Classification: Official
Publication reference: PRN02508

To:

• NHS Trust:
  • chief executive officers
  • ­chairs
  • ­chief people officers
  • ­chief nursing officers
  • chief finance officers

cc.

• Regional directors
• Regional chief people officers
• Regional chief nurses
• Regional directors of finance

Dear colleagues,

Nursing Band 5 job evaluation

In February 2026, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care set out a commitment to deliver a fairer deal for nursing, including ensuring nurses are paid correctly for the work they are asked to do. The Secretary of State confirmed an employer-led review of all Band 5 nursing roles employed directly by NHS trusts. This builds on existing job evaluation commitments agreed through the Agenda for Change (AfC) non-pay deal.  

This letter sets out how this work should proceed, and how organisations will be expected to report and evidence progress at an organisational level.

All organisations will be required to submit a nursing Band 5 job evaluation delivery plan by 31 July 2026 to their region for review. These plans should be realistic and deliverable, and set out how all Agenda for Change Band 5 nursing roles will be reviewed by October 2028, using the template and submission arrangements that will be shared by regional teams.

Job evaluation is a core part of the Agenda for Change contractual entitlements of our staff. Employers are responsible for ensuring roles are evaluated appropriately, staff are paid correctly for the work they are required to do, and pay arrangements support compliance with equal pay obligations. The newly agreed Annex 31 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service recognises that staff have a contractual right to have their role evaluated, based on accurate job descriptions and consistent application of the agreed national job evaluation framework. The national and local management of job evaluation is a key area of partnership working with recognised trade unions: nationally, the agreed approach to job evaluation for all AfC staff (including nurses) is set out in the Staff Council Job Evaluation Handbook.  NHS Employers provides extensive guidance and training with regards to job evaluation practice.

In June 2025, the NHS Staff Council published updated national nursing and midwifery job profiles and guidance on the actions that organisations should take as a consequence. Evidence gathered by the Staff Council informed the Secretary of State’s decision to review all Band 5 nursing roles to ensure fairness and consistency. This found that implementation of the guidance has been variable and that improvements to local processes would benefit all staff groups.

It is recognised that reviewing the roles of a large proportion of the nursing workforce is a significant undertaking. It will require co-ordinated board-level leadership across chief nursing officers (CNO), chief people officers (CPO) and chief finance officers (CFO). It must also be delivered in partnership with recognised trade unions and be underpinned and informed by robust engagement with nursing staff themselves.

Action required

In its guidance of June 2025, the NHS Staff Council set out the steps employers should take to assure themselves that their nursing staff are correctly paid for the work they are required to do. Organisations should review, in partnership with local trade union representatives, their present position in relation to this guidance and progress this work. 

All organisations will be required to submit a nursing Band 5 job evaluation delivery plan, which will be expected to cover the following key areas:

• confirmed, named board-level senior responsible officer with appropriate board oversight
• partnership working arrangements, including how recognised trade unions have been involved in developing the plan and how they will be involved in oversight of delivery
• any job evaluation capacity and capability gaps (identified in the recent Job Evaluation Audit) that are specifically related to the Band 5 nursing exercise, how they will be addressed and to what timescale
• appropriately phased and credible delivery plan for the review of all nursing Band 5 roles by October 2028, including key milestones
• confirmation that the delivery plan has been developed in partnership

Where nursing Band 5 roles have already been reviewed, organisations will still be expected to complete the relevant sections of the delivery plan. This should set out how those reviews were undertaken, including how staff and recognised trade unions were engaged, how national job evaluation guidance was applied, and how postholders were able to confirm that their job description accurately reflected the work they were asked to do. Where this cannot be demonstrated, organisations should take corrective action through established local job evaluation and partnership processes.

The recurrent funding arrangements relating to this programme of work were recently confirmed through interim pay award guidance issued to integrated care boards (ICBs) and NHS trusts. The final guidance will be published in due course. This confirmed that the 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme cost uplift factor (CUF) will be updated to recognise this new cost pressure. The CUF will also be revised in 2027/28 and 2028/29 to account for the ongoing nature of this work. Providers using national prices will receive funding through increases to those prices. For locally negotiated prices, adjustments should be made through appropriate local price or contract value amendments, with reference to the updated CUF.

