Salary guide
Cook salary
What cooks 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
£14,684 per year – £25,592 per year
Median advertised range for Catering Assistant roles in England
Based on Catering Assistant adverts
We don't yet have enough Cook adverts with pay to publish a figure of their own, so this shows the closest main role. Based on 16 live public vacancies. Support-staff pay is set locally, so individual adverts vary.
See the Catering Assistant salary guideCook job openings
Cook
St John Fisher Catholic Academy · Harrogate
Cook at Dunnington Primary School
Dunnington Church of England Primary School · York
Cook
East Herrington Primary Academy · Sunderland
Cook
Penwith Alternative Provision Academy · Penzance
School Cook
Colonel Frank Seely Academy · Nottingham
Cook in Charge
St William's Catholic Primary School · Trimdon Station
Schools hiring cooks
Ranked by live vacancy volume. We do not publish employer-level pay figures.
Where cooks are being advertised
Areas with the most live cook vacancies.
Similar roles to Cook
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 cook roles
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cook earn?
We do not yet hold enough verified salary evidence to publish a cook figure. Rather than estimate, we show live vacancies so you can see what employers are actually advertising.
Does cook 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 cook?
Many maintained schools in England and Wales use support-staff pay structures derived from the NJC national agreement, but grades, points and term-time arrangements are set locally by the employer. Academies, independent schools and private providers may use their own scales.