Warehouse operatives salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for warehouse operatives in the UK is £27,832 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £1,963 a month.
Pay range for warehouse operatives
This is the ONS occupation group "Warehouse operatives" (SOC 2020 code 9252). ONS figures for 2025 show that one in ten earn less than £20,995, a quarter earn less than £24,447, half earn less than £27,832, a quarter earn more than £33,151 and one in ten earn more than £39,583.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £20,995 | £1,750 | £18,636 | £1,553 |
| 25th percentile | £24,447 | £2,037 | £21,121 | £1,760 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £27,832 | £2,319 | £23,559 | £1,963 |
| 75th percentile | £33,151 | £2,763 | £27,388 | £2,282 |
| 90th percentile | £39,583 | £3,299 | £32,019 | £2,668 |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. ONS rates the median for warehouse operatives as precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 0.9%. ONS estimates about 359,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where warehouse operatives rank
The median for warehouse operatives ranks 314th of 362 occupations on this site, in the bottom quarter, and 12th of 29 in elementary occupations. It is £11,207 (28.7%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for warehouse operatives rose 5.5%, more than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Refuse and salvage occupations (£27,857), Delivery drivers and couriers (£27,854), Customer service occupations n.e.c. (£27,848), Street cleaners (£27,633), Care workers and home carers (£27,468) and Roundspersons and van salespersons (£27,401).
How spread out pay is
The 90th percentile (£39,583) is 1.9 times the 10th (£20,995). That is a narrower spread than for all UK full-time jobs, where it is 3.2 times. The middle half of full-time warehouse operatives earn between £24,447 and £33,151, a gap of £8,704, or 31.3% of the median. That is £16,043 narrower than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 177th widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, one of the narrower middle ranges.
The mean for warehouse operatives (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £28,646, which is £814 (2.9%) 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 warehouse operatives is smaller.
Warehouse operatives and related jobs
Among these 4 jobs in the same ONS minor group, this one has the lowest median. The highest median among them is £35,863 (elementary storage occupations n.e.c.) and the lowest £27,832 (warehouse operatives).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary storage occupations n.e.c. | 9259 | £35,863 | £2,445 |
| Elementary storage supervisors | 9251 | £31,010 | £2,154 |
| Delivery operatives | 9253 | £28,749 | £2,018 |
| Warehouse operatives | 9252 | £27,832 | £1,963 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, warehouse operatives take home about £1,963 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse operatives | £27,832 | £1,963 | £1,967 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Elementary occupations 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 9252. 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 £27,832, take-home pay is about £1,963 a month (£23,559 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 £1,967 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that one in ten earn less than £20,995, a quarter earn less than £24,447, half earn less than £27,832, a quarter earn more than £33,151 and one in ten earn more than £39,583.
No. The median for warehouse operatives is £27,832, which is £11,207 (28.7%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 314th of 362 occupations on this site.