The average salary of a full-time, or full-time equivalent, general practice nurse (GPN) in the UK is £35,884, according to a new pay report.
It puts them behind nurses working in secondary care on Agenda for Change contracts, the analysis released today by our sister title Nursing in Practice has shown.
Based on a survey of 881 respondents, General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2026, focuses on GPN basic pay and salaries, annual pay uplifts, pensions, employment benefits, the additional roles reimbursement scheme and more.
With most respondents saying they are not on Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions – only 11% said they are on these contracts – a key finding has been that practice nurses are earning thousands of pounds less than their NHS secondary care colleagues who do benefit AfC terms.
For example, the data suggests AfC NHS nurses working at the top end of Band 5 are earning over £1,000 more than practice nurses working at the higher level of Band 6.
Furthermore, the report shows that AfC nurses at the top of Band 6 are earning almost £5,700 more than practice nurses working at the higher level of Band 7 (see table below).
Average pay for GPNs not on AfC versus pay band ranges for nurses on AfC:
| Average pay for GPNs not on AfC | Pay range for nurses on AfC | |
| Band 5 | £29,976 | £31,049 – £37,796 |
| Band 6 | £36,443 | £38,682 – £46,580 |
| Band 7 | £40,892 | £47,810 – £54,710 |
Source: Nursing in Practice survey and data from NHS Employers
With data gathered for all the different nursing roles in general practice, findings showed that:
- Advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs) respondents, who hold additional qualifications and training to GPNs, earn a full-time average salary of £49,321.
- Nurse team leads are paid on average a salary of £44,107.
- Enhanced level practice nurses and nurse specialists earn £42 375.
- Nursing partners earn £54,500.
Broken down by region, based on ICB boundaries pre 1 April 2026 when they changed, figures revealed that nurses in general practice (across all roles) are earning the highest average full-time salary in Surrey – standing at £44,250. And average full-time earnings are lowest in Birmingham at £35,960.
Dissatisfaction with pay is the leading factor contributing to a almost a third (32%) of nurses in general practice wanting to leave their role in the next 12 months.
Many respondents raised concerns that their pay does not reflect the work they do, including one GPN who said: ‘Practice nurses don’t get the recognition we deserve. We are highly skilled nurses who work autonomously but are an integral part of the wider team. We deserve the same pay scale as nurses working in secondary care, to reflect our hard work and expertise in general practice. We are the “forgotten nurses”.’
The issue of not having AfC terms and its impact on recruitment was also discussed by several respondents, including one nurse who said : ‘Nurses don’t want to leave Agenda for Change for less pay. This was reflected in our recent advertising – it took 18 months to recruit.’
Another added: ‘Our pay would be better if we were on Agenda for Change conditions. It makes recruiting GPNs difficult as there are huge implications when accepting a job.’
In the report, Dr Sarah Jacques, co-GP lead for Doctors’ Association UK, acknowledged that the exclusion of practice nurses from AfC means their pay ‘sits within a very different system to hospital nursing’.
However, she wrote: ‘From a GP perspective, there is no question that nursing teams are highly valued, and practices rely on their skill, continuity and patient relationships every day’ adding that ‘the challenge for partners is not a lack of willingness to reward staff, but the financial pressures practices are currently under.’
‘Ultimately, the issue of practice nurse pay cannot be separated from the wider funding model for general practice,’ Dr Jacques also said.
‘If we want to see equitable, competitive and consistent pay for nursing teams, there needs to be sufficient, clearly allocated funding to support this. Without that, practices will continue to face the difficult task of balancing financial sustainability with doing what they know is right for their staff.’
When it comes to benefits, having a pension scheme comes out as the top employee benefit for general practice nursing staff (69%). The other two most common benefits are free parking (54%) and having a summer/Christmas party (52%).
Delving deeper into pensions, the survey results showed that the majority of respondents (85%) belong to the NHS pension scheme, while a small percentage (4%) are members of the national employment saving trust (NEST) pension scheme – a Government-backed workplace pension scheme. Even fewer (3%) say they are part of a different scheme outside of the NHS or NEST offerings.
Worryingly, on pension errors while half said they haven’t experienced any issues, 27% said they were unsure while others flagged up problems such as not being automatically being put into the NHS pension when they joined general practice (6%); mistakes being made with regards to their pension contributions or their employer’s contributions (5%), and unknowingly being opted out the NHS pension scheme (1%).
The report concludes with a series of recommendations, one of which is that the Government ‘introduce ringfenced funding for general practice nursing – to ensure practices have adequate funds to provide their nurses with fair pay, terms and conditions that reflect their highly skilled, complex, and vital roles.’ It also calls for nursing staff in general practice to pay, terms and conditions set at least in line with those on Agenda for Change.
View the full report, General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2026.
