How much does a plant operator earn in the UK?
Advertised plant operating pay currently averages £47.3k a year across 2,832 live UK job listings — full breakdown by region, day rate and official benchmark below.
Plant Operating
Average UK pay
£47.3k
from 2,832 job listings
ONS official median £37.9k· 2025, employees
CIJC agreed £13.30–£15.61/hr· from 20 Jul 2026
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Where the money lands
Annual salary spread across 1,080 listings that advertised a salary
Plant Operating pay — league table
1North West£52,956
2East of England£49,951
3London£49,567
4Yorkshire£48,943
5North East£46,805
6South East£46,380
7West Midlands£44,776
8Scotland£44,523
9East Midlands£43,763
10Wales£43,288
11South West£42,656
12N. Ireland£37,151
Mean advertised salary by region · thousands of listings · via Adzuna
Employed
£47.3k
a year, salary
Going subbie
£50.6k
gross · £220/day
The £220/day is our estimate of a typical subbie day rate, not a feed figure. Subbie total is gross at that rate, 5 days × 46 weeks — before holiday, sick, pension and quiet weeks. More per day, less safety net.