Speech and language therapist (SLT) salary in the UK (2026/27)

What locum speech and language therapists earn

Pure's locum speech and language therapist jobs advertise £22 to £42 an hour, paid weekly for the hours you work.

• Band 6: £22 to £28 an hour, about £42,900 to £54,600 a year if worked full time
• Band 7: £22 to £42 an hour, about £42,900 to £81,900 a year if worked full time

Speech and language therapist and speech therapist are protected titles: to work as either in the UK you must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and every Pure locum is checked against the register before they start.

Children's and adult services

Most speech and language therapists work with children: in community clinics, nurseries, mainstream and special schools, helping with speech sounds, language, stammering, autism and social communication. NHS SLTs who work in schools usually stay on the NHS bands, even when they spend most of the week in classrooms.

Adult SLTs work in hospitals, stroke units, rehabilitation and community teams, with people who have communication or swallowing difficulties after a stroke, a head injury, cancer or a progressive condition such as Parkinson's or motor neurone disease.

Schools, councils and independent practice

Some SLTs are employed directly by schools, academy trusts or councils rather than the NHS. They are paid on that employer's own scale, which can be higher or lower than the NHS band for the same work, and may not include the NHS Pension or NHS leave.

Independent SLTs set their own fees, often per session or per assessment and report. Much of that work is assessments for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England, which are in high demand because of waiting lists, so experienced paediatric SLTs can do well in independent practice.

Dysphagia and specialist skills

Swallowing (dysphagia) is a large part of adult SLT work. Competence in dysphagia, built up under supervision after qualifying, opens most Band 6 adult posts, and advanced skills such as videofluoroscopy and FEES (fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing) are usually part of Band 7 and 8a roles.

Other specialist areas, such as voice, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), head and neck cancer, and tracheostomy care in critical care, also lead to Band 7 posts. For locum work, paediatric community SLTs and adult acute SLTs with dysphagia competence are the most in demand.

London and high-cost areas

NHS staff in and around London get a high cost area supplement on top of basic pay: 20% in inner London, 15% in outer London and 5% in the fringe (the areas just outside London). Each has a minimum and a maximum that NHS Employers sets every year.

Locum rates in London are usually higher too, because trusts compete for the same staff.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The figures above are the England scale. NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland use the same bands but set their own pay each year, so the amounts differ slightly. Pure recruits speech and language therapists in all four nations and in Ireland.

Locum vs permanent

An NHS salary comes with paid annual leave (27 days plus bank holidays to start, rising with service), sick pay and the NHS Pension. Locum work pays a higher hourly rate, paid weekly, but only for the hours you work, with more choice over where and when.

Many speech and language therapists mix the two: a permanent post with extra locum shifts, or locum contracts between permanent roles. Pure handles your compliance and is on call 24/7 while you're on placement.

What moves you up a band

SLTs start at Band 5, usually working through the RCSLT newly qualified practitioner competencies in the first year. Many first posts are in community paediatrics or a mixed adult caseload.

Band 6 follows a few years of experience in one area, such as paediatric language and communication, autism, adult neurology or dysphagia, along with the competencies that area needs.

Band 7 roles are highly specialist (voice, AAC, head and neck cancer, advanced dysphagia) or lead a team, often with postgraduate study. Band 8a covers clinical leads and service managers, and consultant SLT posts are at Band 8b and above.

Speech and language therapist pay: common questions

Sources

• NHS Employers: Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
• Pure Healthcare Group: pay advertised on live jobs and past jobs from the last 12 months