New EE customers can now get 40% off the monthly plan on pay monthly phone contracts and SIM only deals. That’s double the 20% EE used to give NHS staff, and on a £29 plan it works out at £11.60 off every month for the whole contract. Reveal the code in the offer box above, then enter it in the Vouchers and discounts section of your EE basket before you check out.
Is there an NHS discount at EE?
Yes, and it’s a proper one. EE is giving new customers 40% off the airtime plan when you take out a pay monthly phone contract or a SIM only plan online. You claim it with a voucher code rather than by proving where you work, so there’s no ID upload, no payslip check and no waiting for an email to come through. Reveal the code on this page, paste it into your basket on ee.co.uk and the price drops before you’ve typed in a card number.
The catch is in the words new customers. If you already have a plan with EE, the code won’t apply to an upgrade or to an extra line on your existing account. It’s also an online code, so it won’t work in an EE shop or over the phone.
How much can NHS staff save?
We ran the code through a real EE basket in October 2026 so you can see the numbers rather than take our word for it. The package was an iPhone 18 Pro 256GB on a 48-month interest free credit agreement at £26.49 a month with £30 to pay up front, paired with an EE Essentials 25GB plan on a 24-month contract at £29 a month. Before any discount, the total came to £55.49 a month.
Entering the code knocked 40% off the plan. The £29 Essentials plan dropped to £17.40, a saving of £11.60 a month, and the overall monthly cost fell from £55.49 to £43.89. Over the 24-month plan that’s £278 off at the starting price alone.
It gets a little better than that. EE puts plan prices up on 31 March each year, and the discount is applied to the increased price too. On the test basket the £29 plan was due to rise to £31.50 in March 2027 and £34.00 in March 2028. With the code applied those became £18.90 and £20.40. So the 40% holds for the full minimum term and the saving grows each year, which comes to roughly £300 over the two years.
The phone itself is not discounted. The £26.49 handset payment stayed exactly the same, because the credit agreement for the device sits separately from the airtime plan. That’s how every network discount of this type works, so don’t expect a cheaper iPhone, just a cheaper plan to run it on.
On a SIM only deal the whole monthly price is the plan, so the full 40% comes off everything you pay. A £20 SIM only plan becomes £12, and a £35 plan becomes £21. If your current handset still does the job, SIM only is where this code does the most damage to your bill.
How to claim the EE NHS discount
- Click Reveal Code in the offer box at the top of this page and copy the voucher code.
- Go to ee.co.uk and build your deal. Pick a handset and a plan, or just a SIM only plan if you’re keeping your phone.
- Open your basket. You’ll see the full price with no discount yet, exactly as in the first screenshot above.
- Click the black Vouchers and discounts button at the top of the basket.
- Paste the code into the Enter a voucher code box and click Apply voucher. The page lists the plan price, the 40% discount as a minus figure and the new pay monthly cost.
- Click Back to basket. The plan line now shows the reduced monthly cost, and the future March price rises are reduced as well.
- Check out as normal. The discount is locked in for the length of the plan and you don’t need to do anything to keep it.
If the voucher box tells you the code isn’t valid, the usual reasons are that you’re logged in to an existing EE account, the plan you’ve picked is already on a promotional price, or it’s a plan type the code doesn’t cover. Try it again in a private browser window with a plan at its standard price before you give up on it.
What the discount covers and what it doesn’t
The code works on the airtime plan attached to a pay monthly phone contract, and on SIM only plans, when you’re a new customer buying online. The discount is on the plan only. Handset credit, upfront costs, accessories and add-ons are charged at full price.
EE’s previous NHS voucher excluded mobile broadband, tablet and smartwatch plans, Annual Upgrade plans and any SIM only deal already on a reduced price. Expect the same exclusions here, and read the terms shown when you reveal the code. The voucher can’t be stacked with cashback from third-party sites or with EE’s own multi-line discounts, it works once per customer, and it can’t be added after you’ve completed the order. If you forget to enter it, the only fix is to cancel within the 14-day cooling off period and start again.
