How Agenda for Change sets ODP pay
Operating Department Practitioners in the NHS are paid under Agenda for Change, the national pay system that covers clinical and non-medical NHS staff. For ODPs the relevant bands are Band 5, where most newly registered practitioners start, and Band 6, which covers senior, specialist or team-leader roles. Some highly experienced ODPs in advanced or management positions reach Band 7. The band is set by the job-matching process, not by seniority alone, so two ODPs at the same trust can sit on different bands if their posts carry different responsibilities.
For 2026/27, Band 5 runs from £32,073 at the entry step, through £34,592 at the intermediate step reached after two years, to £39,043 at the top step. Band 6 runs from £39,959, through £42,170 at the intermediate step, to £48,117 at the top after a further three years. Your payslip should state your band, your increment date and, on most NHS ESR-generated payslips, the annual salary for your current step. Dividing that annual figure by 12 gives the basic pay you should see each month, pro-rated if you work fewer than 37.5 hours a week.
Increments are automatic, triggered by your anniversary date in the band. Moves between bands - such as moving from Band 5 to Band 6 after a substantive promotion or successful evaluation - reset the increment clock. After a move, your payslip may briefly show the lower entry step of the new band even if it feels like a modest pay increase from your old top step. That is correct under AfC rules. If your increment date passes without your basic pay rising, that is the first thing to query with payroll in writing.
Pay is set nationally, so the Band 5 and Band 6 ODP rates above apply across England. The significant regional variable is the High Cost Area Supplement for staff working in and around London. Inner London attracts 20 percent of basic pay (subject to a floor and ceiling), outer London 15 percent, and the fringe area 5 percent. If you work outside those zones, HCAS will not appear on your payslip.
What a operating department practitioner payslip looks like
An NHS ODP payslip produced by the Electronic Staff Record typically has three sections. At the top, the payments block lists every positive amount - basic pay first, then any enhancement lines, then on-call payments, then any bank or overtime. In the middle, the deductions block shows PAYE tax, National Insurance, NHS Pension and anything else taken off. Net pay sits below those two blocks. On the right side of the payslip, a year-to-date column tracks cumulative gross pay, taxable pay, tax and NI from 6 April to the current month.
The payments block for an ODP in a busy surgical unit often has four or five lines: basic pay, an unsocial hours line for night and weekend theatre work, an on-call availability line, possibly acting-up pay, and sometimes a call-out line for hours actually worked during an on-call period. Each line has its own amount. If a line you expect is absent, the most likely causes are a rota submission that has not yet fed through to payroll, or a unit move that reset your on-call agreement.
Because ESR processes most enhancements in arrears, the enhancements on your January payslip generally relate to theatre lists you covered in December. This one-month lag is the single most common reason ODPs call payroll to ask where a payment has gone. Track your own record of out-of-hours and weekend lists so you can reconcile it against what appears on the following month's payslip.
The year-to-date column is particularly useful for ODPs because month-to-month gross pay swings significantly with the rota. Add up gross pay year-to-date and divide by the number of months elapsed since April to get your true average monthly income. That figure is more reliable for budgeting or benefit calculations than any single month.
Operating Department Practitioner pay bands (UK 2026/27)
Gross figures reflect typical national pay-scale and ONS ASHE 2024 levels. Net figures are a simplified estimate using 2026/27 PAYE bands and a 5% pension assumption. Your real pension rate and tax code may differ - see the pension section below.
| Band | Gross / year | Net / year | Net / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower (25th percentile) | £33,000 | £25,942 | £2,162 |
| Median | £38,500 | £29,627 | £2,469 |
| Upper (75th percentile) | £44,000 | £33,312 | £2,776 |
Pay and additions on a operating department practitioner payslip
- Basic payYour AfC annual salary for your band and step, divided by 12. Check it against the published 2026/27 scale for your exact step. If you are part-time, the figure is pro-rated against 37.5 hours. The band, step and full-time equivalent annual rate should all appear somewhere on your payslip.
