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Understanding Your Pay

Useful information.

• Your payslip will be available to view via ESR Employee Self Service (ESS) 2 working days before pay day.
• Please review your payslip carefully to ensure that all the information is accurate. Please be aware that you are responsible for checking your payslip and reporting anything you think is incorrect.
• If you do have any queries or concerns about your payslip, please refer in the first instance to the frequently asked questions (FAQs), below.
• If you are unable to find an answer to you queries in the FAQs, please do not hesitate to contact Pay Services. The best way to contact us is via email: [email protected] (Please always quote your assignment number), however, if you prefer to contact the team via phone our contact details are at the bottom of this page .
• For Wagestream queries please visit the Wagestream section  of website for links to Wagestream and Bank Pay FAQs.

Understanding your payslip

Example payslip.

Your payslip is divided into six sections:

Employee and PAYE Information

Pay and allowances.

• Year to Date Balances

This Period Summary

Messages from employer.

The top section of the payslip details the Employee and PAYE Information:

• Assignment Number - This should be quoted in all correspondence and will be suffixed with -2, -3 etc. if you have more than one post
• Payscale Description - Payscale which you are paid on
• Sal/Wage - Full Time salary for grade
• Inc. Date - Date of your next pay step/increment or when you reached the maximum point of your payscale
• Standard Hours – Contracted hours
• PT Sal/Wage - Salary paid, this shows as a reduced amount if you are part time
• Tax Office Name - Tax Office that is responsible for your employer’s Tax Account Tax Office Ref - This is required if you need to speak to HMRC
• Tax Code – Code as allocated by HMRC
• NI Number - National Insurance Number

Pay and Allowances – left hand side of the payslip

• Description – Details all payments made in the pay period
• Wkd/Earned – Total hours worked
• Paid/Due - Number of hours payment is calculated on
• Rate – Amount the allowance is calculated on, e.g., hourly rate
• Amount - Payment that will be made

Deductions – right hand side of the payslip

• This shows all the statutory and voluntary deductions that will be made from your pay

Year To Date Balances

Year To Date Balances – left hand side of the payslip:

• This section shows the total amounts you have received and had deducted in the current tax year to the end of the period you are being paid for. PAYE details will be included in your P60 at the end of the tax year. Pension details will added to your NHS Pension record. SD Ref Number is your Employee reference number for your NHS Pension and should be quoted in any correspondence you have with NHS Pensions.

This Period Summary – right hand side of the payslip:

Messages From Employer:

• If you are viewing your payslip online via ESS any messages are displayed below the payslip detail.
• If you receive an original paper payslip any payslip messages are on the reverse of the inside flap of the payslip once opened.

Common Abbreviations Used

Common abbreviations used:

Frequently Asked Questions

When is pay day.

Pay day is 28th of the month. If the 28th falls on a bank holiday or weekend, payment will be made on the banking business day before the bank holiday or weekend. The only exception to the 28th rule  is December’s pay day and details will be shared nearer December with regards to when December’s pay day will fall.

How do I view my payslip?

Payslips are available to view online through ESR Employee Self Service (ESS). The link below will take you to a step-by-step guide on how to access your payslips.

https://my.esr.nhs.uk/dashboard/lrst/ESS12/index.html

More details regarding ESS are available via ESR Self Service webpage

What kind of information does my payslip show and what do the abbreviations stand for?

Please see “Understanding Your Payslip” section above.

If the abbreviation on your payslip isn’t listed as a common abbreviation please contact [email protected]

I haven't been paid for the overtime/additional hours I worked or I think my overtime has been paid at the wrong rate

Overtime is paid at time plus one half (or double time if it is worked on a general public holiday). Additional hours in excess of contracted hours are paid at basic rate up to 37.5 hours/week. Only hours worked in excess of full-time hours can be paid at overtime rates.

If you worked overtime or additional hours last month but have not received payment for them, please check that your manager added the hours to your Healthroster record correctly before the cut-off date. If they did not, please ask them to submit a Data Amendment Form (DAF) to correct your record. Corrections will be applied in the next available payroll run.

Please note that staff on band 8a or above are not entitled to overtime pay unless express approval from HR has be obtained in advance.

I am a substantive member of staff. How is my basic pay calculated?

For each calendar month, employees are paid one twelfth of their annual salary. For each odd day (including Saturdays and Sundays, in the case of a working week of five days), employees are a paid the monthly sum divided by the number of days in the particular month.

Please note that basic pay for substantive staff is paid on a current pay basis and not in arrears. For this reason, if your hours or rate of pay is changing or you are leaving, it is important to make sure your manager notifies Pay Services before the cut-off date for the month in which the change is due to occur. Failure to notify Pay Service by the relevant cut-off date is likely to result in an underpayment or overpayment.

I have changed my hours or pay band, or I have returned from maternity leave/career break but these changes are not reflected in my pay this month. Why not?

