NHS Incremental Date: When Do You Move Up a Pay Point?
There's a date near the top of your payslip that most of us never look at. It's when your next pay step is due. If it comes and goes and your basic pay hasn't moved, it's worth knowing what to check, because a step is worth more than it looks.
- Your payslip shows an incremental date (often "Inc. Date"). It's when your next pay step is due, or when you reached the top of your band
- A step lifts every hour you work. Overtime and weekend rates are built on your basic hourly rate, so they go up too
- Check it a couple of months ahead. Ask your manager whether anything needs doing before your date, and that it's recorded on ESR before payroll's cut-off
- See what each point is worth for your band on our NHS pay scales page, including London weighting
- Local policy matters. The national framework sets the points, but how progression is recorded depends on your trust
What the incremental date actually is
Look at the top of your payslip, above the pay lines. Along with your pay scale and contracted hours, there's an increment date. It's the date your next step up the pay scale is due, or the date you reached the top of your band.
One NHS trust's pay team puts it simply: pay step dates are usually the anniversary of when you started in your current band, and you won't move up if you're already at the top or haven't completed the minimum time on your current step. So if you started a Band 5 role in March, your date is probably around March each year until you reach the top.
How the steps work in a band
Most bands have a few points rather than a long ladder. Since the 2018 contract refresh the system has had fewer steps and faster progression to the top of the band, with a mandatory annual appraisal behind it. The new arrangements started on 1 April 2019 for new starters and for anyone promoted from that date. People already in post kept their existing step date and moved up after another full year.
Here's how that looks on the 2026/27 England figures from our pay scales page, before any London weighting:
| Band | Time in band | Basic salary | Basic hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 | 0 to 2 years | £32,073 | £16.40 |
| Band 5 | 2 to 4 years | £34,592 | £17.69 |
| Band 5 | 4+ years | £39,043 | £19.97 |
| Band 6 | 0 to 2 years | £39,959 | £20.44 |
| Band 6 | 2 to 5 years | £42,170 | £21.57 |
| Band 6 | 5+ years | £48,117 | £24.61 |
Hourly rates use a 37.5-hour week (annual salary divided by 1,955.25). Pick your own band, point and region on the pay scales page for your exact figure.
What one step is really worth
The headline number is the salary jump. A Band 5 moving from the first point to the second gets £2,519 a year more, and from the second to the top another £4,451. Spread across a month, that second jump is about £371 gross. In Band 6 the move from the middle point to the top is £5,947 a year.
But the part people miss is what it does to the hours that already pay extra. Sunday hours are paid at 60% above basic for bands 4 to 9, and overtime for bands 1 to 7 is time and a half. Both are built on your basic hourly rate, so when the base moves, they all move:
| Band 5, Sunday hour (+60%) | Rate per hour |
|---|---|
| First point | £26.25 |
| Second point | £28.31 |
| Top point | £31.95 |
That's £5.70 an hour more on a Sunday at the top than at the start. Do a few Sundays a month and a late step really does show up. It's also why a missed step costs more than the basic pay line suggests.
Want to see yours? Choose your band, point and region on the NHS pay scales page and it works out the hourly rate, your Saturday and Sunday rates and the pay at every point in your band.
What I'd check on your payslip
- Find the increment date. Top section of the payslip, near your pay scale and contracted hours
- Put it in your calendar with a reminder two to three months before. Some trusts remind you through ESR, but don't rely on it
- Ask what your trust needs. Many have a short progression meeting or form tied to your appraisal. Ask your manager what it is and by when
- Check it's recorded on ESR before payroll's cut-off date
- Compare payslips either side of your date. Basic pay should go up to the next point on your band
If your step didn't arrive
It happens, usually because a record wasn't updated in time rather than anything more serious. One trust's guidance for exactly this situation: check with your manager that a successful pay progression meeting was recorded on your ESR record before the payroll cut-off, and if it wasn't, the manager needs to correct it so payroll can apply the change.
Ask payroll whether the correction will be backdated, write down the dates you spoke to people, and keep your payslips. If there's a difference you can't resolve, our guide to disputing a payslip error covers how to put it in writing. Your union rep can help too.
Worth knowing: the exact process differs between employers. One integrated care board's policy, for example, asks staff to submit a progression form two months before the date and sets out what happens if a step is deferred. Yours may differ, so read your own trust's pay progression policy.
Steps are a basic pay thing. But the overtime and enhanced hours that sit on top of it are only as right as your payslip makes them. If you track your own shifts, you can check the enhanced hours and the new rate line up the month your step lands.
See your rate. Track your hours.
Set your pay point in Overtime Live and it works out what every hour is worth, including your Saturday, Sunday and overtime rates. Update it the day your step arrives. Free, no account, no subscription.
Not ready to download? Check your NHS pay point on the pay scales page.
“Nice way to track overtime and keep on top of finances.” Badger_Bill, App Store review
Sources: NHS Employers: pay progression, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust: understanding your pay (example of local guidance), NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB pay progression policy (example of a local policy), and the Overtime Live NHS pay scales for 2026/27 figures.