This additional funding is intended to support both delivery capacity to undertake job evaluation and to implement the job evaluation nursing Band 5 role reviews, including any pay-related changes where appropriate.

Existing arrangements in relation to backpay, as defined in the Staff Council guidance referenced above and in the NHS Job Evaluation handbook, remain in place and should continue to be applied through established job evaluation processes and local partnership arrangements.

To ensure this work is completed within the national timelines, boards should assure themselves that the organisation has:

• a robust, realistic and deliverable plan to deliver this work
• effective partnership working arrangements to support implementation
• plans for engaging Band 5 nursing staff, including how postholders will be able to confirm whether their job description accurately reflects the work they are asked to do
• suitable arrangements to enable local oversight that include appropriate review of workforce and demographic data to support fairness, consistency, equality and non-discrimination in the application of job evaluation processes
• mechanisms to review progress, including through the board or an appropriate board committee

We will support delivery through:

• regional teams sharing the delivery plan template and confirming submission arrangements
• NHS Employers recirculating the NHS Staff Council Guidance and related job evaluation guidance and resources to CPOs
• practical guidance, tools and webinars for CNOs, CPOs and CFOs; NHS Employers will also be increasing their support for this exercise
• a national data collection to monitor progress against milestones and any equality and diversity impact arising from this work
• regional support, if there is delivery risk, to identify mitigations and maintain progress

Further detail, including support materials and webinar arrangements, will follow shortly.

This programme is essential to ensuring fair and consistent application of Agenda for Change for Band 5 nurses, and to delivering on our commitments to nursing staff.

Thank you for your continued leadership.

Yours sincerely,

Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England
Danny Mortimer, Director General, People

Nursing Band 5 Job Evaluation Programme – frequently asked questions

1. What is the Nursing Band 5 Job Evaluation programme?

This programme delivers the Secretary of State’s commitment to undertake an employer-led review of all Band 5 nursing roles employed directly by NHS trusts. It is focused on ensuring that existing job evaluation arrangements are applied consistently and fairly.

2. Is this new policy?

No. Job evaluation is a contractual requirement under Agenda for Change. The 2023 Agenda for Change non-pay deal included commitments requiring organisations to ensure staff are paid correctly for the work they are asked to do, with Band 5 nursing roles prioritised. The Band 5 job evaluation programme is about applying existing job evaluation arrangements properly.

3. Which staff are in scope?

All Band 5 nursing roles employed directly by NHS trusts.

4. How should organisations communicate with staff about this programme?

Organisations should communicate clearly and consistently with affected staff, working in partnership with local staff side representatives to agree the best approach. Communications should explain the purpose of the review, expected local milestones, how staff will be engaged, and where further information or support can be accessed.

5. Will this extend to other staff groups?

The current focus is on Band 5 nursing roles, reflecting the scale of the workforce and the specific issues identified. The 2023 Agenda for Change non-pay deal commits organisations to ensure job evaluation is applied correctly for staff, with prioritisation of Band 5 nursing roles. Wider job evaluation work continues separately, and organisations remain responsible for carrying out job evaluation for other staff groups where required.

6. What are organisations expected to do now?

Organisations should focus on readiness and early mobilisation, including:

• ensuring job descriptions are up to date, reflect the full scope of the role and are agreed with staff
• reviewing local application of national job evaluation guidance
• identifying capacity and capability gaps
• establishing local partnership working arrangements
• considering how roles can be reviewed at scale.

7. Do organisations need to wait for further guidance or audit results?

No. Organisations should already be reviewing Band 5 nursing roles as required under existing job evaluation arrangements and the 2023 Agenda for Change non-pay deal. Where this work has not yet started, organisations should begin using existing national guidance now.

8. Will a delivery plan be required?

Yes. All organisations will be required to develop and submit a delivery plan setting out how they will review Band 5 nursing roles, or evidence reviews already undertaken. Plans should include credible and realistic timelines, partnership arrangements, staff engagement, job evaluation capacity, oversight arrangements and key milestones. Further information, including templates, will be shared via regional teams.

9. How long will this programme take?

The expectation is that the programme can be completed by October 2028.

