Personal assistant: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Personal assistants and other secretaries (SOC 4215)
About £30,109 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +5.7% on last year
£3,077 a month About £2,509 a month after tax 74 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 £28,673 in 2021 to £36,929 in 2026 (+29%); 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 | £17,849 | £22,118 | £28,673 | £36,389 | x |
| 2022 | £19,769 | £23,500 | £29,859 | £37,354 | x |
| 2023 | £20,865 | £24,329 | £30,258 | £38,444 | x |
| 2024 | £23,039 | £27,474 | £33,468 | £42,155 | x |
| 2025 | £24,382 | £28,600 | £34,942 | £44,335 | x |
| 2026 | £25,468 | £29,561 | £36,929 | £48,002 | £58,890 |
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 £36,929 a year and half earn more. That is 10% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £29,561 and £48,002; the middle 80% between £25,468 and £58,890.
Ranked by median, it is number 184 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,509 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,506 in Scotland.
The median for men is £36,341 and for women £36,993, a gap of 2% in women's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £25,468 | £2,122 |
| 20th | £28,037 | £2,336 |
| 25th (P25) | £29,561 | £2,463 |
| 30th | £30,681 | £2,557 |
| 40th | £33,619 | £2,802 |
| Median (50th) | £36,929 | £3,077 |
| 60th | £39,958 | £3,330 |
| 70th | £45,985 | £3,832 |
| 75th (P75) | £48,002 | £4,000 |
| 80th | £50,488 | £4,207 |
| 90th (P90) | £58,890 | £4,907 |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £36,341 | £41,226 | 9 |
| Women | £36,993 | £40,072 | 65 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £30,109 | £2,509 |
| Scotland | £30,074 | £2,506 |
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 £37,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 44 job titles to SOC 4215 Personal assistants and other secretaries. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Admin secretary
- Administration secretary
- Administrative secretary
- Administrator-secretary
- Assistant secretary
- Bilingual secretary
- Branch secretary
- Club secretary
- Commercial secretary
- Confidential clerk
- Confidential secretary
- County secretary
- Diary manager
- Director's assistant
- Director's secretary
- EA
- Executive assistant
- Executive pa
- Executive personal assistant
- Farm secretary
- Group secretary
- Manager's personal assistant
- Managerial personal assistant
- Medical PA
- Medical personal assistant
- Membership secretary
- PA
- Pa-secretary
- Personal assistant
- Personal assistant-secretary
- Personal secretary
- Post production assistant
- Private secretary
- Secretarial assistant
- Secretary
- Secretary-administrator
- Secretary-bookkeeper
- Secretary-pa
- Secretary-personal assistant
- Secretary-typist
- Technical secretary
- Virtual assistant
- Virtual pa
- Virtual personal assistant
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.