Bakers and flour confectioners: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time bakers and flour confectioners in the UK earned a median £29,117 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 25% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
It is in the lowest-paid third of the 382 occupations (90th from the bottom).
Median full-time pay: women £28,440 a year, men £30,168 a year.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 40 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
About 75% of the roughly 12,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 the median has risen 38.8% (from £20,979), faster than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 26,800 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20th percentile | £23,760 | £491.10 | £13.26 | £19,042* | £328.00* | £12.78 |
| 25th percentile | £24,481 | £503.40 | £13.40 | £20,935* | £359.30* | £13.10 |
| 30th percentile | £24,845 | £521.50 | £13.44 | £22,044* | £450.50* | £13.26 |
| 40th percentile | £27,117 | £540.20 | £13.77 | £24,588 | £492.70 | £13.45 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £29,117 | £561.60 | £14.15 | £26,983* | £526.30 | £13.88 |
| 60th percentile | £31,389* | £586.80 | £14.64 | £29,284 | £559.50 | £14.27 |
| 70th percentile | £34,122* | £639.50* | £15.46 | £32,922* | £589.80* | £14.96 |
| 75th percentile | – | £662.70* | £16.40 | £34,125* | £633.90* | £15.44 |
| Mean | £30,186 | £598.20 | £14.96 | £27,201 | £518.40 | £14.74 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £20,979 | £411.40 | £10.83 | £20,074 | £381.60 | 19* |
| 2022 revised | £21,535 | £439.90 | £11.07 | £20,559 | £405.70 | 19* |
| 2023 revised | £22,895 | £480.30 | £12.03 | £21,466 | £417.60 | 18* |
| 2024 revised | £25,312 | £511.20 | £13.19 | £22,505 | £468.00 | 18* |
| 2025 provisional | £29,117 | £561.60 | £14.15 | £26,983* | £526.30 | 12* |
Bakers and flour confectioners by region
UK: 26,800 (± 6,400), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What bakers and flour confectioners do
Bakers and flour confectioners prepare and bake dough, pastry and cake mixtures and make and finish flour confectionary products by hand. (ONS SOC 2020, 5432)
Also covers: baker, baker’s assistant, bakery manager, cake decorator, confectioner, baker's assistant, baker's manager, bakery foreman, bakery supervisor, cake artist, cake designer, cake maker, confectioner's assistant, first hand, flour confectioner, master baker, pastry cook and pastry hand (27 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Weighs ingredients according to recipe
- Mixes ingredients using hand or machine to obtain the required consistency
- Rolls and cuts pastry, stretches, kneads and moulds dough to form bread, rolls and buns
- Fills and glazes pastry, mixes ingredients for cakes
- Bakes bread, pastry and cakes
- Makes cake decorations, spreads icing, fillings and toppings on products
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically received on-the-job or by apprenticeship. Apprenticeships and traineeships leading to NVQs/SVQs or equivalent qualifications at levels 2 and 3 are available.
Related
Food preparation and hospitality trades (median £29,376) · Butchers · Fishmongers and poultry dressers · salary percentile · Average weekly hours worked in the UK · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026