10. Can organisations complete this sooner?

Yes. Organisations with more established job evaluation processes and the necessary resources, agreed with the trust board, can move more quickly.

11. Do all roles need to be reviewed individually?

Organisations do not necessarily need to undertake a separate full job evaluation exercise for every individual nurse. Groups of staff may be covered by the same up-to-date job description, where it accurately reflects their role.

However, each Band 5 nurse should have the opportunity to consider whether their job description accurately reflects the work they are being asked to do. Where it does not, this should be addressed through established local job evaluation and partnership processes.

12. What role do national job matching profiles play?

National job matching profiles are used by job evaluation panels to determine the pay banding of jobs. They should not be used as a template for job descriptions.

13. What does “consistent application” mean?

Applying the national job evaluation framework, including Annex 31 of the Agenda for Change contract, in a way that ensures similar roles are evaluated consistently and on an evidence-based basis.

14. What if Band 5 roles have already been reviewed?

Organisations should still complete the relevant sections of the delivery plan. This should set out how previous reviews were undertaken, including how staff and recognised trade unions were engaged, how national job evaluation guidance was applied, and how postholders were able to confirm that their job description accurately reflected the work they were asked to do.

15. How is the funding being allocated to trusts?

The recurrent funding arrangements relating to this programme of work were recently confirmed through interim pay award guidance to ICBs and NHS trusts. The final guidance will be published in due course (and this FAQ will be updated with the link). This confirmed that the 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme cost uplift factor (CUF) will be updated to recognise this new cost pressure. The CUF will also be revised in 2027/28 and 2028/29 to account for the ongoing nature of this work. Providers using national prices will receive funding through increases to those prices. For locally negotiated prices, adjustments should be made through appropriate local price or contract value amendments, with reference to the updated CUF.

All board members, but especially chief people, nursing and finance officers, will need to work closely to understand their organisation’s current job evaluation position, areas for improvement and associated risks. Boards are accountable for ensuring that job evaluation reviews are undertaken in accordance with the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme and in partnership with staff-side representatives. Where reviews identify that roles require a banding change, organisations are expected to implement the outcomes. Boards should ensure appropriate governance, workforce and financial arrangements are in place to oversee and manage the impact of review outcomes.

16. What can the funding be used for?

Funding is intended to support any element of the work programme, including:

• nursing Band 5 delivery capacity (such as job evaluation capacity, training, infrastructure, nursing-led programme management, partnership working and staff engagement)
• nursing Band 5 implementation of outcomes (including any required pay changes, and where appropriate, backpay)

17. Is there a new national policy on backpay?

No. Existing arrangements in relation to backpay, as defined in the Staff Council guidance referenced above and in the NHS Job Evaluation handbook, remain in place and should continue to be applied through established job evaluation processes and local partnership arrangements.

18. How should backpay be managed?

Existing arrangements in relation to backpay, as set out in the NHS Job Evaluation Handbook and relevant Staff Council guidance, remain in place. Any backpay should be managed through established local job evaluation processes and partnership arrangements, based on the evidence and the effective date determined through those processes.

19. What is expected in terms of partnership working?

This work must be undertaken in partnership with recognised trade unions, with staff engaged throughout.

20. Who is accountable for delivery?

Delivery is the responsibility of individual organisations, with boards accountable for ensuring a fair, consistent and evidence-based process.

21. What is the role of the board?

Boards are responsible for:

• ensuring delivery
• overseeing progress
• managing risks
• ensuring staff are paid correctly in line with contractual arrangements

22. What support will be available?

A national support offer will include:

• practical guidance
• tools and resources
• webinars
• targeted support where needed

23. How will progress be monitored?

Progress will be supported through:

• a national dataset with regional reporting
• milestone-based monitoring
• oversight at national level

24. What happens if organisations are not progressing?

Support will be offered. Where progress continues to stall or delivery risks remain, further action may be considered.

25. How does this programme relate to Annex 31 and the updated national nursing and midwifery profiles?

Annex 31 confirms staff’s contractual right to have their role evaluated through the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme, based on an accurate job description. The updated national nursing and midwifery profiles support consistent job matching where they apply. This programme prioritises Band 5 nursing roles, but it does not replace wider employer responsibilities under Agenda for Change and equal pay legislation.