UK Salary Guide for Immigrants: What to Expect

What the Government Publishes, and What It Does Not

There is no official UK table of average pay by sector. Recruiters publish salary surveys, job boards publish advertised ranges, and neither is a government figure. A guide that gives you "£35,000 to £80,000 for technology" has made it up, or copied someone who did. This page does not carry those numbers.

What is published, and what this page uses:

• The legal minimum wage, set each April and enforced by HMRC
• Income tax bands and National Insurance rates,set each tax year
• Pension auto-enrolment minimums, set in law
• Going rates for each occupation code on sponsored routes, published in Appendix Skilled Occupations. If you are being sponsored, that figure is the closest thing to a published salary for your job — see the Skilled Worker salary threshold

The Minimum Wage

These rates apply from 1 April 2026, to every worker, whatever their immigration status:

• 21 and over (National Living Wage): £12.71 an hour
• 18 to 20: £10.85 an hour
• Under 18: £8.00 an hour
• Apprentice: £8.00 an hour, for apprentices under 19 or in the first year of the apprenticeship. After that, the rate for their age applies

The rates change every April. Check the GOV.UK minimum wage page rather than trusting a figure in any guide, including this one.

Income Tax and National Insurance

For the tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

• Up to £12,570 — no tax (the personal allowance)
• £12,571 to £50,270 — 20%
• £50,271 to £125,140 — 40%
• Over £125,140 — 45%

Above £100,000 the personal allowance drops by £1 for every £2 of income, and is gone at £125,140.

Scotland sets its own bands, and they are not the same. For 2026 to 2027: 19% from £12,571 to £16,537, 20% to £29,526, 21% to £43,662, 42% to £75,000, 45% to £125,140, and 48% above that. Where you live decides which set applies, not where your employer is.

Employee National Insurance is charged on top: 8% of weekly earnings between £242 and £967, and 2% on anything above £967 a week.

Understanding Your Payslip

UK payslips show several deductions from your gross salary:

• Income tax: Based on your tax band (see our tax guide)
• National Insurance: Contributes to state pension and benefits
• Pension contribution: under auto-enrolment the minimum total is 8% of earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, of which the employer must put in at least 3% (see our pension guide)
• Student loan repayment: if you have a UK student loan

Take-home pay depends on your tax code, your pension scheme and whether you are a Scottish taxpayer, so no single ratio of gross to net holds. The GOV.UK income tax rates page carries the current bands, and HMRC publishes a calculator that works out the deductions from a specific salary.

Regional Differences

Pay does vary across the UK, but no government source publishes a regional average this guide could quote, so it gives none. Two regional differences are published and do matter:

• Scottish income tax. If you live in Scotland you pay the Scottish bands above, which are higher than the UK-wide ones over roughly £29,000 and lower below it
• Going rates do not vary by region. The Skilled Worker salary rules use one national figure per occupation code. A sponsored job in Newcastle has the same threshold as the same job in London

For a comparison of UK cities, see our best cities guide and London vs other cities. Check GOV.UK for current minimum wage rates.

Salary Negotiation Tips

• Job adverts, recruiter surveys and published pay scales are the only market evidence there is. The NHS and most universities and councils publish their pay scales in full
• The package is more than salary: pension above the 3% minimum, leave above the statutory minimum, and any insurance
• For a sponsored Skilled Worker role, the salary must meet the general threshold of £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher. That is a floor, and agreeing more does not affect the visa
• If a sponsored salary is cut below the threshold later, the sponsor has to report it and the permission is affected. Any change to sponsored pay or duties is an immigration matter as well as an employment one

See our CV guide and interview culture guide for more on the UK job search.

Benefits Beyond Salary

Two of these are legal minimums rather than perks:

• Paid holiday. Almost every worker is entitled to 5.6 weeks a year — 28 days for someone working 5 days a week. An employer may count the 8 bank holidays inside that 28, and many do
• Pension. The employer must put in at least 3% of your qualifying earnings once you are enrolled

Anything beyond those — private health insurance, a cycle to work scheme, hybrid working, a training budget, leave above 28 days — is the employer's choice, and there is no published norm to compare an offer against.

Next Steps

Check the current minimum wage and tax bands on GOV.UK before relying on any figure in a guide: both change every April. If you are on a sponsored route, the going rate for your occupation code in Appendix Skilled Occupations is the published number that actually binds your pay.

Related guides:

• UK Tax Guide for Visa Holders
• Employment Rights
• Cost of Living in the UK
• Skilled Worker Salary Threshold
• UK Visa Fees Complete Guide

Questions and answers