Social worker salary in the UK (2026)
What does a Social worker earn?
What employers advertise across the UK.
£49,600 per year, median
the midpoint of 650 advertised salaries from 183 employers, collected 26 Aug 2026 – 20 Oct 2026
about £4,100 a month
- Low
- £38,000
- Median
- £49,600
- Average
- £55,900
- High
- £81,900
Median
Average
Low £38,000
High £81,900
Half of the adverts fall between £43,000 and £73,200. “Low” and “high” are the bottom and top tenth of what is advertised, not the single cheapest and dearest advert — one unusual posting should not decide either end.
How this figure was worked out
- 650 advertised salaries, from 183 different employers.
- Collected between 26 Aug 2026 and 20 Oct 2026.
- Stated in the advert as an hourly rate (331), a yearly figure (319). Hourly and monthly figures are converted to a year at 1,950 hours, so they can be compared with the ones stated annually.
- Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Adverts offering part-time only are left out, because a part-time figure is not comparable with a full-time one.
These are advertised salaries, read from the text of employers’ own job adverts. They are not verified with the employer, they are not what anyone is necessarily paid, and they are not a pay survey.
Open Social worker jobs
See all
Experienced Social Worker
45–46k £/yr
Principal Social Worker - Children
from 33 £/hrFull-time
Social Worker - Children with Disabilities
from 29 £/hrFull-time
Social Worker
Full-time
Independent Social worker
from 23 £/hrFull-time
Adult Social Worker - Hospital Discharge
Full-time
Qualified Social Worker - Assessment
Full-time
Aspiring Social Worker
Full-time
Social Worker - LAC/CIC Team - Luton
from 39 £/hrFull-time
Adults Social Worker- LD [Manchester City Council]
from 30 £/hrFull-time
Adults Social Worker- Integrated Neighbourhood
from 30 £/hrFull-time
Permanent - Childrens Social Worker
38–46k £/yrFull-time
Social Worker - Adoption and Kinship - Suffolk
Full-time
Social Worker - LAC/CIC Team - Luton
from 39 £/hrFull-time
Adults Social Worker- Safegaurding [Blackpool]
from 31 £/hrFull-time
Aspiring Social Worker
93–100 £/dayFull-time
Social Worker
40–51k £/yrFull-time
Social Worker Level 3
45–46k £/yrFull-time
Duty & Assessment Social Worker
Full-time
MASH Social Worker
Full-time