NHS diversity officers don’t all make £96,000

A number of posts on social media have suggested the salary for an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) officer in the NHS is £96,000, and compare this to an NHS nurse’s starting salary of £28,400. But this comparison is misleading.

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It isn’t clear whether this £96,000 figure refers to an average or top salary for an EDI officer, but it’s certainly not the starting salary in England.

Comparing the two professions’ starting rates shows they’re actually very similar, and an EDI officer’s can be lower due to the NHS’s use of salary bands.

The NHS payscale in England starts at £22,383 per year in 2023/24, at what’s called the Band 2 level. The highest pay band, Band 9, has an entry point salary of £99,891. Staff are able to receive a pay rise within their band, but are required to work a certain number of years before they are eligible.

A newly qualified nurse will typically start at £28,407 (Band 5), and can rise to £34,581 after four years. And depending on experience and qualifications, the most senior nurses, such as a consultant level nurse, might earn £99,891 (Band 9), rising to £114,949 after five years.

These figures all refer to the 2023/24 payscale as those were the most recent available when the posts were published. Figures for 2024/25 have since been published.

The average annual basic pay for a nurse or health visitor in March 2024 was estimated to be the equivalent of £38,713 for a full-time role.

Salaries for EDI officers are much more varied, but looking at job listings indicates that some start at £25,147 (Band 4), which rises to £27,596 after three years. Others can start at higher bands. An NHS England spokesperson told fact checkers at Reuters that salaries are set by NHS providers and so can vary between regions.

And, as is the case for more senior nurses, senior EDI roles such as a Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, might be paid at much higher bands, for example £70,417 (Band 8c) or £81,138 after five years.

The starting salary for an NHS role can differ depending on the location of the job, with London-based NHS roles adjusted with a High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS).

This article focuses on the NHS in England, as health is devolved and so the UK government is not responsible for health services in other parts of the country.