Please check with your manager that they submitted a change form to notify Pay Services of the change. If they have not, please ensure they submit a form as soon as possible.

If they did submit a form but submitted it after the payroll cut-off date, corrections will be applied in the next available payroll run.

I have returned from sick leave but my pay this month is still reduced for half/no pay sick, why is this?

Absences from the roster are reported to Payroll in arrears, if you have returned after the roster was finalised please ask your manager to email [email protected] with your return details.

"AfC Absence" is showing on my payslip. What is it?

If you have taken annual leave and regularly receive payments for unsocial hours, overtime, additional hours or on call, you may see AfC Absence on your payslip.

AfC Absence is based on your average pay in a set reference period, usually the three months ending on the last day of the pay period in which the leave started. Payment is in arrears one month after the annual leave has been taken provided that your annual leave has been recorded on Healthroster in an accurate and timely manner. Please note that AfC Absence is not payable in respect of bank holiday leave or leave taken in lieu of bank holidays. Nor are payments received in relation to work on a bank holiday included in the calculations for AfC Absence.

I work on the bank but I haven't been paid or I have been paid for the wrong number of hours. Why?

Bank hours are paid a month in arrears based on the timesheet details recorded by your manager on Healthroster.

If you have checked your payslip carefully and think you haven't been paid for the correct number of hours, please review your Healthroster record to check that your manager recorded your shift times correctly and submitted the hours for payment before the payroll cut-off date (this is the third working day of the month following that in which the hours were worked).

If your pay is incorrect due to the information recorded on the roster, please speak to your manager and ask them to submit a Data Amendment Form (DAF). Once the necessary corrections have been made, any pay adjustments required will be applied in the next available payroll run.

For any further assistance required on using Healthroster, please contact the Healthroster team .

Unsocial hours payments or enhancements. What are they and what do I do if I think my unsocial hours payments are wrong?

Unsocial hours payments or enhancements are paid if you are required to work to cover services in the evening, at night, over weekends and on general public holidays.

Unsocial hours payments are additions to basic pay and are calculated as a proportion of basic pay (including long-term recruitment and retention premiums (RRPs), but excluding short-term RRPs, high cost area supplements, and all other supplements and payments). The exact rate of payment depends on when the unsocial hours were worked and on your pay band. Please see Section 2 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook

An example is provided below of how enhancements would appear on the payslip of someone who, for the purposes of this example, is band 5 with a basic hourly rate of £16.84.  If they who worked 10 hours on Saturday and 1 hour on Sunday, the enhancement for their Saturday unsocial hours would be paid as 30% of their basic pay for the same hours and the enhancement for their Sunday unsocial hours as 60% (based on 22/23 rates). The unsocial hours payments would be shown on their payslip as follows:

Unsocial hours are paid a month in arrears based on the timesheet details recorded by your manager on Healthroster.

If you have checked your payslip carefully and think you haven't been paid for the correct number of unsocial hours, please review your Healthroster record to check that your manager recorded your shift times correctly before the payroll cut-off date (this is the third working day of the month following that in which the hours were worked).

If your pay is incorrect because due to what has been recorded on the roster, please speak to your manager and ask them to submit a Data Amendment Form (DAF). Once the necessary corrections have been made, any pay adjustments required will be applied in the next available payroll run.

My expenses haven't been paid. Why not?

If you submitted an expenses claim on EASY that hasn't been paid, please check the claim status on EASY. Only claims that were authorised by your manager before midday on the third working day of the month will have been paid. Claims authorised after the cut-off date will be paid in the next available payroll run.

Please also note that if you submitted a claim for the current month, this will not be paid until the following month, subject to the claims being authorised by the relevant cut-off date.

For any further assistance required on using EASY, please contact the Healthroster team.

"WTD pay" is showing on my payslip. What is it?

Bank staff receive a supplement equivalent to 12.07% of their basic pay and enhancements (with the exception of bank holiday enhancements). This supplement is described as WTD Pay and it represents your entitlement to statutory holiday pay.

How can I check if my tax code is right?

Your tax code is determined by HMRC and we can only change it if HMRC ask us to when sent via the normal methods for notifications.

To check your tax code or request it be reviewed/updated, you will need to contact HMRC directly.

Below are some useful links explaining why your tax code may have changed and how you can contact HMR to check whether your code is correct.

Income Tax: general enquiries - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Check your Income Tax for the current year - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What is my pay step date? I was expecting an increment this month but have not received one, why not?

Your pay step date is usually the anniversary of the date you commenced employment in your current band.

