The Workers Rights 
The dispute between estate workers at a South London NHS Foundation Trust has focused on a pay gap of up to £10,000 between different grades of NHS Band 3 and Band 5. Many of the same work roles as Band 5 staff at other NHS locations are fighting for rebanding, as decorators, electricians, gardeners and plumbers do the same work. Let’s take a look at what NHS pay bands mean, why the same role can earn vastly different amounts and what it means for employees.
Quick Facts: NHS Band 3 vs Band 5 Pay Dispute 2026
| Factor | Details |
| Pay gap in dispute | Up to £10,000 annually |
| Workers affected | Estate workers – electricians, painters, gardeners, plumbers, joiners |
| Location | A South London NHS Foundation Trust site. |
| Current pay band | Band 3 or Band 4 |
| Demanded pay band | Band 5 |
| Core argument | Same work as band 5 colleagues in other NHS trusts in the same area. |
| Management offer | Rescooping for select positions only — not everyone. |
| Worker response | Rejected – viewed as divisive |
What Are NHS Pay Bands and Why Do They Matter?
Agenda for Change pay bands are the salary structure for the NHS. Each job, from healthcare assistants to consultants, falls into a bracket which dictates the rates at which pay is paid, as well as the rate at which it grows and the maximum amount.
The pay bands in the NHS are Band 1 to Band 9 in the NHS pay bands 2026. Pay ranges are established for each of the bands, and the pay point is advanced according to length of service and performance. The issue that arises is when similar jobs get placed on different bands due to job classification, the trust they are employed in, or due to the fact that different organisations do similar jobs and end up with different job evaluation results.
Band 3 vs Band 5: What the Pay Difference Actually Looks Like
To get an idea of how NHS pay bands compare at Band 3 and Band 5 in 2026, look at the examples below.
| Pay Band | Salary Range (2026) | Typical Roles |
| Band 3 | ~£24,625 – £26,282 | Job roles that do not require a specific qualification. |
| Band 4 | ~£26,530 – £29,114 | Senior support workers, some technical and estates |
| Band 5 | ~£29,970 – £36,483 | Nurses, allied health professionals, some specialist technical/estate jobs. |
The top end of each band can be as high as nearly £10,000 – for employees engaged in the same practical work as Band 5 employees at a different location, this is hardly fair.
Why Are Workers in South London Paid Differently for the Same Job?
That’s where the NHS Agenda for Change pay bands system gets complicated. Pay banding is achieved by considering a job evaluation process that considers skill, responsibility, working environment and decision-making. If a job occurs in different roles in different trusts, but is assessed differently, then workers can find themselves on different pay scales for the same role.
In South London, estate staff refer to colleagues in another NHS trust who perform the same trades and are paid Band 5. The reasoning is simple: If the job is the same, then pay banding should be the same – whether it’s signed by a trust or not.
It’s not a new issue. Pay differences in the NHS have been known about for many years and are high in specialist or technical roles where banding is subject to great variation between different organisations.
The Management Offer — and Why Workers Turned It Down
Management agreed to promote certain employees, including team leaders, electricians, plumbers, etc., to an upper band, but refused to promote other job roles like gardeners and trade assistants. This was rejected by workers and their union as being divisive, as they said a partial offer would just restrict some workers to lower NHS pay bands forever. Strike action went into a second round after the workforce rejected the offer, with 90% of them voting against it.
What This Means for NHS Workers Across the UK
The South London case is just one example of how there is tension throughout the NHS. But NHS staffing worries about pay inequity aren’t just confined to estate jobs; there are also clamours for fairness in administrative, technical and support roles and the banding discrepancies are spread across trusts.
The other option is to fill out a formal request for job evaluation with HR, which may take longer to process, but offers no guarantee of rebanding for workers who think their job should be reclassified to a higher band. Within a pay band, pay progression within the NHS will never take a step to the next band, but only regarding.
FAQs: NHS Band 3 vs Band 5 Pay 2026
What is the salary difference between Band 3 and Band 5 in 2026?
Under the NHS Agenda for Change pay scales, the difference in pay between Band 3 and the top of Band 5 is around £10,000 a year.
Why do workers at different NHS trusts get paid differently for the same job?
The assessment of NHS pay bands is at trust level and is undertaken using job evaluation. There are many different trusts that may make different decisions on the same role, leading to differences in pay for the same role.
What does this disagreement have to do with NHS staff who do not work in South London?
The type of strike is localised, but the concern about the gap in pay between estate staff and support workers within trusts that affects the pay of healthcare workers is nationwide. Similar gaps may exist for workers in other trusts in similar roles to the one described.
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