Delivery operatives: salary in the UK
About £24,751 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +3.6% on last year
£2,457 a month About £2,063 a month after tax 12 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 £22,979 in 2021 to £29,488 in 2026 (+28%); 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 | £15,643 | £18,850 | £22,979 | £29,595 | x |
| 2022 | x | £20,089 | £24,648 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £21,197 | £22,726 | £26,875 | x |
| 2024 | £21,210 | x | £26,054 | x | x |
| 2025 | £23,266 | £24,572 | £28,467 | £33,205 | x |
| 2026 | £24,465 | £25,898 | £29,488 | £35,360 | 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 £29,488 a year and half earn more. That is 28% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £25,898 and £35,360; one in ten earns less than £24,465.
Ranked by median, it is number 303 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,063 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,066 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £24,465 | £2,039 |
| 20th | £25,383 | £2,115 |
| 25th (P25) | £25,898 | £2,158 |
| 30th | £26,693 | £2,224 |
| 40th | £28,090 | £2,341 |
| Median (50th) | £29,488 | £2,457 |
| 60th | £31,977 | £2,665 |
| 70th | £34,065 | £2,839 |
| 75th (P75) | £35,360 | £2,947 |
| 80th | £36,639 | £3,053 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £29,614 | £31,419 | 11 |
| Women | x | £27,575 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £24,751 | £2,063 |
| Scotland | £24,791 | £2,066 |
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 55 job titles to SOC 9253 Delivery operatives. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Attendant
- Baggage man
- Bummaree
- Coal porter
- Crane attendant
- Crane driver's assistant
- Crane driver's mate
- Crane follower
- Delivery assistant
- Depotman
- Despatch porter
- Drayman's assistant
- Driver's assistant
- Driver's mate
- Dumper driver's assistant
- Freight lifter
- Furniture porter
- Furniture remover
- Furniture remover's assistant
- General porter
- Goods porter
- Grab driver's mate
- Gulley emptier's mate
- Hub operative
- Humper
- Labourer
- Laundry porter
- Lorry driver's assistant
- Lorry driver's mate
- Lorry loader
- Meat porter
- Motor porter
- Night porter
- Pitcher
- Porter
- Porter-messenger
- Porter-packer
- Porter-storeman
- Puller-back
- Removal contractor
- Removal hand
- Removal man
- Removalman
- Removals operative
- Removals packer
- Second man on lorry
- Store porter
- Stores porter
- Timber porter
- Transport man
- Transport worker
- Unloader
- Van attendant
- Van driver's assistant
- Van porter
Similar occupations
All jobs in Elementary 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.