As one of the country’s leading NHS recruitment specialists, Zoom Recruitment has worked within all hospital and trust sectors across the various regions of the UK. Over the last 15 years, we’ve supplied a range of qualified Estates and Facilities, and Ancillary staff, from management and clerical to portering and security, and more. Below you’ll see the vast range of roles available within the NHS, all of which we can draw on experience to fill.
Listed on the Crown Commercial Services NMNC framework, we’re accustomed to catering to a wide range of requirements, from very difficult-to-fill positions to enhanced DBS checks if necessary. As a result of our experience, we often work with candidates wanting clarification on the NHS payment bands. Here, we explore the NHS band system and what it means for both candidate and employer.
The NHS payment band system was first introduced in 2004 in order to ensure “equal pay of work for equal value”. The various bands and pay rates depend on a number of factors, namely the type of role, number of years experience and whether or not you live in a high cost area, such as London. The band system offers structure and understanding to a sector that has hundreds of different roles available. Let’s dig a little deeper into the bands, types of roles included and the pay scales.
Band 1
By March 2021, it’s planned that all jobs in band 1 would be altered to become band 2 roles. This means that staff would benefit from a further pay increase, as well as additional training and support to take on any necessary changes. Band 1 is rarely seen nowadays but includes positions such as domestic support workers, housekeeping assistants, drivers and nursery assistants.
<1 year experience – £18.005
1+ years – £18,005
Band 2
We’re frequently asked to fill band 2 roles, including domestic support workers, housekeeping assistants, drivers, nursery assistants, domestic team leaders, security officers, secretary/typists and healthcare assistants.
<2 years experience – £18,005
2+ years – £19,337
Band 3
Band 3 positions include emergency care assistants, clinical coding officers, estates officers and occupational therapy workers.
<2 years experience – £19,737
2+ years – £21,142
Band 4
Band 4 upwards often requires more technical training and includes assistant practitioners, audio visual technicians, pharmacy technicians, dental nurses and theatre support workers. These individuals will often (but not always) have completed a foundation degree year. They can typically care for patients the way that a nurse would, but cannot give medication without a nurse present.
<3 years experience – £21,892
3+ years – £24,157
Band 5
Band 5 positions tend to meet the UK salary average and include many newly qualified clinical professionals, as well as operating department practitioners (ODPs), podiatrists, learning disability nurses, therapeutic radiographers, practice managers and ICT test analysts. These individuals are fully trained with a degree and are registered with the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council).
<2 years experience – £24,907
2-4 years – £26,970
4-6 years – £27,416
6+ years – £30,615
Band 6
Positions belonging to band 6 include school nurses, experienced paramedic, health records officer, clinical psychology trainee and biomedical scientists. In a hospital environment, a band 6 nurse is a junior sister who manages the ward on a shift basis and takes on some managerial tasks.
<2 years experience – £31,365
2-7 years – £33,779
7+ years – £37,890
Band 7
Band 7 roles can be more challenging to fill for many sectors, which Zoom Recruitment can support with. These include communications managers, estates managers, high-intensity therapists and advanced speech and language therapists. Within a hospital, a band 7 nurse will run the ward from an operational perspective.
<2 years experience – £38,890
2-5 years – £40,894
5-7 years – £41,723
7+ years – £44,503
Band 8a
Individuals with band 8 experience are hard to come by. At Zoom Recruitment, we take an executive approach to networking and headhunting, using the latest platforms and technologies to find the right experience. These positions include consultant prosthetists/orthotists, dental laboratory managers, project and programme management, modern matron (nursing) and nurse consultant (mental health nursing).
<5 years experience – £45,753
5+ years – £51,668
Band 8b
Roles belonging to band 8b include strategic management, head of education and training, clinical physiology service managers and head orthoptists.
<5 years experience – £53,168
5+ years – £62,001
Band 8c
Positions within band 8b include head of human resources, consultant clinical scientists (molecular genetics/cytogenetics) and consultant paramedics.
<5 years experience – £63,751
5+ years – £73,664
Band 8d
Band 8d positions include consultant psychologists, estates managers, chief nurses and chief finance managers.
<5 years experience – £75,914
5+ years – £87,754
Band 9
Finally, we very occasionally draw on our experience of headhunting to fill band 9 roles. These include podiatric consultants (surgery), chief finance managers and directors of estates and facilities.
<5 years experience – £91,004
5+ years – £104,927
Finally, those living in inner London can expect a salary supplement of 20% of their basic salary, whilst outer London residents will benefit from a 15% top-up.
Having an invested interest combined with close contacts within the NHS trust, we appreciate that there’s never been a tougher time to fill those all-important roles. Each staff member is a crucial cog in caring for the public and, with this in mind, we strive to offer crucial cost savings to both your temporary and permanent staffing budget. Here at Zoom Recruitment, we continue to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to offer our support to both employer and candidate. To find out more or discuss a position, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
