Senior care workers: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time senior care workers in the UK earned a median £29,381 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 (95th from the bottom).
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £25,272 and £33,740.
Median full-time pay: women £28,585 a year, men £30,776 a year.
About 76% of the roughly 104,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 the median has risen 31.1% (from £22,403), faster than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 111,600 people in this line of work, 15% of them in East of England.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £21,671 | £467.80 | £12.39 | £13,987 | £299.60 | £12.42 |
| 20th percentile | £24,226 | £513.20 | £12.94 | £19,285 | £422.90 | £12.89 |
| 25th percentile | £25,272 | £530.20 | £13.17 | £21,440 | £456.40 | £13.12 |
| 30th percentile | £26,156 | £547.60 | £13.33 | £22,517 | £483.10 | £13.25 |
| 40th percentile | £27,956 | £572.60 | £13.75 | £25,199 | £524.10 | £13.68 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £29,381 | £601.40 | £14.17 | £27,417 | £559.30 | £14.14 |
| 60th percentile | £30,720 | £630.30 | £14.78 | £29,116 | £596.20 | £14.75 |
| 70th percentile | £32,562 | £675.20 | £15.47 | £30,959 | £632.30 | £15.47 |
| 75th percentile | £33,740 | £698.70 | £16.00 | £32,059 | £662.80 | £15.97 |
| 80th percentile | £35,041 | £717.30 | £16.76 | £33,668 | £693.10 | £16.67 |
| 90th percentile | – | £794.20 | £18.48* | £37,644* | £773.60 | £18.51 |
| Mean | £29,804 | £624.90 | £14.90 | £26,603 | £554.80 | £14.91 |
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 | £22,403 | £452.20 | £10.83 | £20,445 | £413.50 | 86 |
| 2022 revised | £24,014 | £486.80 | £11.60 | £21,588 | £445.60 | 100 |
| 2023 revised | £25,518 | £522.40 | £12.27 | £22,948 | £481.20 | 94 |
| 2024 revised | £27,520 | £559.60 | £13.07 | £25,272 | £507.20 | 110 |
| 2025 provisional | £29,381 | £601.40 | £14.17 | £27,417 | £559.30 | 104 |
Senior care workers by region
UK: 111,600 (± 13,000), April 2025 to March 2026. 6 of the 12 regions and nations have samples too small to publish.
| Region or nation | People in employment | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 16,700* | ± 5,600 |
| South East | 16,300* | ± 5,000 |
| North West | 11,600* | ± 4,100 |
| Scotland | 11,100* | ± 3,800 |
| South West | 11,000* | ± 3,800 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 9,300* | ± 3,600 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What senior care workers do
Senior care workers routinely oversee and monitor care workers, care assistants and home carers. They also attend to the personal needs and comforts of children, the elderly and the infirm and others with care and support needs (‘service users’) within residential care establishments, day care establishments or in their own homes. (ONS SOC 2020, 6136)
Also covers: care coordinator (care/residential home), senior care assistant, senior carer, senior support worker (local government: welfare services), team leader (nursing home), care coordinator, care practitioner, care supervisor, home leader, scheme manager, team leader, community care coordinator, field care supervisor, home care supervisor, senior autism practitioner, senior care worker, senior healthcare assistant and senior night carer (32 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Routinely oversees and monitors care workers and home carers
- Takes responsibility for the shift and for the service while on duty
- Responds to emergencies and provides guidance and support to care workers
- Assists and enables service users to dress, undress, wash, use the toilet and bathe
- Serves meals to service users at table or in bed, assists with feeding if required
- Assists with service users’ overall comfort and wellbeing
There are no formal academic entry requirements. In most cases workers will be required to register with the appropriate statutory body which involves satisfying the registration criteria. This would normally include holding or working towards the appropriate qualification for the job. A wide range of qualifications including NVQs/SVQs covering various aspects of care are available. Senior care workers must be qualified to an appropriate level (usually NVQ level 3). They often have a background in social care and have achieved a qualification in this area some may have nursing qualifications. Background checks including a DBS check are likely to be required.
Related
Caring personal services (median £28,513) · Care workers and home carers · Care escorts · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026