NHS Midwife Salary 2026/27: From Newly Qualified to Consultant Midwife

Last updated: 28 September 2026 · Figures verified against the NHS Employers 2026/27 pay circular.

By the NHS Bands Pay editorial team

Midwife pay bands 2026/27

Midwives are employed on Agenda for Change bands 5 to 8a. A newly qualified midwife starts at Band 5, but midwifery is unusual in how quickly most practitioners settle at Band 6: the majority of midwife posts — delivery suite, birth centre, community and antenatal clinic roles — are graded Band 6, so many midwives reach it within a year or two of qualifying. The 3.3% 2026/27 award, effective 1 April 2026, applies to every step.

Specialist midwife roles — bereavement, diabetes, perinatal mental health, safeguarding, fetal medicine — are typically Band 6 or 7 depending on scope, while consultant midwives (Band 8a, £57,528–£64,750) lead practice across a service. Director-level midwifery posts can reach 8b and above.

Newly qualified midwife: Band 5

Newly qualified midwives start on £32,073 (£16.38 an hour), up from £31,049 in 2025/26. The NQM period is short compared with some professions, and many trusts move midwives to Band 6 posts quickly — which is why Band 5 midwifery is often a brief staging post rather than a destination. The basics of the band are covered in our NHS Band 5 pay guide.

Band 6 midwife: where most midwives sit

Band 6 runs £39,959–£48,117 in 2026/27. At the top of the band the hourly rate is £24.58, and a midwife working a full labour-ward rota will add significant unsocial-hours enhancements on top — see the worked example below. Our NHS Band 6 pay guide covers the band in full.

Source: NHS Employers 2026/27 pay award; rates also published by Health Careers NHS.

Take-home pay: worked examples

Approximate monthly take-home for England in 2026/27, assuming the standard 1257L tax code, no student loan and no enhancements. Pension uses the 2025/26 tiers (2026/27 thresholds unpublished at the time of writing): 8.3% at Band 5 entry, 9.8% at Band 6.

So a newly qualified midwife takes home about £2,040 a month before enhancements, while a midwife at the top of Band 6 takes home roughly £2,866 — and labour-ward rotas push both figures higher.

Shift work on a maternity rota: the enhancement maths

Maternity is a 24/7 service, and midwives on delivery-suite or birth-centre rotas earn Section 2 enhancements: +30% for Saturday and weekday night shifts (8pm–6am), +60% for Sundays and public holidays (bands 4–9). Take a Band 6 midwife at the intermediate step (£42,170, £21.54 an hour) in an illustrative month with 48 night hours and 24 Sunday hours:

• 48 night hours at £21.54 × 1.30 = £28.00 an hour → £1,344.00
• 24 Sunday hours at £21.54 × 1.60 = £34.46 an hour → £827.04

That is £2,171.04 for 72 hours of shift work versus £1,550.88 at plain time — an extra £620.16 for the month. Community midwives working mostly weekday caseloads earn fewer enhancements but may receive on-call payments instead: an availability payment for being on call plus call-out payments when attending births, set by local agreement. Because on-call arrangements vary by trust, check the specific rota before comparing offers. The full rules are in our unsocial hours and overtime guide.

Continuity of carer and caseloading: what it means for pay

Continuity-of-carer and caseloading models, where a midwife follows a caseload of women through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, change the shape of midwifery pay rather than the band. The basic salary stays on the same AfC scale, but income tilts away from Section 2 shift enhancements towards on-call availability payments and call-outs, which can be less predictable month to month. Midwives considering caseloading should ask for the trust's on-call policy in writing — including how quickly call-outs are paid and whether there is a minimum payment per call-out — because this is where caseloading pay varies most between employers.

Career progression: Band 5 to consultant midwife

• Band 5 → 6: typically within 1–2 years; most clinical midwife posts are graded Band 6, so this step often comes with the first substantive post after preceptorship.
• Band 6 specialist: bereavement, diabetes, perinatal mental health, infant feeding, safeguarding and research midwife roles — usually Band 6, sometimes 7.
• Band 7: ward manager, matron, team leader and some advanced clinical practice roles (£49,387–£56,515).
• Band 8a consultant midwife (£57,528–£64,750): clinical leadership across a service, with research, education and policy responsibilities.

Non-medical prescribing and advanced clinical practitioner qualifications open Band 7 and 8a routes for midwives who want to stay clinical. Compare Band 7 pay and the neighbouring children's nurse salary guide, another profession where most practitioners cluster one band above entry.

Part-time midwifery: pro-rata maths

Midwifery has a large part-time workforce, and the maths is straightforward: salary = full-time equivalent × (contracted hours ÷ 37.5). A Band 6 midwife at the top of the band (£48,117) working 30 hours a week (0.8 WTE) earns £38,494 a year — £3,208 a month gross — at exactly the same hourly rate (£24.58) as full-time colleagues. Enhancements are calculated on hours actually worked, so part-time midwives doing their share of nights and weekends still earn the +30%/+60% uplifts on those hours. Annual leave is pro rata: 27 days plus bank holidays at full-time becomes 21.6 days plus pro-rata bank holidays at 0.8 WTE.

