Salary guide
Chef salary
What chefs are advertised at on live vacancies we hold — we name the nation whenever we publish a figure.
Official support staff pay spine · 2026/27
NJC pay points 3–43
Full-time, full-year rates from 1 April 2026 (3.3% increase agreed). Show all pay points
| Pay point (SCP) | Annual salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | £25,614 | £13.28 |
| 4 | £26,016 | £13.48 |
| 5 | £26,427 | £13.70 |
| 6 | £26,847 | £13.92 |
| 7 | £27,274 | £14.14 |
| 8 | £27,709 | £14.36 |
| 9 | £28,153 | £14.59 |
| 10 | £28,608 | £14.83 |
| 11 | £29,071 | £15.07 |
| 12 | £29,542 | £15.31 |
| 13 | £30,023 | £15.56 |
| 14 | £30,515 | £15.82 |
| 15 | £31,015 | £16.08 |
| 16 | £31,525 | £16.34 |
| 17 | £32,046 | £16.61 |
| 18 | £32,578 | £16.89 |
| 19 | £33,119 | £17.17 |
| 20 | £33,673 | £17.45 |
| 21 | £34,237 | £17.75 |
| 22 | £34,811 | £18.04 |
| 23 | £35,570 | £18.44 |
| 24 | £36,581 | £18.96 |
| 25 | £37,563 | £19.47 |
| 26 | £38,510 | £19.96 |
| 27 | £39,481 | £20.46 |
| 28 | £40,444 | £20.96 |
| 29 | £41,177 | £21.34 |
| 30 | £42,123 | £21.83 |
| 31 | £43,149 | £22.37 |
| 32 | £44,253 | £22.94 |
| 33 | £45,529 | £23.60 |
| 34 | £46,579 | £24.14 |
| 35 | £47,665 | £24.71 |
| 36 | £48,738 | £25.26 |
| 37 | £49,817 | £25.82 |
| 38 | £50,908 | £26.39 |
| 39 | £51,928 | £26.92 |
| 40 | £53,051 | £27.50 |
| 41 | £54,143 | £28.06 |
| 42 | £55,224 | £28.62 |
| 43 | £56,293 | £29.18 |
Source: NJC for Local Government Services pay agreement 2026 (Annex 1)
Councils and most maintained schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland pay support staff on this spine; each employer decides which pay points a role sits on. Annual figures are for a full-time (37-hour), all-year post — term-time and part-time staff are paid a proportion of them. Hourly rates are for a 37-hour week. Pay point 2 was removed, so the spine now starts at point 3. Academies, independent schools and private nurseries may use their own pay.
Read the official pay agreement (Local Government Association)Typical advertised pay
£13,275 per year – £25,570 per year
Median advertised range for Catering Assistant roles in England
Based on Catering Assistant adverts
We don't yet have enough Chef adverts with pay to publish a figure of their own, so this shows the closest main role. Based on 17 live public vacancies. Support-staff pay is set locally, so individual adverts vary.
See the Catering Assistant salary guideChef job openings
Kitchen Cook
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope · Sunderland
Chef De Partie
Christ's College Finchley · London
Chef de Partie
Plumpton College · Lewes
Chef
Matthew Arnold School · Oxford
Schools hiring chefs
Ranked by live vacancy volume. We do not publish employer-level pay figures.
Where chefs are being advertised
Areas with the most live chef vacancies.
Similar roles to Chef
Academy Trustee
See academy trustee salary guide
Access Arrangements Assessor
See access arrangements assessor salary guide
Access Arrangements Coordinator
See access arrangements coordinator salary guide
Accounts Assistant
See accounts assistant salary guide
Activities Coordinator
See activities coordinator salary guide
Admin Assistant
Local-government support-staff pay structures (England and Wales)
See admin assistant salary guide
Career advice for chef roles
Frequently asked questions
How much does a chef earn?
We do not yet hold enough verified salary evidence to publish a chef figure. Rather than estimate, we show live vacancies so you can see what employers are actually advertising.
Does chef pay vary by area?
It can, but we only publish area differences where we have enough evidence for that area — we never apply a regional multiplier to invent a local figure.
What pay framework applies to a chef?
There is no single pay framework that generally applies to this role: pay depends on the employer, the contract and the nation. Use the advertised salary evidence on this page and check the individual advert.