Construction operatives n.e.c.: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time construction operatives n.e.c. in the UK earned a median £32,446 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 17% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
That puts it 237th of 382, in the middle third of occupations.
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £26,836 and £37,754.
Median full-time pay: women £29,384 a year, men £32,667 a year.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 40 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
ASHE counts roughly 91,000 employee jobs, 82% full-time.
From £25,622 in 2021, the median is up 26.6%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 85,400 people in this line of work, 16% of them in South East.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £23,877 | £486.60 | £12.37 | £14,672 | £283.40 | £12.30 |
| 20th percentile | £26,083 | £520.10 | £13.07 | £22,646 | £447.20 | £12.75 |
| 25th percentile | £26,836 | £534.10 | £13.38 | £24,200 | £488.00 | £13.05 |
| 30th percentile | £27,943 | £549.30 | £13.75 | £25,200 | £509.60 | £13.37 |
| 40th percentile | £30,114 | £588.10 | £14.50 | £27,745 | £542.10 | £14.08 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £32,446 | £625.00 | £15.35 | £30,237 | £589.00 | £14.85 |
| 60th percentile | £34,812 | £671.70 | £16.09 | £33,082 | £634.50 | £15.80 |
| 70th percentile | £36,798 | £725.10 | £17.45 | £35,794 | £693.40 | £16.94 |
| 75th percentile | £37,754 | £762.70 | £18.30 | £37,008 | £726.20 | £17.78 |
| 80th percentile | £39,838 | £805.10 | £19.26 | £38,640 | £769.20 | £18.69 |
| 90th percentile | – | £906.90 | £21.54 | – | £889.40 | £21.15 |
| Mean | £33,714 | £667.50 | £16.28 | £30,583 | £601.20 | £16.09 |
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 | £25,622 | £521.20 | £12.03 | £23,963 | £493.70 | 74 |
| 2022 revised | £26,931 | £528.70 | £12.65 | £25,000 | £484.90 | 102 |
| 2023 revised | £27,597 | £546.50 | £13.48 | £26,214 | £517.40 | 82 |
| 2024 revised | £30,396 | £600.00 | £14.61 | £28,421 | £561.10 | 95 |
| 2025 provisional | £32,446 | £625.00 | £15.35 | £30,237 | £589.00 | 91 |
Construction operatives n.e.c. by region
UK: 85,400 (± 11,300), April 2025 to March 2026. 10 of the 12 regions and nations have samples too small to publish.
| Region or nation | People in employment | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 14,000* | ± 4,700 |
| South West | 8,400* | ± 3,300 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What construction operatives n.e.c. do
Job holders in this unit group operate insulating equipment, fix plasterboard to ceilings and walls, help construct, maintain, repair and demolish buildings and clean and resurface eroded stonework, lay, join and examine pipe sections for drainage, gas, water or similar piping systems, install lighting systems in roads, domestic and commercial settings and carry out a variety of other construction operative tasks not elsewhere classified in minor group 815: Construction operatives. (ONS SOC 2020, 8159)
Also covers: asbestos remover, cable layer, demolition worker, general handyman, maintenance man, public lighting operative, thermal insulation engineer, ames taper, asbestos operative, asbestos stripper, blind fitter, blind fixer, blind installer, bridge repairer, builder's repairer, building cleaner, building insulator and building operative (113 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Fills machine with insulating mixture, positions hose, drills access hole and fills cavities or coats surfaces to prevent loss or absorption of heat and provide fire protections
- Cuts, shapes and fits wood, lays bricks and tiles, cleans exterior surfaces of buildings and resurfaces eroded stone or brickwork, and performs other tasks in the construction, alteration, repair and demolition of buildings
- Selects appropriate asbestos, clay, concrete, plastic or metal pipe sections and lowers them into prepared trenches using hoisting equipment
- Joints pipe by sealing with rubber, cement, lead, etc., connects piping to manholes and attaches pipe junctions as required
- Tests joints with electronic test equipment or by filling piping with water, smoke or compressed air
- Installs electrical lighting in streets, homes and business/manufacturing settings
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically provided on-the-job. NVQs/SVQs in Building and Construction at levels 1, 2 and 3 and apprenticeships in some areas are available.
Related
Construction operatives (median £35,290) · Rail construction and maintenance operatives · Road construction operatives · salary percentile · Average weekly hours worked in the UK · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026