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Kitchen assistant: salary in the UK

ONS occupation: Kitchen and catering assistants (SOC 9263)

£24,950

About £21,483 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)

median salary a year, full-time, +8.5% on last year

£2,079 a month About £1,790 a month after tax 86 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 £16,246 in 2021 to £24,950 in 2026 (+54%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.

Figures by year
P10P25MedianP75P90
2021£10,681£13,828£16,246xx
2022£11,756£15,217£18,287£21,909x
2023£12,254£15,999£20,104£23,554x
2024£13,165£17,458£21,653£25,361x
2025£15,285£18,946£23,000£26,928£31,256
2026£16,443£20,311£24,950£29,285x

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 £24,950 a year and half earn more. That is 39% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).

The middle half earn between £20,311 and £29,285; one in ten earns less than £16,443.

Ranked by median, it is number 356 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.

At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,790 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,794 in Scotland.

The median for men is £26,344 and for women £23,597, a gap of 10% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.

Percentiles

PercentileAnnualMonthly
10th (P10)£16,443£1,370
20th£19,370£1,614
25th (P25)£20,311£1,693
30th£21,345£1,779
40th£23,100£1,925
Median (50th)£24,950£2,079
60th£26,506£2,209
70th£28,175£2,348
75th (P75)£29,285£2,440
80th£30,391£2,533
90th (P90)xx

Men and women

MedianMeanJobs (thousands)
Men£26,344£26,27342
Women£23,597£23,86544

Take-home pay at the median

Where you livePer yearPer month
England, Wales, NI£21,483£1,790
Scotland£21,523£1,794

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 £25,000

Job titles in this occupation

ONS codes these 170 job titles to SOC 9263 Kitchen and catering assistants. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.

Show all 170 titles

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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.