Construction operatives n.e.c.: salary in the UK
About £28,004 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +4.2% on last year
£2,834 a month About £2,334 a month after tax 57 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 £25,622 in 2021 to £34,006 in 2026 (+33%); 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 | £17,482 | £20,693 | £25,622 | £32,274 | x |
| 2022 | £18,617 | x | £26,931 | £33,314 | x |
| 2023 | £19,770 | £23,107 | £27,597 | £34,836 | x |
| 2024 | £22,123 | £25,309 | £30,396 | £37,064 | x |
| 2025 | £23,972 | £27,189 | £32,630 | £38,358 | x |
| 2026 | £24,605 | £27,925 | £34,006 | £41,124 | 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 £34,006 a year and half earn more. That is 17% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £27,925 and £41,124; one in ten earns less than £24,605.
Ranked by median, it is number 220 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,334 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,333 in Scotland.
The median for men is £34,105 and for women £31,693, a gap of 7% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £24,605 | £2,050 |
| 20th | £26,774 | £2,231 |
| 25th (P25) | £27,925 | £2,327 |
| 30th | £29,052 | £2,421 |
| 40th | £31,293 | £2,608 |
| Median (50th) | £34,006 | £2,834 |
| 60th | £36,168 | £3,014 |
| 70th | £39,253 | £3,271 |
| 75th (P75) | £41,124 | £3,427 |
| 80th | £43,469 | £3,622 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £34,105 | £35,864 | 54 |
| Women | £31,693 | £32,812 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £28,004 | £2,334 |
| Scotland | £27,999 | £2,333 |
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 £34,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 132 job titles to SOC 8159 Construction operatives n.e.c.. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Acoustic insulation installer
- Ames taper
- Asbestos operative
- Asbestos remover
- Asbestos stripper
- Blind fitter
- Blind fixer
- Blind installer
- Bridge repairer
- Builder's repairer
- Building cleaner
- Building insulator
- Building operative
- Building operator
- Building repairer
- Cable layer
- Cavity wall installer
- Cavity wall insulation technician
- Cavity wall insulator
- Cavity wall technician
- CCTV operator
- Ceiling erector
- Ceiling fitter
- Ceiling fixer
- Chimney lining engineer
- Civil engineer's contractor
- Civil engineering contractor
- Civil engineering operative
- Concrete operative
- Concrete repairer
- Construction operative
- Contractor
- Curtain wall fixer
- Demolisher
- Demolition contractor
- Demolition engineer
- Demolition operative
- Demolition worker
- Dismantler
- Distribution fitter
- Distribution worker
- Drain layer
- Drain pipe fitter
- Drainage engineer
- Draught proofer
- Estate assistant
- Estates assistant
- Estates officer
- Explosives engineer
- Facilities assistant
- Facilities management assistant
- Facilities operative
- Fire proofer
- Fire protection engineer
- Fitter
- Floor polisher
- Garage erector
- Gas service layer
- General contractor
- General handyman
Show all 132 titles
- Greenhouse erector
- Grouter
- Handyman
- Hard corer
- House repairer
- Insulating engineer
- Insulating fitter
- Insulation engineer
- Insulation fitter
- Insulation installer
- Insulation sprayer
- Insulator
- Jointer
- Leading man
- Light attendant
- Lighting attendant
- Lighting foreman
- Main layer
- Mains fitter
- Mains layer
- Maintenance assistant
- Maintenance hand
- Maintenance handyman
- Maintenance man
- Maintenance officer
- Mastic asphalter
- Mattock man
- Metal frame fixer
- Multi trader
- Partitioner
- Patent flooring and roofing layer and fixer
- Pipe joiner
- Pipe jointer
- Pipe layer
- Pit sinker
- Pitcher
- Plaster board fixer
- Portable building erector
- Prefab erector
- Property maintenance operative
- Property repairer
- Public lighting operative
- Public works contractor
- Sand blaster
- Service layer
- Shaft sinker
- Shot firer
- Sign erector
- Sign fitter
- Sign fixer
- Sign installer
- Signal lampman
- Signs officer
- Sinker
- Sound insulation installer
- Spindle jigger
- Sprayer
- Stone cleaner
- Stone pitcher
- Stone restorer
- Street lighting assistant
- Sun-blind fitter
- Suspended ceiling installer
- Taper and jointer
- Thermal insulation engineer
- Thermal insulator
- Topman
- Track layer
- Tunnel borer
- Tunnel miner
- Tunneller
- Well sinker
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.