What is the notice period for an NHS Band 5?

Usually two months, but your contract decides. The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) Handbook does not set notice periods by band; each trust sets notice in its contracts and local policy, and two months is the common Band 5 figure (some trusts use six or eight weeks). The notice usually runs both ways: you give the trust that notice when resigning, and the trust gives you the same in a redundancy. Whatever your contract says, the legal minimum applies: one week from you once you have worked one month, and from the trust one week per full year of service (at least one week, up to 12 weeks).

Can my NHS Band 5 notice be shorter than two months?

Sometimes. During probation (usually the first six months of a new role) the notice is typically one month. Mutual agreement can shorten the notice at any other time, but only with the trust's written sign-off. Some trusts set six weeks rather than two months, and some fixed-term, bank or honorary contracts have shorter or differently structured notice; the contract is the definitive document.

How do I calculate my Band 5 final working day?

Count the calendar months in your contract (two at most trusts) from the date you hand your written resignation to your line manager. If you resign on 12 March on two months' notice, your last working day is 11 May. The NHS Notice Period Calculator handles the date arithmetic for any resignation date including weekend and bank holiday rollback. If you give notice via ESR (the Electronic Staff Record system) the formal date is when the trust receives the letter, not when you draft it.

What happens to my annual leave during Band 5 notice?

Accrued but untaken leave is paid out in the final pay packet, or you can take it during notice with line-manager agreement. Most trusts prefer leave to be used during notice where the workload allows. Statutory leave (5.6 weeks per year, pro-rated) is the floor; NHS occupational leave above that follows the local trust policy.

Can I be put on garden leave during my Band 5 notice?

Possible but unusual at Band 5. Garden leave is more common for senior medical and very senior management roles where the trust has a contractual clause permitting it. For most Band 5 clinical and admin staff the expectation is that you work the full notice in your substantive role. Check your contract for any garden-leave clause.

NHS Band 5 Notice Period: Usually 2 Months (2026 Guide)

The headline rule

NHS Band 5 staff are on Agenda for Change (AfC) pay and terms, but the national AfC handbook does not set notice periods by band. Each trust sets notice in its contracts and local policy. The most common Band 5 figure is two months (some trusts use six or eight weeks), written into your individual employment contract at the point of appointment. The same figure usually applies whether you are resigning or being made redundant by the trust.

The figure is contractual, not statutory. The UK statutory minimum under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is much lower: one week from you once you have worked one month, and from the trust one week, rising to one week per full year of service from two years, up to 12 weeks. The contractual figure applies when it is more generous; where the statute gives more, the statutory figure applies.

Working out your final working day

Count the calendar months in your contract from the date the trust receives your written resignation. Practical worked examples on two months’ notice:

Resignation handed in on 6 January → final working day 5 March.
Resignation handed in on 28 February → final working day 27 April.
Resignation handed in on 31 March → final working day 30 May.

These example dates count notice as ending the day before the matching date, which is how many trust HR teams count it. Our calculators treat the day you hand in notice as day zero, so they show the matching date instead (resign on 12 March with one month’s notice and the calculator shows 12 April). Ask HR which way your trust counts, and get the agreed last day in writing.

If the final calendar day falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the contractual notice ends on that day even if you would not normally work it. The NHS notice period calculator handles the arithmetic and the rollback for any start date. For the general date calculation, the notice period calculator and final working day calculator do the same with extra options.

Roles that sit at Band 5

Band 5 is one of the most populated bands in the NHS. The typical roles include:

Newly qualified registered nurses (adult, children’s, mental health, learning disability).
Midwives in their preceptorship year.
Allied health professionals at qualification level: physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech and language therapists, radiographers, paramedics.
Senior healthcare scientists and laboratory staff.
Senior administrative and operational roles with budget or supervisory responsibility.

Within a trust, the notice is normally the same across all Band 5 roles regardless of the underlying profession. The job description, not the profession, determines which band the role sits in.

Notice during Band 5 probation

The standard NHS probation period is six months, although some trusts use shorter or longer periods for specific roles. During probation the notice on both sides is shorter than the post-probation figure. Many Band 5 contracts use one month notice during probation, rising to the full contractual figure (typically two months) once probation is signed off.

The shorter probation notice is deliberate. It lets either side end the relationship quickly if the fit is not right, while protecting both sides with a defined period rather than immediate termination. For the broader detail on how NHS probation works, see NHS probation period and the practical NHS probation guide.

Handing in notice

The contractual step is a written resignation letter addressed to your line manager, copied to HR. Most trusts use the ESR (Electronic Staff Record) system to log resignations formally; the letter goes alongside it as the contractual document.

A short, professional resignation letter is enough. State that you are resigning, name your role, give the final working day calculated from the contractual notice, and offer to support a handover. The resignation letter generator builds one from a few fields. The resignation letter templates include a standard NHS-appropriate example.

The full sequence from handing in notice through to your last day is on the NHS resignation guide.

What happens during the notice period

Your contractual obligations continue in full. You turn up for shifts. You complete your documentation. You comply with the dress and clinical standards. You remain bound by confidentiality and (where it applies) any restrictive covenants in your contract. Pay, pension contributions and other benefits run as normal up to the final working day.

Annual leave accrued during the leave year is either taken during notice (with line-manager agreement) or paid out in the final pay packet. The holiday entitlement calculator pro-rates the accrued figure for any work pattern. Statutory leave (5.6 weeks per year) is the floor; NHS occupational leave above that follows the local trust policy.

Shortening or extending the notice

The contractual notice can occasionally be shortened by mutual agreement. Trusts will usually require a good operational reason (the next employer needs you sooner, a personal circumstance has changed) and HR will document the agreed shorter date in writing. There is no contractual right to a shorter notice; it is at the trust’s discretion.

