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Average Personal Support Worker Salary in United Kingdom for 2026

A personal support worker in United Kingdom earns about 46,000 GBP a year. That's 34% below the national average of 69,700 GBP.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in United Kingdom sit around 22,400 GBP a year, while the very top stretches to 72,400 GBP. Everything on this page is in British pound (GBP, symbol £), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in United Kingdom, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

To turn a gross salary in United Kingdom into a take-home figure, use our United Kingdom salary after tax calculator, which works the latest tax brackets and contributions through the math for you.

How much does a personal support worker make in United Kingdom?

Average salary
46,000 GBP
3,833 GBP per month
Lowest reported
22,400 GBP
1,866 GBP per month
Highest reported
72,400 GBP
6,033 GBP per month

A typical personal support worker working in United Kingdom brings home around 3,833 GBP a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 22,400 GBP, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 72,400 GBP for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior personal support worker working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around. For a cross-country comparison, see the personal support worker salary in Guernsey or Jersey, both of which pay in the same currency.

How personal support worker pay ranges in United Kingdom

A good way to think about salary in United Kingdom is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all personal support workers in United Kingdom earn less than 45,000 GBP a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 30,300 GBP (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 54,100 GBP (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of personal support workers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 22,400 GBP. The highest stretch to 72,400 GBP, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

22,400
Low
45,000
Median
72,400
High
30,300
25th
54,100
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in GBP

Personal support worker pay by experience in United Kingdom

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a personal support worker in United Kingdom, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical personal support worker salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    25,500 GBP
  • 2-5 Years
    +45% from previous
    37,100 GBP
  • 5-10 Years
    +26% from previous
    46,700 GBP
  • 10-15 Years
    +22% from previous
    56,900 GBP
  • 15-20 Years
    +13% from previous
    64,100 GBP
  • 20+ Years
    +5% from previous
    67,400 GBP

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 45%. That is the point at which a personal support worker typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Personal support worker pay by education in United Kingdom

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving personal support worker pay in United Kingdom. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average personal support worker salary in United Kingdom broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    38,000 GBP
  • Master's Degree
    +42% from previous
    54,100 GBP

Personal support worker gender pay gap in United Kingdom

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and United Kingdom is no exception. Male personal support workers in United Kingdom earn an average of 44,200 GBP a year, while female personal support workers earn around 45,600 GBP. That works out to a 3% gap in favour of women, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Personal Support Worker gender pay gap

3%

Men earn this much less than women on average in United Kingdom.

Women 45,600 GBP
Men 44,200 GBP

Pay raises for a personal support worker in United Kingdom

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in United Kingdom sees a raise of about 9% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 6% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in United Kingdom, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in United Kingdom:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Personal support worker bonus rates in United Kingdom

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

29%

29% of personal support workers in United Kingdom reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a personal support worker a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3% of base salary. The remaining 71% of personal support workers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in United Kingdom

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Personal support worker: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in United Kingdom is about 7% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in United Kingdom on average.