If you were expecting a pay step increase this month but have not received one, the two most likely reasons for this are:

• you were not due a pay step increase either because you are already on the maximum pay step of the pay band or you are have not yet reached a pay-affecting step. With regard to the latter, the pay bands show the minimum length of service on a pay step point required before staff are eligible to move to the next pay step.
• your manager has not recorded a successful pay progression meeting on your ESR record. If prior to your pay step date, you had a pay progression meeting with your manager and it was agreed that you met the required standards to progress to the next pay step, please check with your manager that (a) they recorded the meeting outcome correctly on your ESR record and (b) they recorded it before the relevant payroll cut-off date.

If your manager did not record the pay progression details correctly or they were not recorded before the relevant payroll cut-off date, they will need to make sure the necessary corrections are made to your ESR record and, additionally, submit a change form so that any salary adjustments required can be manually applied.

FAQs relating to the AfC Pay award backdated and paid in October 2024.

Why have i paid more tax, national insurance (ni) and/or pension this month.

• If you are on NHS Terms and Conditions the pay award will have increased your salary and as a result of this, the normal deductions that you pay will also have increased i.e. You’ll pay more Tax, NI, and if applicable, pension because you’re earning more.
• If you have received arrears for the pay award this month you will also need to pay arrears of Tax, NI and if applicable, pension on these arrears.
• Your pension rate may have been updated this month – please see “Why has my NHS Pension rate changed this month?”

Why has my NHS Pension rate changed this month?

Following a pay award everyone has their pension rate reviewed and recalculated based on the new rate of pay. If a new rate is applicable, it’s payable from the date that the new salary was effective from. In this instance from 1st April 2024.

Re-assessing tiered contribution rates | NHSBSA

If you are in the NHS pension scheme you will need to pay pensions arrears at your usual contribution rate on the value of you pay award arrears. You will see a "pension arrears" deduction in October 2024 when the pay award arrears are paid.

In addition to this, if your uplifted pensionable pay (salary + enhanced, on call etc.) has moved you into a higher pension percentage bracket  Cost of being in the Scheme | NHSBSA  , then the difference between the two pension contribution rates will also be included in the "pension arrears" deduction shown on your payslip.

Am I able to reduce my pension contribution rate?

Unfortunately not, sorry. The pension rates are determined nationally.

What does it mean when the description on the payslip has “Arrs” at the end?

This means that you have had arrears against payments or deductions previously made, this can be for a number of reasons but most staff will see this on their October payslip as a result of the 2024 pay award, which has been backdated to 1st April 2024 (or start date if after 1st April 2024).

I left the Trust after 31st March 2024 and before 1st September 2024 and I’ve been paid in October 2024 but I’ve not received a payslip

Due to a national update to ESR, in line with HMRC guidance, printed output (payslips and P45s) are no longer produced by ESR. We have identified all pre 1st September 2024 leavers with a payment in October 2024 and are manually printing and posting payslips to home addresses. Due to the numbers affected we apologise for any delay in these being set out.

I left the Trust after 31st August 2024 and I’ve been paid in October 2024 but I’ve not received a payslip or P45

If you left the Trust on or after 1st September 2024 you will have been sent, or if you are leaving in October 2024 are due to be sent, a letter that details how to access your final payslips and P45 via the ESR Leavers Dashboard. We apologise for any delay in these being set out however, details regarding how to access your final payslips and P45 can be found at this link How to access your payslip & P45 once have left the Trust

I’m a band 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d or band 9 when are the intermediate points being updated?

The intermediate points on bands 8-9 are being updated nationally in ESR in November and any arrears due following this change will be paid in November 2024.

Where can I find details of the AfC pay scales for 2024/25?

Details can be found Pay scales for 2024/25 | NHS Employers

I’m a junior/resident doctor when is our pay award being applied?

The junior/resident doctor pay award is being applied nationally in November 2024 with arrears backdated to April 2023.

Contacting Payroll Services

Contact details for the Trust's Pension Team, Healthroster Team and ESR System Team can be found on the Contact Details page.

The best way to contact the Payroll Team is via email: [email protected] , please always quote your assignment number.

To contact us by phone please dial 01785 221290  between 9:30 - 12:00 and 14:00 - 15:00 Monday to Friday. Please note: our phone system only allows a limited number of calls to be placed in our queue and when this number is exceeded unfortunately calls are automatically disconnected. Around payday lines are busy so you may prefer to email us at the above address.

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I am an Agency User. How do I add new assignment codes to my worker's profile on the NHSP:Online?

• Login to  NHSP:Online
• Select ' Edit Agency Worker ' from the ' Menu Options ' section
• Search for the worker and select them
• Assignment codes are shown in alphabetical order
• Add the assignment code 

If you cannot find the assignment code in the drop-down list , the code requires a professional registration that isn't on the worker's profile. Please update the Registered Bodies Tab on the worker's profile before adding the assignment code. If you need extra support, contact us using the ' Need More Help? ' Contact Form below with the categories ' Shift Management ' and ' Profile Amend '.

Need More Help?

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