Legal secretary: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Legal secretaries (SOC 4212)
About £23,553 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +3.2% on last year
£2,319 a month About £1,963 a month after tax 15 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 £21,798 in 2021 to £27,824 in 2026 (+28%); 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 | £17,217 | £18,728 | £21,798 | £26,211 | x |
| 2022 | x | £19,220 | £22,616 | x | x |
| 2023 | £18,795 | £20,991 | £24,485 | x | x |
| 2024 | £20,811 | £22,516 | £25,855 | x | x |
| 2025 | £21,950 | £24,222 | £26,965 | £31,676 | x |
| 2026 | £22,220 | £24,737 | £27,824 | £33,984 | 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 £27,824 a year and half earn more. That is 32% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £24,737 and £33,984; one in ten earns less than £22,220.
Ranked by median, it is number 332 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,963 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,966 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £22,220 | £1,852 |
| 20th | £23,851 | £1,988 |
| 25th (P25) | £24,737 | £2,061 |
| 30th | £25,190 | £2,099 |
| 40th | £26,045 | £2,170 |
| Median (50th) | £27,824 | £2,319 |
| 60th | £29,935 | £2,495 |
| 70th | £31,964 | £2,664 |
| 75th (P75) | £33,984 | £2,832 |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | x | £27,457 | x |
| Women | £27,882 | £30,615 | 14 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £23,553 | £1,963 |
| Scotland | £23,593 | £1,966 |
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 £28,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 19 job titles to SOC 4212 Legal secretaries. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Admin assistant
- Admin officer
- Administration assistant
- Administration officer
- Administrative assistant
- Administrative officer
- Administrator
- Clerk
- Conveyancing secretary
- Legal administrator
- Legal aid clerk
- Legal clerk
- Legal pa
- Legal personal assistant
- Legal secretary
- Litigation secretary
- Personal assistant
- Probate clerk
- Secretary
Similar occupations
All jobs in Administrative and secretarial 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.