Human resource managers and directors salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for human resource managers and directors in the UK is £57,529 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £3,660 a month.
Pay range for human resource managers and directors
This is the ONS occupation group "Human resource managers and directors" (SOC 2020 code 1136). ONS figures for 2025 show that one in ten earn less than £32,714, a quarter earn less than £43,676, half earn less than £57,529 and a quarter earn more than £78,677.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £32,714 | £2,726 | £27,074 | £2,256 |
| 25th percentile | £43,676 | £3,640 | £34,966 | £2,914 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £57,529 | £4,794 | £43,924 | £3,660 |
| 75th percentile | £78,677 | £6,556 | £56,190 | £4,683 |
| 90th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. Not published means ONS did not publish that figure because the estimate is not reliable enough. ONS rates the median for human resource managers and directors as precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 3.9%. ONS estimates about 152,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where human resource managers and directors rank
The median for human resource managers and directors ranks 25th of 362 occupations on this site, in the top quarter, and 12th of 31 in managers, directors and senior officials. It is £18,490 (47.4%) higher than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for human resource managers and directors rose 8.3%, more than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs. 88 of 358 occupations had a change this large in either direction. ONS figures for one occupation come from a sample, so they can move a lot from one year to the next.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Business, research and administrative professionals n.e.c. (£58,341), Purchasing managers and directors (£58,005), Sales accounts and business development managers (£57,625), Rail transport operatives (£57,088), Solicitors and lawyers (£56,977) and Programmers and software development professionals (£56,914).
How spread out pay is
The middle half of full-time human resource managers and directors earn between £43,676 and £78,677, a gap of £35,001, or 60.8% of the median. That is £10,254 wider than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 13th widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, one of the wider middle ranges.
The mean for human resource managers and directors (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £69,039, which is £11,510 (20.0%) higher than the median. When the mean is above the median, a smaller number of higher salaries are pulling the average up. For all UK full-time jobs the mean is 24.3% above the median, so the gap for human resource managers and directors is smaller.
Human resource managers and directors and related jobs
Among these 6 jobs in the same ONS minor group, this one has the lowest median. The highest median among them is £94,135 (marketing, sales and advertising directors) and the lowest £57,529 (human resource managers and directors).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing, sales and advertising directors | 1132 | £94,135 | £5,430 |
| Information technology directors | 1137 | £91,671 | £5,311 |
| Financial managers and directors | 1131 | £76,447 | £4,575 |
| Functional managers and directors n.e.c. | 1139 | £75,711 | £4,539 |
| Purchasing managers and directors | 1134 | £58,005 | £3,683 |
| Human resource managers and directors | 1136 | £57,529 | £3,660 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, human resource managers and directors take home about £3,660 a month, against £2,636 on the UK median for all jobs. Scotland has its own income tax bands, so take-home pay on the same salary is different there.
| Group | Median a year | Take-home a month | Take-home a month in Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human resource managers and directors | £57,529 | £3,660 | £3,519 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Managers, directors and senior officials table, average salary by area, the take home pay calculator, salary to hourly calculator and pay rise calculator.
How this is worked out
Pay: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2025 provisional, SOC 2020 unit group 1136. Take-home: 2026/27 rates, tax code 1257L, no pension or student loan. How to read these figures.
Sources
- ASHE Table 14: earnings by occupation (4-digit SOC), 2025 provisional (ONS)
- ASHE Table 7: earnings by place of work, local authority, 2025 provisional (ONS)
- SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (ONS)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK)
Figures checked on 12 October 2026. ONS plans to publish its next ASHE figures on 22 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
On the median full-time salary of £57,529, take-home pay is about £3,660 a month (£43,924 a year) after 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance, with tax code 1257L and no pension or student loan. In Scotland, where income tax is different, it is about £3,519 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that one in ten earn less than £32,714, a quarter earn less than £43,676, half earn less than £57,529 and a quarter earn more than £78,677. ONS did not publish every point in the range because some estimates are not reliable enough.
Yes. The median for human resource managers and directors is £57,529, which is £18,490 (47.4%) higher than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 25th of 362 occupations on this site.