Industrial cleaning process occupations: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time industrial cleaning process occupations in the UK earned a median £27,306 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 30% 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 (51st from the bottom).
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £25,226 and £31,699.
Median full-time pay: women £25,767 a year, men £28,693 a year.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 40 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
About 67% of the roughly 18,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 the median has risen 28.1% (from £21,319), faster than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 48,400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £22,934* | £476.70 | £12.53 | – | – | £10.78* |
| 20th percentile | £24,586 | £504.80 | £12.73 | – | – | £12.21 |
| 25th percentile | £25,226 | £510.00 | £12.89 | £22,260* | – | £12.39 |
| 30th percentile | £25,609 | £519.30 | £13.03 | £22,866* | – | £12.55 |
| 40th percentile | £26,452 | £542.10 | £13.56 | £24,744 | £476.50* | £12.94 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £27,306 | £571.20 | £13.93 | £26,236 | £507.90 | £13.43 |
| 60th percentile | £28,536 | £596.80 | £14.39 | £27,302 | £541.90 | £13.98 |
| 70th percentile | £30,418 | £617.50 | £15.01 | £28,627* | £584.30 | £14.55 |
| 75th percentile | £31,699* | £628.00 | £15.30 | £30,100* | £598.20 | £15.00 |
| 80th percentile | – | £653.00* | £15.65* | – | £617.30* | £15.38 |
| Mean | £29,118 | £596.20 | £14.50 | £24,832 | £462.10 | £14.22 |
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 | £21,319 | £426.50 | £10.10 | £19,664* | £368.00 | 24 |
| 2022 revised | £21,738 | £444.30 | £10.68 | £18,497* | £322.90 | 30 |
| 2023 revised | £23,869 | £477.60 | £11.95 | £20,716 | £385.20 | 29 |
| 2024 revised | £25,593 | £523.20 | £12.55 | £20,127* | £398.90* | 24 |
| 2025 provisional | £27,306 | £571.20 | £13.93 | £26,236 | £507.90 | 18 |
Industrial cleaning process occupations by region
UK: 48,400 (± 8,500), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What industrial cleaning process occupations do
Industrial cleaning process occupations clean manufactured goods, plant and machinery, industrial premises and building exteriors. (ONS SOC 2020, 9131)
Also covers: cleaner and greaser, factory cleaner, hygiene operative, industrial cleaner, pot washer, air conditioner, bag cleaner, barrel cleaner, barrel washer, basket washer, bogie cleaner, boiler cleaner, book cleaner, boot cleaner, bottle cleaner, bottle rinser, bottle washer and box cleaner (98 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Uses industrial hoovering, polishing, pressure washer, steam cleaning and sandblasting equipment to clean industrial premises and building exteriors
- Dismantles engines, boilers, furnaces and other industrial plant and machinery, cleans component parts and reassembles equipment
- Washes, rinses, dries and cleans manufactured goods, and stacks cleaned articles ready for removal
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically received on-the-job. Vocational qualifications covering various aspects of industrial cleaning are available at levels 1 and 2. Qualifications are also offered by the British Institute of Cleaning Science.
Related
Elementary process plant occupations (median £27,447) · Packers, bottlers, canners and fillers · Elementary process plant occupations n.e.c. · salary percentile · Average weekly hours worked in the UK · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026