Student midwife finance

Midwifery degrees are university courses: students access standard student finance and, for eligible courses, the NHS Learning Support Fund on top. The financial pinch point midwifery students talk about most is placements — shift patterns on placement make part-time work difficult, which is why the support fund matters. The shortest route to the Band 6 salaries above is the three-year degree (or shorter for registered nurses converting), followed by registration with the NMC and a first post, usually at Band 5 or directly at Band 6.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Midwives outside England are paid on devolved scales. Scotland awarded 3.75% from 1 April 2026 (Band 5: £34,494–£42,977) and moved to a 36-hour week — see NHS Scotland pay. Wales implemented 3.3% (Band 5: £32,557/£35,114/£39,631) — see NHS Wales pay. Northern Ireland has had 3.3% recommended but not yet implemented, so English figures do not currently apply there — see NHS Northern Ireland pay. Midwives considering a move should also weigh NHS maternity pay itself — occupational maternity pay is one of the benefits that keeps midwives in NHS employment.

Frequently asked questions

What band is a newly qualified midwife?

Band 5: £32,073 a year in England in 2026/27 (£16.38 an hour). Most midwives move to Band 6 (£39,959–£48,117) within a year or two, because the majority of clinical midwife posts are graded at Band 6.

Do midwives earn more than nurses?

At the same band, no — Agenda for Change pays the post, not the profession, so a Band 6 midwife and a Band 6 nurse earn the same basic salary. The difference is that midwives reach Band 6 faster on average, since most midwifery posts are graded Band 6 while many nursing posts remain Band 5.

How much is a midwife paid per hour in 2026/27?

Band 5: £16.38–£19.95 an hour; Band 6: £20.41–£24.58; Band 7: £25.23–£28.87 (England, full-time equivalent, before enhancements).

Do midwives get unsocial hours pay?

Yes. Midwives on shift rotas get +30% for Saturday and weekday night shifts and +60% for Sundays and public holidays under Section 2. Community midwives may instead receive on-call availability and call-out payments set by local agreement.

What does a consultant midwife earn?

Consultant midwife posts are typically Band 8a: £57,528–£64,750 in England in 2026/27, before enhancements or London weighting.

How does part-time midwifery pay work?

Pro rata: your full-time-equivalent salary multiplied by contracted hours ÷ 37.5, at the same hourly rate. A Band 6 midwife at the top of the band working 30 hours earns about £38,494 a year.

Do community midwives earn less than hospital midwives?

Basic pay is the same at the same band — but hospital midwives on labour-ward rotas typically earn more in unsocial-hours enhancements, while community midwives may earn on-call payments instead. Total pay depends on the rota, not the setting.

Is midwifery a well-paid career?

A Band 6 midwife at the top of the band earns £48,117 basic plus shift enhancements, with a 23.7% employer pension contribution and generous occupational maternity pay — a strong total-reward package, though the work is shift-heavy and the NQM starting salary of £32,073 is modest for a degree profession.

Continuity of carer: the model that changes the rota, not the pay

In caseloading (continuity-of-carer) teams, a small group of midwives follows the same women through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period — the stated policy ambition for English maternity services. The midwife is still Band 6 (£39,959–£48,117), but the working pattern is built around on-call availability for "own" women rather than fixed shifts, which makes on-call payments a structural part of earnings instead of an occasional extra. The trade-off midwives describe is autonomy against unpredictability: deeper relationships with women and more control over the working day, set against births that do not respect rotas. Anyone choosing between a caseloading post and a standard labour-ward rota should compare the on-call burden explicitly — how many midwives share the caseload, what the backup cover looks like, and how on-call hours interact with rostered hours. Two Band 6 midwives on identical basic pay can have very different working lives; in maternity, the model of care is part of the pay.

Midwifery on-call: a worked example

Community and caseloading midwives take their turn on call for home births and for labour-ward cover. Agenda for Change pays on-call in two parts: an availability payment for each on-call period, and call-out payments — usually at overtime rates — when you are called in. Take a Band 6 midwife at the top of the band (£24.58 an hour). A night on call that brings a single four-hour call-out pays roughly 4 × £24.58 × 1.5 = £147.48 for the call-out, plus the availability payment for the period. A month with four such call-outs adds the best part of £600 before availability payments are counted. That is why community midwives track on-call frequency as carefully as hospital midwives track enhancements — and why, as with theatre nursing, the trust's local on-call policy (availability rates, call-out minimums) is worth comparing between posts. It can be worth more than a pay step.

Consultant midwife and beyond: where the ladder goes

The clinical summit of midwifery is the consultant midwife role, typically Band 8a (£57,528–£64,750): leading practice development, holding the most complex caseloads and shaping service strategy while staying clinical. Above that sit heads and directors of midwifery — managerial roles paid at 8a to 8c (£57,528–£91,609) depending on the size of the service — and a small number of regional and national midwifery leadership posts. The route runs through Band 7 (team leader, practice development midwife: £49,387–£56,515) and usually a master's degree. It is a long climb from the £32,073 Band 5 starting salary, but it answers the question every ambitious Band 6 midwife eventually asks: where does the top of this ladder actually go?

Sources and independence

Source: NHS Employers 2026/27 pay award.

Source: Health Careers NHS: Agenda for Change pay rates.

This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the NHS. Figures are full-time equivalent (37.5 hours/week) for England. Always check your trust's ESR record and your payslip for your actual pay.