How NHS Pay Bands Are Decided
Every NHS job is scored against 16 factors and the total decides the band. This is the factor plan those points come from — and why the band belongs to the job, not to you.
What a Point Actually Is
The NHS Job Evaluation Scheme measures a job against 16 factors. Each factor has several levels, and each level carries a fixed number of points — a job needing basic keyboard skills scores at a low level for physical skills; one needing years of specialist training scores high for knowledge.
Add every factor together and you get the job's total score, out of a maximum of 1000 points. That single number decides the band. Nothing else does.
The scheme scores the job, never the person. Two people doing the same job are in the same band regardless of experience, performance or how long they have been there. That is what the steps within a band are for.
The 16 Factors
The points available at each level. A job is placed at one level per factor.
| Factor | Levels | Points at Each Level | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Communication and relationship skills | 6 | 5 · 12 · 21 · 32 · 45 · 60 | 60 |
| 2. Knowledge, training and experience | 8 | 16 · 36 · 60 · 88 · 120 · 156 · 196 · 240 | 240 |
| 3. Analytical skills | 5 | 6 · 15 · 27 · 42 · 60 | 60 |
| 4. Planning and organisation skills | 5 | 6 · 15 · 27 · 42 · 60 | 60 |
| 5. Physical skills | 5 | 6 · 15 · 27 · 42 · 60 | 60 |
| 6. Responsibility: patient/client care | 8 | 4 · 9 · 15 · 22 · 30 · 39 · 49 · 60 | 60 |
| 7. Responsibility: policy and service | 6 | 5 · 12 · 21 · 32 · 45 · 60 | 60 |
| 8. Responsibility: finance and physical | 6 | 5 · 12 · 21 · 32 · 45 · 60 | 60 |
| 9. Responsibility: staff / HR / leadership / training | 6 | 5 · 12 · 21 · 32 · 45 · 60 | 60 |
| 10. Responsibility: information resources | 7 | 4 · 9 · 16 · 24 · 34 · 46 · 60 | 60 |
| 11. Responsibility: research and development | 6 | 5 · 12 · 21 · 32 · 45 · 60 | 60 |
| 12. Freedom to act | 6 | 5 · 12 · 21 · 32 · 45 · 60 | 60 |
| 13. Physical effort | 5 | 3 · 7 · 12 · 18 · 25 | 25 |
| 14. Mental effort | 5 | 3 · 7 · 12 · 18 · 25 | 25 |
| 15. Emotional effort | 4 | 5 · 11 · 18 · 25 | 25 |
| 16. Working conditions | 5 | 3 · 7 · 12 · 18 · 25 | 25 |
Total available: 1000 points across 16 factors.
The weighting is not even. Knowledge, training and experience alone is worth up to 240 points — 24% of everything available. Qualifications and experience move a band further than any other single factor, which is why an otherwise similar role with a degree requirement often sits a band higher.
At the other end, 4 factors cap at 25 points each. Physical effort, mental effort, emotional effort and working conditions matter, but no combination of them will move a job a whole band on its own.
Matching against Local Evaluation
Most posts are never scored from scratch. NHS Employers publishes national job profiles — pre-scored descriptions of common roles — and a trained panel matches the post to the closest profile. That is why a staff nurse in one trust is banded the same as one in another.
Where no profile fits, the post goes to local evaluation: a trained panel, normally with both management and staff-side representatives, scores it factor by factor using the same plan. The outcome is a total, and the total is the band.
If Your Job Has Changed
The thing that surprises people most: taking on extra duties does not raise your band by itself. The score belongs to the job description, so the route is:
- The duties change permanently, not as cover or a stretch project.
- The job description is rewritten to reflect them.
- The post is submitted for re-evaluation or re-matching.
- If the new score crosses into the next range, the band changes.
Your line manager and HR handle the submission, and your union can advise before you start. Going through the factor plan above against your own job description is a reasonable way to judge whether a case exists.
Common Questions
What Are Job Evaluation Points in the NHS?
Points are the score a job receives under the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme. Every role is assessed against 16 factors, each with several levels, and each level carries a fixed number of points. Add them up and the total decides the band: 326-395 points is band 5, 396-465 points is band 6. The maximum obtainable is 1000.
Who Decides How Many Points My Job Gets?
Most posts are matched to a published national profile by a trained panel, usually including staff-side and management representatives. Where no profile fits, the post is evaluated locally by a trained job evaluation panel using the same factor plan. The scheme assesses the job description, not the person doing the job.
Which Factor Is Worth the Most Points?
Knowledge, training and experience, at up to 240 points — nearly a quarter of the 1000 available. That is why qualifications and experience requirements move a band more than almost anything else. Communication and relationship skills and Analytical skills follow at 60 points each.
Can I Ask for My Job to Be Re-Evaluated?
Yes, but the trigger is a change to the job itself, not to how much of it you do. If your duties have permanently changed, the route is a rewritten job description followed by a request for re-evaluation, normally through your line manager and HR. Your union can advise. Doing work above your band without a changed job description does not, on its own, change the score.
Source: NHS Job Evaluation Scheme factor plan, as published in the NHS Employers A–Z job profile index · checked 2026-08-12