Quality control and planning engineers: salary in the UK
About £36,011 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +3.1% on last year
£3,761 a month About £3,001 a month after tax 45 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £38,258 in 2021 to £45,127 in 2026 (+18%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £24,004 | £29,734 | £38,258 | £45,786 | x |
| 2022 | £26,409 | £31,317 | £40,039 | £46,953 | x |
| 2023 | £26,376 | £33,050 | £40,005 | £48,703 | x |
| 2024 | £27,598 | £34,157 | £41,265 | £50,567 | x |
| 2025 | £29,729 | £35,460 | £43,780 | £54,302 | x |
| 2026 | £30,649 | £36,506 | £45,127 | £57,640 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £45,127 a year and half earn more. That is 10% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £36,506 and £57,640; one in ten earns less than £30,649.
Ranked by median, it is number 107 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,001 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,966 in Scotland.
The median for men is £47,929 and for women £43,786, a gap of 9% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £30,649 | £2,554 |
| 20th | £33,958 | £2,830 |
| 25th (P25) | £36,506 | £3,042 |
| 30th | £39,002 | £3,250 |
| 40th | £41,400 | £3,450 |
| Median (50th) | £45,127 | £3,761 |
| 60th | £50,145 | £4,179 |
| 70th | £55,005 | £4,584 |
| 75th (P75) | £57,640 | £4,803 |
| 80th | £60,379 | £5,032 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £47,929 | £50,335 | 30 |
| Women | £43,786 | £49,859 | 15 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £36,011 | £3,001 |
| Scotland | £35,587 | £2,966 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £45,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 33 job titles to SOC 2481 Quality control and planning engineers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Chief inspector
- Clothing technologist
- Engineer
- Garment technician
- Garment technologist
- Group planner
- Industrial radiologist
- Inspector
- Mine planner
- Offshore planner
- Planned maintenance controller
- Planner
- Planning engineer
- Planning officer
- Process planner
- Progress engineer
- Project controller
- QC analyst
- Quality assurance consultant
- Quality assurance engineer
- Quality assurance officer
- Quality consultant
- Quality control analyst
- Quality control coordinator
- Quality control engineer
- Quality control officer
- Quality controller
- Quality engineer
- Quality engineering manager
- Quality management consultant
- Quality systems engineer
- Radiologist
- Windfarm planning engineer
Similar occupations
All jobs in Professional occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.