- Unsocial hours enhancement (Section 2)30 percent of the hourly basic rate for weekday evenings and nights and for Saturday theatre lists; 60 percent for Sundays and bank holidays - those are the rates for Bands 5 and 6 under AfC Section 2. The amounts change every month with your rota and appear as one or more separate lines, normally labelled by enhancement type. A common mistake is a rota submission that does not distinguish between Saturday and Sunday rates, which can understate Sunday pay.
- On-call availability paymentODPs on a theatre on-call rota receive an availability payment for the periods they must remain contactable and ready to return within a set response time. National AfC principles set availability rates as a percentage of basic pay: broadly 9.5 percent for a 1-in-3 frequency, 4.5 percent for 1-in-6, 3 percent for 1-in-9 and 2 percent for 1-in-12, though trusts negotiate local rates within these principles. The rate and frequency should match your on-call agreement. Check that the percentage is applied to your current basic pay, not a historic figure.
- Call-out hours workedThis is separate from the availability payment and easy to miss if it is missing. When you are called in during an on-call period, the hours actually worked are paid at your basic hourly rate with Section 2 enhancements if the call falls during an unsocial period. Some trusts guarantee a minimum payment per call-out regardless of duration - check your local on-call policy. Each call-out you responded to should produce a separate line or an entry in a call-out schedule.
- Acting-up paymentIf you cover a Band 6 or Band 7 role for a colleague on leave, your pay should be uplifted to that band's entry step for the duration. This appears as an acting-up line, not as a change to your basic pay, so the underlying basic pay remains correct when the acting-up ends. If you believe you have been covering a higher-banded role without an acting-up payment, raise it with your line manager and payroll citing the specific dates.
- OvertimeHours worked beyond your contracted full-time hours are paid as overtime under the Agenda for Change terms. Under AfC, overtime for Bands 5 and 6 is paid at plain time for the first hours in the period, then at an enhanced rate for subsequent hours; the exact thresholds and rates are set out in the AfC handbook - check the current handbook or your trust's local overtime policy to confirm what applies to your post. Overtime is distinct from unsocial-hours enhancements, and you can receive both if the extra hours fall during an unsocial period.
- High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS)Payable if your work base is in inner London (20 percent of basic, floor £5,794, ceiling £8,746 for 2026/27), outer London (15 percent) or the London fringe (5 percent). HCAS is pensionable pay and should be included in the figure used to determine your NHS Pension contribution tier.
NHS Pension contributions for ODPs
ODPs employed directly by an NHS employer are enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme unless they opt out. It is a career-average scheme: each year a slice of your pensionable pay is added to your pension pot, revalued annually in line with a statutory index. The employee contribution is the deduction line most likely to produce a surprise.
Contributions for 2026/27 are tiered by pensionable pay. The tiers run: 5.2 percent on earnings up to £13,259 per year; 6.5 percent from £13,260 to £28,854; 8.3 percent from £28,855 to £35,155; 9.8 percent from £35,156 to £52,778; 10.7 percent from £52,779 to £67,668; and 12.5 percent above £67,669. A Band 5 ODP at the intermediate step on £34,592 would sit in the 8.3 percent tier. A Band 6 ODP at the intermediate step on £42,170 would be in the 9.8 percent tier. Pensionable pay for ODPs includes basic pay, most regular enhancements and HCAS where applicable, but not one-off payments such as overtime beyond contracted hours.
The contribution deduction is taken before income tax is calculated, which provides some tax relief on the cost. The common shock for ODPs occurs when a pay award or a steady run of on-call and enhancement income pushes pensionable pay across a tier threshold. The percentage rise applies to all pensionable pay, not just the increment above the threshold, so the pension deduction jumps by more than you might expect. This is not an error. If you think your tier is wrong, check your current pensionable pay against the thresholds above and raise a query with your trust's pensions team or the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). PayslipIQ provides educational estimates only; verify your tier with the NHSBSA or your employer.
Deductions on a operating department practitioner payslip
- PAYE income tax. Tax is calculated cumulatively against your tax code, normally 1257L for someone with one job and no untaxed income. Because tax is cumulative, a month with heavy on-call and enhancement pay triggers a higher tax charge, but if a subsequent quiet month brings cumulative earnings back into line, you can receive a partial refund the following month. Assess your tax position using the year-to-date figures rather than any single month.
