Kitchen Assistant Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 314,000 jobs.
Median salary
£13,397
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 86.2% below the £24,950 median for people working full-time.
▲ 11.6% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£24,950
Part-time only
£11,122
Mean
£15,051
Jobs measured
314,000
What a typical kitchen assistant takes home
On the full-time median of £24,950, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,790
Take-home a year
£21,483
Income Tax
£2,476
National Insurance
£990
What most kitchen assistants actually earn
Half of kitchen assistants earn between £8,576 and £20,644. Earning above £20,644 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of kitchen assistants earn less than this.
Kitchen Assistant salary by region
9 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £15,238 | £17,778 |
| Scotland | £14,758 | £16,596 |
| South West | £13,896 | £14,825 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £13,876 | £14,592 |
| North West | £13,100 | £15,069 |
| South East | £12,932 | £14,967 |
| East | £12,699 | £14,209 |
| West Midlands | £12,557 | £14,285 |
| East Midlands | £12,488 | £13,039 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Kitchen and catering assistants
- SOC 2020 code
- 9263
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 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.
Kitchen Assistant salary FAQs
What is the average Kitchen Assistant salary in the UK?
The median is £13,397 a year and the mean is £15,051, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £24,950 and part-time employees £11,122.
How much does a kitchen assistant earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £13.02 excluding overtime, or £13.50 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Kitchen Assistant salary?
Half of kitchen assistants earn between £8,576 and £20,644. Anything above £20,644 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a kitchen assistant?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of kitchen assistants earn under £4,202 and the lowest quarter under £8,576 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid kitchen assistants earn?
The top 10% of kitchen assistants earn more than £27,673 a year, and the top quarter more than £20,644. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays kitchen assistants the most?
South East, at a median of £12,932, is the highest of the 3 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; West Midlands is the lowest at £12,557. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has kitchen assistant pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +11.6% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many kitchen assistants are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 314,000 employee jobs in “Kitchen and catering assistants” (SOC 9263) in the UK. 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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