Metal working machine operatives salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for metal working machine operatives in the UK is £31,500 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £2,183 a month.
Pay range for metal working machine operatives
This is the ONS occupation group "Metal working machine operatives" (SOC 2020 code 8120). ONS figures for 2025 show that one in ten earn less than £24,641, a quarter earn less than £27,304, half earn less than £31,500 and a quarter earn more than £39,688.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £24,641 | £2,053 | £21,261 | £1,772 |
| 25th percentile | £27,304 | £2,275 | £23,178 | £1,932 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £31,500 | £2,625 | £26,200 | £2,183 |
| 75th percentile | £39,688 | £3,307 | £32,095 | £2,675 |
| 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 metal working machine operatives as reasonably precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 7.2%. ONS estimates about 12,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where metal working machine operatives rank
The median for metal working machine operatives ranks 245th of 362 occupations on this site, in the lower half, and 23rd of 35 in process, plant and machine operatives. It is £7,539 (19.3%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for metal working machine operatives rose 2.9%, less than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Hire services managers and proprietors (£31,626), Telephonists (£31,568), Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks (£31,560), Sales related occupations n.e.c. (£31,480), Fork-lift truck drivers (£31,279) and Clergy (£31,183).
How spread out pay is
The middle half of full-time metal working machine operatives earn between £27,304 and £39,688, a gap of £12,384, or 39.3% of the median. That is £12,363 narrower than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 130th widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, in the lower half of the list.
The mean for metal working machine operatives (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £33,999, which is £2,499 (7.9%) 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 metal working machine operatives is smaller.
Metal working machine operatives and related jobs
Among these 4 jobs in the same or nearby ONS occupation groups, this one has the lowest median. The highest median among them is £32,871 (metal making and treating process operatives) and the lowest £31,500 (metal working machine operatives).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal making and treating process operatives | 8115 | £32,871 | £2,266 |
| Plastics process operatives | 8114 | £32,644 | £2,252 |
| Process operatives n.e.c. | 8119 | £31,717 | £2,196 |
| Metal working machine operatives | 8120 | £31,500 | £2,183 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, metal working machine operatives take home about £2,183 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal working machine operatives | £31,500 | £2,183 | £2,185 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Process, plant and machine operatives 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 8120. 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 £31,500, take-home pay is about £2,183 a month (£26,200 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 £2,185 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that one in ten earn less than £24,641, a quarter earn less than £27,304, half earn less than £31,500 and a quarter earn more than £39,688. ONS did not publish every point in the range because some estimates are not reliable enough.
No. The median for metal working machine operatives is £31,500, which is £7,539 (19.3%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 245th of 362 occupations on this site.