- National Insurance. Class 1 employee NI at 8 percent on earnings between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit, then 2 percent on earnings above. NI is calculated period by period - it is not cumulative like tax. A month with high on-call pay genuinely costs more NI, and that NI is not recoverable after the tax year ends the way overpaid tax can be.
- NHS Pension contribution. Your tiered percentage of pensionable pay, deducted before tax is applied. Confirm the tier percentage on your payslip matches your current pensionable pay band, not the figure from before the last pay award. The deduction line should state the percentage and the amount taken.
- HCPC registration fee. HCPC registration currently costs £123.34 per year (rate effective from 29 April 2025; verify the current fee at hcpc-uk.org). Most ODPs pay the HCPC directly by direct debit rather than through payroll, but if your employer deducts it at source, check the amount is correct and not doubling up with a personal payment. HMRC recognises HCPC registration as a deductible professional fee, so you can claim tax relief via self-assessment or form P87 if you pay it yourself and your employer does not reimburse you.
- Union subscription (UNISON or BAOT). Many ODPs are UNISON members; some belong to the British Association of Operating Department Practitioners (BAODP). Subscriptions deducted through payroll appear as a separate line. HMRC approves professional body subscriptions for tax relief where the body is listed under section 344 ITEPA 2003, so union and professional fees that qualify reduce your taxable pay.
- Salary sacrifice arrangements. NHS trusts offer cycle-to-work schemes, car lease schemes and additional voluntary pension contributions (AVCs) through salary sacrifice. These reduce your gross before tax and NI are calculated, lowering your take-home slightly but also reducing your tax and NI bill. If a salary sacrifice line appears that you did not authorise, query it with payroll promptly.
Common operating department practitioner payslip errors
The mistakes that genuinely show up on this role's payslips, and how to spot them.
Your operating department practitioner payslip checklist
- 1.Check your band and step against the published 2026/27 Agenda for Change scale and confirm basic pay is that annual figure divided by 12
- 2.Verify your on-call availability percentage matches the rota frequency in your on-call agreement and that it is applied to your current basic pay
- 3.Reconcile Section 2 enhancement lines against your own diary of evening, night and weekend theatre lists, remembering they appear a month in arrears
- 4.Confirm your NHS Pension tier percentage matches your current pensionable pay using the 2026/27 tier thresholds
- 5.Check your tax code: if it shows W1, M1 or 0T, log into your HMRC online account and confirm the correct cumulative code is active
- 6.Look for call-out lines separately from availability lines on any month where you responded to a call
- 7.Check that any acting-up period is showing as a separate payment at the higher band rate
- 8.Claim HMRC tax relief on your HCPC registration fee if your employer does not reimburse it
- 9.Use the year-to-date column to check your cumulative gross and tax are tracking correctly
A worked example for a Band 6 ODP
Take a Band 6 ODP at the intermediate step on an annual basic pay of £42,170 for 2026/27, equivalent to about £3,514 per month. This ODP is on a 1-in-6 on-call rota, which attracts an availability payment of roughly 4.5 percent of basic pay per month - around £158 in this illustration. In a month where they also cover two Sunday theatre lists, the Section 2 Sunday enhancements add perhaps £300 to £400 depending on the hours involved. Illustrative gross pay for that month lands somewhere around £3,972 to £4,072.
From that gross the payslip deducts the NHS Pension contribution. At £42,170 annual basic pay plus regular enhancements, pensionable pay sits comfortably in the 9.8 percent tier, giving a pension deduction in the region of £390 to £400 for this month. PAYE tax at the 1257L cumulative code takes a further share, and Class 1 NI applies at 8 percent between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit. Net pay after all three deductions would be roughly in the £2,700 to £2,900 range for this illustrative month.
These figures are synthetic and for illustration only. They are not a quote or a guarantee of what any individual ODP will receive. Your actual pay depends on your exact step, your rota, your on-call frequency, your pension tier, your tax code and any HCAS applicable to your base. Run your own figures through the free PayslipIQ checker to get a plain-English breakdown, and take any queries to your payroll team or the NHSBSA.
Operating Department Practitioner payslip questions
Why does my ODP payslip change every month?
