HR Director Salary in Scotland
Official ONS earnings for Scotland, covering 11,000 jobs.
Median salary — Scotland
£49,688
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 12.9% change on the previous year
Mean
£52,721
Jobs measured
11,000
What a typical hr director takes home
On the median of £49,688, 2026/27 tax year, Scottish rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£3,156
Take-home a year
£37,868
Income Tax
£8,851
National Insurance
£2,969
What most hr directors actually earn
Half of hr directors in Scotland earn between £41,912 and £90,138. Earning above £90,138 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 Scotland.
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
ONS publishes a sampling error of 12.3% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank Scotland against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
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 Scotland?
The median is £49,688 a year and the mean is £52,721, 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 Scotland.
What is a good HR Director salary?
Half of hr directors earn between £41,912 and £90,138. Anything above £90,138 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 £22,658 and the lowest quarter under £41,912 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do hr directors in Scotland earn more than the UK average?
The median in Scotland is £49,688 against £54,474 across the UK, 8.8% lower. ONS marks the Scotland figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Has hr director pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +12.9% for this occupation in Scotland. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many hr directors are there in Scotland?
ASHE counts around 11,000 employee jobs in “Human resource managers and directors” (SOC 1136) in Scotland. 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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