Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2025 published

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the latest earnings figures from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) on 23 October 2025 Earnings and hours worked, care workers: ASHE Table 26 - Office for National Statistics which is the official and most authoritative source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. The publication includes ‘revised’ figures for 2024 and ‘provisional’ figures for 2025. All stakeholders to a personal injury claim (claimants, compensators, experts and case managers) use this data to assess future losses, in particular care-related costs, and calculate the value of periodical payments.

ASHE 2025 key points

The key points from the ASHE 2025 release are:

1. Median weekly earnings for full time employees in April 2024 were £728.27, this increased to £766.60 in April 2025, a 5.3% increase in nominal terms or a 1.1% increase in real terms. In England, the region that saw the largest increase was the West Midlands (6.1%) followed by the North West (5.8%). The South East saw the smallest increase (2.9%).
2. In April 2025 median earnings for full time employees increased across all major occupations.
3. Of particular interest to personal injury practitioners, the largest growth in weekly earnings for full time employees were jobs in caring (and other service occupations), with a 7.1% increase between April 2024 / 2025.  The annual full time gross earnings for care workers is now £27,468.
4. Median gross annual earnings for full-time employees has increased by 4.35% in 2025 to £39,039 from £37,349 in 2024.

ASHE 6115 

This data set is a care specific and recognises a ‘care package’ will involve different types of carers and hourly rates. It is therefore not appropriate to use an average hourly rate. The figures in ASHE 6115 are a “weighted variable” to take into account the different rates that may be used within a care package. Analysis of this data reveals:

• 7.25% increase in the 80th centile. The increase in 2024 was 4.09%.
• An average increase of 6.82% across the 60th to 90th centiles. The increase in 2024 was 5.36%

A care worker can expect to earn an hourly rate of:

• £18.45 per hour in the 90th centile; an increase of 7.02% from 2024.
• £16.12 in the 80th centile; an increase of 7.25%.
• £15.46 in the 75the centile; an increase of 6.62%.

Whilst ASHE remains the best measure for calculating the cost of a care regime, it is important to bear in mind care provider rates for complex care regimes tend to be at least 11% higher than the ASHE data.   

For any queries, please contact Steven Lynch in our Care Technical Unit.