks add
• SchoolsTeacher pay scalesM1 to U3 for England, fringe, outer and inner London, plus the 2026 award
• CouncilsNJC local government payThe full Green Book spine, SCP 3 to 43, after the 3.3% 2026 settlement
• PolicePolice pay scalesConstable to chief superintendent, England and Wales, plus the 2026 award
• MilitaryArmed forces payArmy, Royal Navy and RAF rank ranges after the 3.6% April 2026 award
• StatutoryMinimum wage ratesNational Living Wage £12.71 and every age band from 1 April 2026
• DWPBenefit rates 2026/27Universal Credit, state pension and the 3.8% April 2026 uprating
• RetailSupermarket pay 2026Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's hourly rates after this year's awards

What changed in 2026

Nearly every big public-sector workforce got its 2026 award early this year. NHS staff in England received 3.3% from 1 April 2026, announced in February and paid on time for the first time in six years. Local government followed at 3.3% from April. The armed forces got 3.6% from April, teachers 3.5% from September as year one of a two-year deal, and police officers 3.5% from September (the updated determination is still pending, so forces are paying the old scale until it lands and is backdated).

The National Living Wage rose to £12.71 an hour in April 2026, which is why NJC spine point 2 was abolished and why NHS Band 2 now sits barely above the legal floor. Those pressures at the bottom of the public-sector scales are the story of this pay round; each section page covers what it means for that workforce.