EE network and coverage
EE runs its own network rather than renting space on someone else’s. It consistently scores at or near the top of the independent coverage tests from RootMetrics and Opensignal, with 4G reaching nearly all of the UK population and 5G now covering the majority. For NHS staff that matters more than it might for other people. Hospital basements, older ward blocks and rural community sites are where weaker networks fall over, and EE tends to hold a signal in places others don’t.
EE is part of BT Group, and other brands use its masts, including BT Mobile and 1p Mobile. The 40% code only works on plans bought directly from EE, so you won’t get it with those providers, although their standard prices are often lower to begin with.
Is it worth it?
At 40% off, yes, provided you’re genuinely a new customer and you’re comfortable with a 24-month plan. EE’s list prices are the highest of the big four networks, which is partly why a discount this size can exist at all. Take 40% off and an EE plan lands close to what Three or a budget brand charges, but with better coverage and the extras EE bundles into its higher tiers. The comparison to make is the discounted EE price against what you’d pay elsewhere, not the headline price.
The thing to weigh up is the annual price rise. You’re committed for the full term and the March increases are baked in from day one, so read them in the basket before you pay. If you’d rather avoid rises altogether, a one-month rolling SIM from a smaller provider gives you that flexibility, but it won’t come with 40% off.
If a new iPhone is the reason you’re looking, our guide to getting an iPhone with an NHS discount compares network contracts with Apple’s refurbished store, which is useful before you commit to 48 months of handset payments.
Tips to keep costs down
- Check how much data you actually use before picking a plan. If you’re on hospital Wi-Fi for most of a shift, 25GB goes a long way and there’s no point paying for unlimited.
- Go SIM only if your current phone still works. The whole bill is plan, so the whole bill gets 40% off.
- Apply the code before you add any extras or add-ons, then check the plan line shows the reduced figure before you pay.
- Look at the price rise dates in the basket so you know what you’ll be paying in year two, and set a reminder for the end of the minimum term so you’re not drifting on at full price.
- If you’re currently with EE, ask them whether a returning customer counts as new before you let your contract lapse on the strength of this code.
- Keep the handset payments in mind. A 48-month credit agreement outlasts the 24-month plan, so you’ll still owe for the phone after the plan discount ends.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to prove I work for the NHS to get the EE discount?
No. The discount is applied with a voucher code in the EE basket, so there’s no ID check, payslip upload or NHS email verification involved.
Can existing EE customers use the 40% code?
No. It’s for new customers only, so it won’t work on upgrades or on adding a line to an account you already hold with EE.
Does the 40% come off the phone as well as the plan?
No. The discount applies to the airtime plan only. The handset credit agreement, any upfront cost and any accessories are charged at full price.
Does the discount survive EE’s annual price rise?
Yes. In our test basket the 40% was applied to the increased March 2027 and March 2028 prices as well as the starting price, so the discount runs for the full minimum term.
Can I use the code in an EE shop or over the phone?
No. It’s an online voucher that is entered in the basket on ee.co.uk, so you need to buy online for it to apply.
Can I combine it with cashback or a Blue Light Card offer?
No. The voucher can’t be used alongside third-party cashback or any other EE discount, and it works once per customer.
What if I forgot to enter the code before checking out?
EE can’t add it after the order is placed. Your option is to cancel within the 14-day cooling off period and place the order again with the code applied.
Reveal the code at the top of the page, paste it into your EE basket and check the plan line shows the reduced price before you pay.
More NHS deals you might like
If EE doesn’t suit you, the Vodafone NHS discount still gives 25% off pay monthly plans through the Advantage scheme, and the Three NHS discount page covers the Blue Light Card offers and 150GB plans. The O2 NHS discount page explains what’s changed now that O2 Open has closed to new customers. For handset deals across every network, Mobile Phones Direct is worth a look, and the full list is on the Mobile Phones discounts page.
I am a hcsw at cardiff children’s hospital I have a monthly package two sim s I havent got a nhs email adress as they are only given mostly to qualified nurses and there not may available so can I still apply for thease discounts have gt my I’d badge and payroll number