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UK salary report · 2026

Kitchen Assistant Salary in London

Official ONS earnings for London, covering 33,000 jobs.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Imprecise estimate Where this comes from →

Median salary — London

£15,238

gross, per year, all employees

▼ 4.5% change on the previous year

Mean

£17,778

Jobs measured

33,000

What a typical kitchen assistant takes home

On the median of £15,238, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.

Take-home a month

£1,208

Take-home a year

£14,491

Income Tax

£534

National Insurance

£213

Work out yours — with pension, student loan and bonus → £15,000 after tax, step by step →

What most kitchen assistants actually earn

Half of kitchen assistants in London earn between £9,948 and £28,047. Earning above £28,047 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 “Other Elementary Services Occupations” group in London.

The full pay range

Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of kitchen assistants earn less than this.

20th
£8,145
25th
£9,948
30th
£11,141
40th
£13,745
50th
£16,692
60th
£21,094
70th
£25,438
75th
£28,047
80th
£29,951
90th
£34,827
Check where your salary sits

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

ONS publishes a sampling error of 11.8% 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 London 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.

Kitchen Assistant salary FAQs

What is the average Kitchen Assistant salary in London?

The median is £15,238 a year and the mean is £17,778, 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 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, so there is no separate rate for London.

What is a good Kitchen Assistant salary?

Half of kitchen assistants earn between £9,948 and £28,047. Anything above £28,047 is in the top quarter for the role.

How much do the highest-paid kitchen assistants earn?

The top 10% of kitchen assistants earn more than £34,827 a year, and the top quarter more than £28,047. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.

Do kitchen assistants in London earn more than the UK average?

The median in London is £15,238 against £13,397 across the UK, 13.7% higher. ONS marks the London figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.

Has kitchen assistant pay gone up in the last year?

ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at -4.5% for this occupation in London. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.

How many kitchen assistants are there in London?

ASHE counts around 33,000 employee jobs in “Kitchen and catering assistants” (SOC 9263) 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.

Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.

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