Call and contact centre occupations: salary in the UK
About £24,336 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +6.8% on last year
£2,409 a month About £2,028 a month after tax 35 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 £20,559 in 2021 to £28,912 in 2026 (+41%); 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 | £17,333 | £18,626 | £20,559 | £24,443 | x |
| 2022 | £18,167 | £20,055 | £22,517 | £26,076 | x |
| 2023 | £19,111 | £21,210 | £24,269 | £27,574 | x |
| 2024 | £18,384 | £22,299 | £24,834 | £29,451 | x |
| 2025 | £21,712 | £24,394 | £27,060 | £32,821 | x |
| 2026 | £22,110 | £25,457 | £28,912 | £33,916 | 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 £28,912 a year and half earn more. That is 29% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £25,457 and £33,916; one in ten earns less than £22,110.
Ranked by median, it is number 317 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,028 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,031 in Scotland.
The median for men is £28,727 and for women £29,187, 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) | £22,110 | £1,842 |
| 20th | £24,937 | £2,078 |
| 25th (P25) | £25,457 | £2,121 |
| 30th | £26,273 | £2,189 |
| 40th | £27,619 | £2,302 |
| Median (50th) | £28,912 | £2,409 |
| 60th | £30,515 | £2,543 |
| 70th | £32,358 | £2,697 |
| 75th (P75) | £33,916 | £2,826 |
| 80th | £35,254 | £2,938 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £28,727 | £29,998 | 16 |
| Women | £29,187 | £29,936 | 19 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £24,336 | £2,028 |
| Scotland | £24,376 | £2,031 |
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 £29,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 46 job titles to SOC 7211 Call and contact centre occupations. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- 111 call handler
- 111 health adviser
- Answer line operator
- Brand advocate
- Business retention adviser
- Call centre adviser
- Call centre agent
- Call centre assistant
- Call centre associate
- Call centre handler
- Call centre operative
- Call centre operator
- Call centre staff
- Call centre telephonist
- Call centre worker
- Call handler
- Callcentre operator
- Collections associate
- Communications adviser
- Contact centre adviser
- Contact centre agent
- Contact centre operator
- Customer adviser
- Customer experience adviser
- Customer management adviser
- Customer representative
- Customer service adviser
- Customer service agent
- Customer service operative
- Customer service operator
- Customer service representative
- Customer services operator
- Enquiry agent
- Fraud adviser
- Health adviser
- Helpline operator
- IUC health adviser
- Mail order clerk
- Personal lines adviser
- Personal lines clerk
- Sales retention adviser
- Service delivery agent
- Serviceline response operator
- Tele response operator
- Telephone adviser
- Telephone clerk
Similar occupations
All jobs in Sales and customer service 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.