Butchers: salary in the UK
About £25,700 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +6.9% on last year
£2,567 a month About £2,142 a month after tax 19 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 £23,739 in 2021 to £30,806 in 2026 (+30%); 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 | x | x | £23,739 | x | x |
| 2022 | £18,878 | £21,119 | £25,020 | £27,875 | x |
| 2023 | £20,811 | £23,394 | £26,324 | £31,672 | x |
| 2024 | £22,565 | £24,408 | £28,165 | £32,349 | x |
| 2025 | £23,157 | £25,991 | £28,813 | £32,061 | x |
| 2026 | x | £26,775 | £30,806 | x | 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 £30,806 a year and half earn more. That is 25% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 276 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,142 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,144 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £26,053 | £2,171 |
| 25th (P25) | £26,775 | £2,231 |
| 30th | £27,589 | £2,299 |
| 40th | £28,717 | £2,393 |
| Median (50th) | £30,806 | £2,567 |
| 60th | £32,181 | £2,682 |
| 70th | £33,295 | £2,775 |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £30,657 | £31,558 | 18 |
| Women | x | £30,159 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £25,700 | £2,142 |
| Scotland | £25,727 | £2,144 |
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 £31,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 52 job titles to SOC 5431 Butchers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Abattoir foreman
- Abattoir operative
- Abattoir worker
- Bacon cutter
- Bacon roller
- Blockman
- Blood collector
- Boner
- Butcher
- Butcher's assistant
- Butcher's cutter
- Butcher's machinist
- Butcher's shopman
- Butcher-driver
- Butcher-manager
- Butchery manager
- Butchery supervisor
- Chopping machinist
- Circular saw operator
- Cutter
- First hand
- Foreman
- Gutman
- Killer
- Knacker
- Knackerman
- Lairage foreman
- Master butcher
- Meat cleaner
- Meat cutter
- Meat dresser
- Meat processor
- Meat shopman
- Meat supervisor
- Meat trimmer
- Mincing machinist
- Pig dehairer
- Process worker
- Retail butcher
- Sausage meat mincer
- Sawyer
- Shecheta
- Shocket
- Shopman cutter
- Shopman-cutter
- Skinner
- Slaughter house worker
- Slaughterer
- Slaughterhouse worker
- Slaughterman
- Sticker
- Stunner
Similar occupations
All jobs in Skilled trades 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.