Fork-lift truck drivers Pay Data UK — 2025

Fork-lift truck drivers roles in the UK earn a median of £32,000 per year, equivalent to £14.73 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 10.7% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £25,500 in East Midlands to £41,000 in South West. Pay has risen over the past 4 years. The ONS national median for this occupation is £31,279/yr (2% above our computed national average).

Median Annual Pay

£32,000

as of 2025

High confidence

Median Hourly Pay

£14.73

per hour

Year-on-Year Change

+10.7%

vs 2024

Annual Pay Range

£27,500 £37,500

25th – 75th percentile

Labour Market

UK Employment (2024)

~92,000

estimated employees

62 of 180 areas not disclosed by ONS

Employment Change

2021–2024

2021: ~75,000 → 2024: ~92,000

Market Signal

Specialist demand

Pay is rising while employment is falling — specialist skills are in high demand.

Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.

Pay by Region

Median annual pay for Fork-lift truck drivers across UK regions.

Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).

Fork-lift truck drivers annual pay by UK region
Region Median Pay
South West £41,000
London £35,000
Scotland £35,000
South East £34,000
North West £29,500
Wales £29,500
North East £29,500
West Midlands £28,000
Yorkshire and The Humber £27,000
East Midlands £25,500
UK £32,000

How Pay Has Changed Over Time

Annual pay grew by +10.7% from 2024 to 2025.

National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot.

Year-on-Year Pay Change

Annual percentage change in median pay for Fork-lift truck drivers.

Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.

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About Fork-lift truck drivers

Fork-lift truck drivers operate fork-lift trucks in factories, warehouses, storerooms and other areas to transfer goods and materials.

Typical Tasks and Duties

Entry Routes and Qualifications

There are no formal academic entry requirements. A variety of vocational qualifications in Forklift Truck Operations are available at level 2.

Related Occupations

Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.