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Lowest paid jobs in the UK

The 50 occupations with the lowest median full-time salary, from ONS figures for the tax year ending 5 April 2026. The 50 occupations whose median ONS didn't publish are left out.

The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026, or £24,785 a year at 37.5 hours a week. Some medians here are lower than that: the figures are for the year before this rise, and ASHE counts anyone paid for more than 30 hours a week as full-time.

#OccupationMedianAfter tax a month
1Coffee shop workers£21,376£1,576
2Teaching assistants£22,018£1,614
3Educational support assistants£22,699£1,655
4Playworkers£23,118£1,680
5Bar staff£23,676£1,714
6Waiters and waitresses£24,647£1,772
7Kitchen and catering assistants£24,950£1,790
8Retail cashiers and check-out operators£25,013£1,794
9Early education and childcare practitioners£25,060£1,797
10Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants£25,380£1,816
11Sewing machinists£25,442£1,820
12Hairdressers and barbers£25,491£1,823
13Early education and childcare assistants£25,558£1,827
14Cleaners and domestics£25,732£1,837
15Launderers, dry cleaners and pressers£25,835£1,843
16Receptionists£25,865£1,845
17Higher level teaching assistants£26,026£1,855
18Beauticians and related occupations£26,046£1,856
19Sales and retail assistants£26,124£1,861
20Cooks£26,140£1,862
21Leisure and theme park attendants£26,159£1,863
22Housekeepers and related occupations£26,177£1,864
23Other elementary services occupations n.e.c.£26,904£1,908
24Dental nurses£26,923£1,909
25Animal care services occupations n.e.c.£26,939£1,910
26Bar and catering supervisors£26,998£1,913
27Elementary cleaning occupations n.e.c.£27,315£1,932
28Typists and related keyboard occupations£27,419£1,938
29Print finishing and binding workers£27,454£1,941
30Medical secretaries£27,462£1,941
31Legal secretaries£27,824£1,963
32Horticultural trades£27,893£1,967
33Fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c.£27,976£1,972
34Elementary administration occupations n.e.c.£28,031£1,975
35Leisure and travel service occupations n.e.c.£28,143£1,982
36School secretaries£28,245£1,988
37Sports and leisure assistants£28,272£1,990
38Vehicle valeters and cleaners£28,463£2,001
39Packers, bottlers, canners and fillers£28,523£2,005
40Human resources administrative occupations£28,635£2,011
41Hospital porters£28,681£2,014
42Care workers and home carers£28,738£2,018
43Customer service occupations n.e.c.£28,761£2,019
44Bakers and flour confectioners£28,768£2,019
45Groundsmen and greenkeepers£28,800£2,021
46Call and contact centre occupations£28,912£2,028
47Footwear and leather working trades£29,035£2,035
48Fitness and wellbeing instructors£29,053£2,036
49Elementary construction occupations n.e.c.£29,223£2,047
50Roundspersons and van salespersons£29,264£2,049

Each occupation page has the full pay range, pay by year and official job titles. After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan.

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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.