Public sector 72,700 GBP
Private sector 68,200 GBP

Personal support worker salary by city and region in United Kingdom

Personal support worker pay is not even across United Kingdom. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Sheffield
  • Manchester
  • Glasgow
  • Birmingham
  • Bradford
  • Somerset
  • Nottingham
  • Edinburgh
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
EnglandRegion87,800 GBP87,300 GBP45,000-137,100 GBP
ScotlandRegion59,100 GBP58,400 GBP30,100-92,100 GBP
SheffieldCity52,600 GBP50,500 GBP27,000-80,200 GBP
ManchesterCity51,800 GBP48,200 GBP25,800-78,200 GBP
GlasgowCity51,800 GBP51,800 GBP27,300-83,700 GBP
BirminghamCity51,800 GBP57,900 GBP26,200-85,500 GBP
BradfordCity51,600 GBP47,500 GBP28,800-74,900 GBP
SomersetCity51,600 GBP53,600 GBP22,000-79,000 GBP
NottinghamCity51,600 GBP49,800 GBP24,200-76,800 GBP
EdinburghCity51,100 GBP49,700 GBP26,600-79,000 GBP
LeedsCity50,800 GBP50,800 GBP24,800-74,900 GBP
LondonCity50,100 GBP54,200 GBP25,300-83,300 GBP
CoventryCity49,700 GBP51,600 GBP22,200-74,300 GBP
BristolCity49,400 GBP46,000 GBP23,600-73,500 GBP
BrightonCity49,200 GBP45,900 GBP25,800-77,000 GBP
LiverpoolCity49,100 GBP51,900 GBP22,000-79,600 GBP
CardiffCity47,800 GBP49,700 GBP20,400-75,000 GBP
NewcastleCity47,400 GBP45,000 GBP26,600-76,000 GBP
LeicesterCity47,400 GBP49,400 GBP23,400-76,000 GBP
DerbyCity46,700 GBP51,300 GBP22,100-77,000 GBP
SouthamptonCity46,700 GBP45,300 GBP24,800-72,300 GBP
BelfastCity46,700 GBP45,000 GBP23,600-71,900 GBP
ArmaghCity46,400 GBP41,500 GBP23,300-68,900 GBP
GloucesterCity46,400 GBP41,500 GBP25,300-69,700 GBP
PortsmouthCity46,400 GBP49,200 GBP23,000-74,100 GBP
SwanseaCity46,400 GBP45,000 GBP26,200-71,200 GBP
ExeterCity46,400 GBP42,400 GBP26,200-69,400 GBP
WolverhamptonCity46,100 GBP51,500 GBP20,000-72,700 GBP
AberdeenCity46,000 GBP44,300 GBP24,800-69,600 GBP
PlymouthCity45,600 GBP46,700 GBP23,200-70,600 GBP
WalesRegion45,300 GBP42,400 GBP22,200-67,200 GBP
DundeeCity45,200 GBP44,300 GBP23,100-68,200 GBP
NewryCity45,000 GBP44,200 GBP20,100-68,800 GBP
Kingston upon HullCity45,000 GBP46,300 GBP23,400-69,200 GBP
HartlepoolCity45,000 GBP41,500 GBP22,800-66,100 GBP
PeterboroughCity45,000 GBP43,100 GBP20,000-69,100 GBP
NewportCity44,800 GBP48,600 GBP18,200-69,100 GBP
OxfordCity44,800 GBP44,800 GBP20,000-67,200 GBP
DerryCity44,300 GBP43,500 GBP23,800-67,900 GBP
InvernessCity44,300 GBP44,500 GBP21,700-66,900 GBP
NorwichCity44,200 GBP44,300 GBP23,100-68,200 GBP
YorkCity44,200 GBP41,400 GBP25,400-68,100 GBP
LincolnCity43,500 GBP44,200 GBP21,400-68,100 GBP
PooleCity43,500 GBP46,100 GBP21,200-68,400 GBP
CambridgeCity43,200 GBP40,200 GBP21,100-64,600 GBP
BangorCity42,500 GBP45,100 GBP18,600-64,200 GBP
WinchesterCity41,700 GBP44,300 GBP19,200-62,600 GBP
WakefieldCity41,700 GBP39,800 GBP20,400-63,900 GBP
DurhamCity41,500 GBP45,400 GBP17,800-67,900 GBP
LisburnCity41,500 GBP41,500 GBP20,000-67,800 GBP
SalisburyCity41,400 GBP40,900 GBP23,400-64,300 GBP
RiponCity41,100 GBP37,300 GBP20,000-60,700 GBP
ChesterCity41,000 GBP41,500 GBP20,900-64,900 GBP
Northern IrelandRegion40,900 GBP40,900 GBP20,400-59,800 GBP
TruroCity40,300 GBP40,300 GBP23,000-64,800 GBP
CanterburyCity40,300 GBP40,300 GBP18,200-63,200 GBP
StirlingCity39,800 GBP44,900 GBP17,800-63,400 GBP
AbingdonCity39,500 GBP40,300 GBP17,800-64,300 GBP
St DavidsCity36,900 GBP33,800 GBP21,200-57,100 GBP
StromnessCity36,900 GBP39,800 GBP19,100-60,100 GBP
WellsCity36,900 GBP40,000 GBP17,100-58,700 GBP
KirkwallCity36,400 GBP39,600 GBP16,300-59,500 GBP
StrontianCity36,200 GBP33,800 GBP21,200-57,100 GBP

Personal Support Worker in United Kingdom: FAQs

  • How much does a personal support worker make per month in United Kingdom?

    A personal support worker in United Kingdom earns about 3,833 GBP a month before tax, based on an annual average of 46,000 GBP.

  • What's the salary range for a personal support worker in United Kingdom?

    Entry-level personal support workers in United Kingdom start near 22,400 GBP. Top-end pay reaches around 72,400 GBP. The middle 50% of earners sit between 30,300 and 54,100 GBP.

  • Is the median personal support worker salary in United Kingdom higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 45,000 GBP, lower than the average of 46,000 GBP. Half of personal support workers in United Kingdom earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for personal support workers in United Kingdom?

    Men working as a personal support worker in United Kingdom earn around 3% less than women on average (44,200 vs 45,600 GBP a year).

  • Do personal support workers in United Kingdom get bonuses?

    About 29% of personal support workers in United Kingdom reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3% of base salary.

  • Do personal support workers earn more in the public or private sector in United Kingdom?

    In United Kingdom, the public sector pays a personal support worker about 7% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do personal support workers in United Kingdom get a pay raise?

    A personal support worker in United Kingdom sees a raise of around 9% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 6% a year.