Plastics process operatives: salary in the UK
About £26,986 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +2.9% on last year
£2,716 a month About £2,249 a month after tax 11 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 £22,277 in 2021 to £32,592 in 2026 (+46%); 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 | £18,599 | £22,277 | x | x |
| 2022 | x | £20,606 | £23,333 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £22,117 | £25,775 | £31,538 | x |
| 2024 | x | £23,050 | £25,914 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | £24,560 | £31,679 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | x | £32,592 | 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 £32,592 a year and half earn more. That is 20% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 244 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,249 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,250 in Scotland.
The median for men is £31,711 and for women £33,063, a gap of 4% in women's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | x | x |
| 25th (P25) | x | x |
| 30th | £29,051 | £2,421 |
| 40th | £30,626 | £2,552 |
| Median (50th) | £32,592 | £2,716 |
| 60th | £34,861 | £2,905 |
| 70th | x | x |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £31,711 | £34,726 | x |
| Women | £33,063 | £32,790 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £26,986 | £2,249 |
| Scotland | £26,995 | £2,250 |
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 £33,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 154 job titles to SOC 8114 Plastics process operatives. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Aloe moulder
- Artificial eye maker
- Bakelite maker
- Bakelite moulder
- Bakelite polisher
- Bakelite trimmer
- Ball maker
- Battery case maker
- Bench hand
- Bench worker
- Billiard ball maker
- Billiard ball turner
- Blender
- Block presser
- Blower
- Bottle maker
- Bucket maker
- Buffing machinist
- Button cleaner
- Button cutter
- Button driller
- Cable extruder
- Calender hand
- Calender machinist
- Calender operator
- Calender rolls operator
- Case maker
- Celluloid polisher
- Clatter
- Coating machinist
- Colour matcher
- Colour mixer
- Colourist
- Comb maker
- Comb quiller
- Composite fitter
- Composite laminator
- Composite operator
- Composite worker
- Compounder
- Compression moulder
- Contact lens presser
- Converter
- Conveyor belt maker
- Cutter
- Cutting machinist
- Die man
- Dough mixer
- Driller
- Dry mixer
- Dyer
- Embosser
- Extruder
- Extruder operator
- Extruding driver
- Extruding machinist
- Extrusion assistant
- Extrusion engineer
- Extrusion operator
- Fabricator
Show all 154 titles
- Factory worker
- Felter
- Fibreglass laminator
- Fibreglass moulder
- Filer
- Finisher
- Flasher hand
- Foam fabricator
- Foam machinist
- Forcer
- Former
- Frame maker
- Grailer
- Grinder
- Grp laminator
- Guillotine machinist
- Guillotine operator
- Hopper filler
- Hydraulic presser
- Injection moulder
- Laminator
- Machine setter
- Machinist
- Manipulator
- Manufacturer
- Mill man
- Mill operator
- Miller
- Mixer
- Mould injector
- Moulder
- Moulding machinist
- Number plate maker
- Optical frame maker
- Planer
- Plant operator
- Plastic bottle maker
- Plastic coatings operator
- Plastic laminator
- Plastic machinist
- Plastic mixer
- Plastic moulder
- Plastic operator
- Plastic trimmer
- Plastics cutter
- Plastics cutting machinist
- Plastics engineer
- Plastics filer
- Plastics finisher
- Plastics machinist
- Plastics mixer
- Plastics operator
- Plastics presser
- Plastics trimmer
- Plastics worker
- Polisher
- Polishing presser
- Pre-former
- Press machinist
- Press moulder
- Presser
- Process operator
- Process worker
- Reeler
- Roller machinist
- Router
- Saw operator
- Sawyer
- Setter
- Setter-up
- Sheeter
- Sink maker
- Slicer
- Slicing machinist
- Slitter
- Spectacle frame maker
- Spectacle frame polisher
- Spectacle maker
- Spindle moulder
- Spreader
- Stamping machinist
- Steam blower
- Stringer
- Tank liner
- Tile maker
- Tile worker
- Tray maker
- Trimmer
- Tube maker
- Tube moulder
- Tube operator
- Tube roller
- Tube twister
- Turner
Similar occupations
All jobs in Process, plant and machine operatives
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.