Across the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside health and care system, it has been agreed to standardise bank rates of pay (substantive and pure bank shifts) across all Trusts.
From 4 August 2025, this means that payments for all posts on the bank at Band 5 and above will be paid at the either bottom of the scale (if currently on this point) or the mid point of the pay band for all others.
At this current time, the pay for Bands 2 to 4 will remain unchanged.
There will be no further incentive schemes offered in addition to the standardised rate. We understand this change will have considerable impact for our bank staff and we will be working with our trade union colleagues to look at the support we can offer.
If you have any questions, please contact: bankstandardisation
Why standardise bank rates?
With cost pressures rising faster than budgets, the Cheshire and Merseyside health and care system faces a significant challenge to live within the resources available in 2025 to 2026.
Switching to standardised rates will help to make sure that NHS resources are used as effectively and efficiently as possible.
The move to a standardised bank rate will ensure the local NHS workforce is fairly and consistently remunerated and will also help individual NHS Trusts and the wider system to achieve challenging financial targets.
Some local NHS Trusts already offer the standardised bank rate, but there has now been a commitment from all Cheshire and Merseyside Trusts to also move to this rate.