Because the basic pay is fixed but the on-call availability payment depends on how many sessions your rota frequency covers, and the Section 2 enhancements depend on how many evening, night, Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday lists you actually worked. Both vary month to month. ESR also pays most enhancements a month in arrears, so a quiet-looking month may simply reflect a period of lower out-of-hours activity two to four weeks earlier.
What is the on-call availability payment on my payslip?
It is the payment for being rostered on call and available to respond within a given time, separate from pay for any hours you actually work during the on-call period. The rate is expressed as a percentage of basic pay and is set by your trust's on-call policy in line with national AfC principles. Common rates are 9.5 percent for a 1-in-3 rota down to 2 percent for 1-in-12. The amount should therefore rise automatically when your basic pay increases.
What NHS Pension tier am I on as a Band 5 ODP?
It depends on your total pensionable pay. For 2026/27, a Band 5 ODP at the entry step on £32,073 would be in the 8.3 percent tier (£28,855 to £35,155). At the intermediate step on £34,592, they remain in the 8.3 percent tier. At the top step on £39,043, they move to the 9.8 percent tier (£35,156 to £52,778). If regular enhancements also count towards pensionable pay, the tier could be higher still. Always check your actual pensionable pay against the current thresholds published by the NHSBSA.
Can I claim tax relief on my HCPC registration fee?
Yes. HMRC recognises HCPC registration fees as an allowable professional expense for the purposes of income tax relief. The current annual fee is £123.34 (effective from 29 April 2025). If you pay it personally and your employer does not reimburse you, claim the relief via a self-assessment return or form P87. Basic-rate taxpayers recover 20 percent of the fee; higher-rate taxpayers recover 40 percent.
My first ODP payslip looks overtaxed. Is that normal?
It often is. New starters whose P45 from their training placement has not yet reached payroll are taxed on a non-cumulative emergency code. The 1257L W1 or M1 code ignores your tax-free allowance for previous months, so the first payslip overtaxes you. Once HMRC issues the correct cumulative code, the overpaid amount is refunded automatically. Check the code in your HMRC online account and, if it still shows an emergency code after a month or two, contact HMRC directly.
Why is my acting-up payment not showing?
Acting-up payments require a formal request to be entered in ESR before payroll can process them. If you are verbally covering a more senior role but no acting-up line appears, the authorisation may not have been submitted. Speak to your manager and ask them to confirm an acting-up authority has been raised in ESR. Retrospective claims are allowed but take longer to process.
Do Section 2 enhancements count towards my pension?
Most regular unsocial-hours enhancements paid under Section 2 of the AfC terms and conditions are treated as pensionable pay and are included in the figure used to calculate your pension contribution tier. This means a sustained run of weekend and night theatre work can push your pensionable pay above a tier threshold. It also means those hours are building your career-average pension, which is a direct benefit of working unsocial hours.
I work bank shifts at my trust. Why is the tax code different?
Bank work is treated as a separate employment for PAYE purposes. Because your personal allowance is already allocated to your substantive post, the bank engagement uses a BR tax code that deducts basic-rate tax on all earnings from the first pound. This is usually correct. If your total income from both sources stays below the higher-rate threshold for the tax year, you will not have overpaid in aggregate. HMRC can adjust through a tax code change or an end-of-year reconciliation.
The bottom line
For ODPs, the payslip problem is almost always about timing. On-call availability, Section 2 enhancements and call-out hours each arrive on different schedules, all processed in arrears by ESR, and they each depend on rota data that is outside your direct control. The single most useful habit is keeping your own diary of out-of-hours and weekend lists: it lets you reconcile the payslip rather than guess at it.
Run your numbers through the free PayslipIQ checker for a plain-English breakdown of each line. PayslipIQ gives educational estimates only and is not a substitute for advice from your payroll team, the NHSBSA or HMRC. Anything that still does not add up after checking should go to payroll in writing, not just verbally.
Payslip checkers
Salary estimates: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2024, full-time gross annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation. Figures rounded to nearest £100. PayslipIQ provides educational information and estimated calculations only. It does not provide tax, legal, financial, payroll, pension or employment advice, and is not affiliated with HMRC, the NHS or any employer. Always verify your pay, tax code, deductions and pension with your employer's payroll team, HMRC or your pension provider before acting.