HR Director Salary in London
Official ONS earnings for London, covering 40,000 jobs.
Median salary — London
£66,725
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 15.5% change on the previous year
Mean
£83,363
Jobs measured
40,000
What a typical hr director takes home
On the median of £66,725, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£4,105
Take-home a year
£49,258
Income Tax
£14,122
National Insurance
£3,345
What most hr directors actually earn
Half of hr directors in London earn between £64,817 and £148,127. Earning above £148,127 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Functional Managers and Directors” group in London.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of hr directors earn less than this.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Human resource managers and directors
- SOC 2020 code
- 1136
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
HR Director salary FAQs
What is the average HR Director salary in London?
The median is £66,725 a year and the mean is £83,363, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a hr director earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £29.79 excluding overtime, or £30.47 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for London.
What is a good HR Director salary?
Half of hr directors earn between £64,817 and £148,127. Anything above £148,127 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a hr director?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of hr directors earn under £45,320 and the lowest quarter under £64,817 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid hr directors earn?
The top 10% of hr directors earn more than £243,871 a year, and the top quarter more than £148,127. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Do hr directors in London earn more than the UK average?
The median in London is £66,725 against £54,474 across the UK, 22.5% higher.
Has hr director pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +15.5% for this occupation in London. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many hr directors are there in London?
ASHE counts around 40,000 employee jobs in “Human resource managers and directors” (SOC 1136) in London. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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