Road construction operatives: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time road construction operatives in the UK earned a median £38,833 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): almost exactly the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
That puts it 147th of 382, in the middle third of occupations.
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £32,079 and £46,527.
Median full-time pay: women £13.40 an hour, men £16.45 an hour.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 44.2 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
ASHE counts roughly 21,000 employee jobs, 95% full-time.
From £30,810 in 2021, the median is up 26.0%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 13,400 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 | – | £528.70 | £12.66 | – | £498.80 | £12.56 |
| 20th percentile | £29,856 | £606.10 | £13.53 | £28,085 | £578.80 | £13.50 |
| 25th percentile | £32,079 | £637.10 | £14.06 | £30,020 | £617.00 | £13.87 |
| 30th percentile | £33,133 | £660.70 | £14.71 | £32,409 | £650.70 | £14.41 |
| 40th percentile | £35,389 | £709.70 | £15.59 | £34,624 | £697.40 | £15.57 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £38,833 | £763.00 | £16.41 | £38,315 | £751.10 | £16.23 |
| 60th percentile | £41,932 | £825.80 | £17.12 | £41,315 | £822.10 | £17.07 |
| 70th percentile | £43,648 | £863.90 | £18.18 | £43,255 | £858.70 | £18.06 |
| 75th percentile | £46,527* | £919.00* | £18.86 | £45,338* | £903.80* | £18.81 |
| 80th percentile | – | £1,000.90* | £20.39 | – | £983.10* | £20.39 |
| Mean | £39,961 | £818.70 | £17.12 | £38,927 | £798.10 | £17.10 |
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 | £30,810 | £592.90 | £12.71 | £30,475 | £589.50 | 19 |
| 2022 revised | £31,987 | £626.50 | £13.90 | £31,818 | £604.00 | 21 |
| 2023 revised | £33,830 | £678.30 | £14.83 | £33,225 | £659.60 | 17* |
| 2024 revised | £37,696 | £706.10 | £15.12 | £37,309 | £703.80 | 21 |
| 2025 provisional | £38,833 | £763.00 | £16.41 | £38,315 | £751.10 | 21 |
Road construction operatives by region
UK: 13,400 (± 4,500), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What road construction operatives do
Road construction operatives construct, repair and maintain roads and lay paving slabs and kerbstones to form pavements and street gutters. (ONS SOC 2020, 8152)
Also covers: asphalter, concrete finisher (building construction), highways operative, paver, road worker, tarmacer, asphalt layer, asphalt raker, concrete assembler, concrete erector, concrete finisher, concrete layer, concrete leveller, kerb layer, kerb setter, maintenance hand, reinstater (road) and road constructor (49 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Inspects road surfaces for hazards or signs of deterioration, clears mud, weeds and debris from road and spreads grit or salt as required
- Sets up traffic management systems around work site such as cones, lights and barriers
- Cuts away broken road surface with pick or pneumatic drill
- Heats bitumen in bucket, applies it to newly laid asphalt and beats or draws tamper head on asphalt to close joints
- Spreads bitumen, tar or asphalt and compacts surface using roller
- Spreads aggregate over road surfaces using shovel, lays markings on road surface and repairs crash barriers
No academic qualifications are required. Training is typically provided on-the-job. All sites are required to have a ‘trained operative’ registered with the Street Workers Qualification Register. Trained operatives are required to attend accredited assessment centres. NVQs/SVQs in Highway Maintenance and Road Building are available at levels 1 and 2.
Related
Construction operatives (median £35,290) · Scaffolders, stagers and riggers · Rail construction and maintenance 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