Extending the notice is unusual on the employee side and would normally be a request from the trust to cover a service-delivery gap. Extending is at your discretion; you cannot be required to stay beyond your contractual notice.

Garden leave and PILON

Garden leave (where the trust pays you for the notice period but does not require you to work) is rare at Band 5. It is more common for senior medical and very senior management roles where the trust has a contractual clause permitting it. If your contract does not contain a garden leave clause, the trust cannot impose it.

PILON (payment in lieu of notice, where the trust ends the contract immediately and pays for the notice period) is also unusual at Band 5 in the resignation context. It is more common in redundancy and disciplinary contexts. The PILON calculator models the gross value if it applies. See also PILON explained and garden leave explained.

What if I leave before my notice ends?

Walking out before the notice period ends is a breach of contract. The practical consequences are usually limited to losing pay for the unworked days and a more cautious reference. In theory the trust could sue for breach but this is rare in practice for Band 5 roles. The professional impact (NMC referral for nurses, HCPC for AHPs) is the more material concern in some scenarios.

If you genuinely cannot stay (illness, family emergency), talk to your line manager and HR early. Trusts generally accommodate genuine circumstances with documented agreement rather than escalating.

Returning to the NHS after Band 5 resignation

Many Band 5 staff leave and return. Continuous service for annual leave, sick pay and redundancy purposes is preserved if you return within 12 months under the NHS reckonable service rule. The NHS Pension Scheme normally re-links benefits across periods of service, although the specific link depends on which scheme sections (1995, 2008 or 2015) you were in. Take advice from NHS Pensions before commuting any benefits.

What Band 5 notice is worth in 2026/27

Band 5 has three pay points: £32,073 on entry, £34,592 after 2 years and £39,043 after a further 2 years, subject to the pay progression process. These are the Agenda for Change rates for England from 1 April 2026. The table shows the gross basic pay that falls within the typical Band 5 notice of 2 months, worked out as annual pay divided by 12 for each month.

Band 5 pay points and gross basic pay for the notice period (2026/27, England)
Pay point	Annual pay	Gross pay for 2 months
Entry	£32,073	£5,345.50
Intermediate	£34,592	£5,765.33
Top	£39,043	£6,507.17

Why this matters: if you work your notice, this is roughly the basic pay still to come before your final payslip. If the trust pays you in lieu of notice instead, basic pay for the notice period is the usual starting point for the payment, and it is taxed through payroll like salary. For example, at the top of Band 5 (£39,043), 2 months of basic pay is £6,507.17 before tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. The PILON calculator works through the tax side.

The figures leave out High Cost Area Supplements (London and the fringe zones), unsocial-hours enhancements and on-call pay, which your contract may or may not include in notice pay. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own Agenda for Change scales. Source: NHS Employers, pay scales for 2026/27 (checked 2 November 2026).

Useful calculators

NHS notice period calculator — final working day for any NHS contract.
Notice period calculator — general UK calculator.
Final working day calculator
Holiday entitlement calculator
Probation end date calculator

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

What is the notice period for an NHS Band 5?: Usually two months, but your contract decides. The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) Handbook does not set notice periods by band; each trust sets notice in its contracts and local policy, and two months is the common Band 5 figure (some trusts use six or eight weeks). The notice usually runs both ways: you give the trust that notice when resigning, and the trust gives you the same in a redundancy. Whatever your contract says, the legal minimum applies: one week from you once you have worked one month, and from the trust one week per full year of service (at least one week, up to 12 weeks).
Can my NHS Band 5 notice be shorter than two months?: Sometimes. During probation (usually the first six months of a new role) the notice is typically one month. Mutual agreement can shorten the notice at any other time, but only with the trust's written sign-off. Some trusts set six weeks rather than two months, and some fixed-term, bank or honorary contracts have shorter or differently structured notice; the contract is the definitive document.
How do I calculate my Band 5 final working day?: Count the calendar months in your contract (two at most trusts) from the date you hand your written resignation to your line manager. If you resign on 12 March on two months' notice, your last working day is 11 May. The NHS Notice Period Calculator handles the date arithmetic for any resignation date including weekend and bank holiday rollback. If you give notice via ESR (the Electronic Staff Record system) the formal date is when the trust receives the letter, not when you draft it.
What happens to my annual leave during Band 5 notice?: Accrued but untaken leave is paid out in the final pay packet, or you can take it during notice with line-manager agreement. Most trusts prefer leave to be used during notice where the workload allows. Statutory leave (5.6 weeks per year, pro-rated) is the floor; NHS occupational leave above that follows the local trust policy.
Can I be put on garden leave during my Band 5 notice?: Possible but unusual at Band 5. Garden leave is more common for senior medical and very senior management roles where the trust has a contractual clause permitting it. For most Band 5 clinical and admin staff the expectation is that you work the full notice in your substantive role. Check your contract for any garden-leave clause.

Sources and further reading

NHS Employers: NHS terms and conditions handbook — The Agenda for Change handbook covering pay bands and other national terms. It does not set notice periods by band; your contract and trust policy do.
NHS Employers: Agenda for Change overview — Authoritative source for the Agenda for Change pay and conditions framework.
Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86 — The UK statutory minimum notice that applies underneath the AfC contractual figure.
ACAS: Notice periods — Free, impartial UK advice on notice mechanics.
Royal College of Nursing employment advice — Union-led advice for Band 5 nursing and midwifery staff.

General information about Band 5 contractual notice under Agenda for Change. Specifics depend on your individual contract, the trust you work for and any local variations. For your situation, contact your trade union, the trust HR team or ACAS.