Official annual estimates for the whole country, mapped to the closest published occupation.
United Kingdom · gross annual earnings estimate
25th percentile
£37,854
Median
£50,083
75th percentile
£67,255
This ASHE benchmark covers full-time employee jobs, not self-employed income or part-time jobs. ASHE gross earnings include basic pay, overtime, incentive pay such as bonuses and commissions, shift premiums, and other cash pay. They are before deductions, exclude payments in kind, and are not take-home pay or the whole benefits package. Compare the benchmark with an offer on the same working-hours and annual-pay basis.
This is a country-level occupation benchmark, not a local offer estimate. Pay can differ by location, employer, duties, and working pattern.
National median with 25th–75th percentile band, 2011–2025.Band hidden where official percentile estimates were suppressed.
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. Mapped to Quality assurance and regulatory professionals; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
Quick interpretation
This guide uses the UK benchmark for quality assurance and regulatory professionals because Compliance Manager is listed within that broad occupational family. It is a useful reference for a lead compliance role, but it is not a salary promise for your exact employer, sector or responsibilities. The benchmark covers full-time employee jobs, while the role profile describes general compliance work rather than lead-level scope.
Benchmark fit
Why this benchmark applies to Compliance Manager
The UK profile uses compliance manager as another title for compliance officer and describes work that helps organisations meet statutory, regulatory and industry requirements. The match is broad: it does not establish every distinction between a general compliance officer and a Lead Compliance Manager, or a separate salary estimate for lead roles.
Overlapping responsibilities
The UK profile describes maintaining suitable policies and procedures and helping an organisation meet external requirements as typical compliance work; whether a Lead Compliance Manager does both depends on the post.
The profile also describes risk assessments, audits, policy updates and compliance reporting as typical work, so check which of these activities the lead post includes.
What the occupation combines
The mapped occupation is broader than one employer's Compliance Manager post and can cover different compliance specialisms and sectors.
Nearby titles: The UK career profile also uses compliance officer as a title for compliance manager..
Do not read the benchmark as a Lead-level pay band or assume that every Compliance Manager performs every duty in the profile.
Role scope
What Compliance Manager work usually includes
The UK profile describes Compliance Manager work as helping organisations meet external statutory, regulatory and industry requirements while keeping suitable internal policies and procedures.
Responsibilities
Typical compliance work may include educating employees about regulations and their organisational impact, and contributing to effective compliance controls and good practice. · A compliance role may involve risk assessments and compliance audits to understand the level and scope of risk. · Typical work can include monitoring and updating internal policies after regulatory changes, reporting compliance performance and escalating concerns to relevant business functions. · A compliance role may investigate irregularities and non-compliance issues, then put preventative or corrective measures in place where needed. · Depending on the assignment, typical duties may include reviewing marketing materials, presentations, data collection or websites, working with external auditors, and helping answer regulatory requests. · Some compliance roles develop plans for compliance violations or crises and work with other departments on compliance practices.
Typical outputs
The work can produce updated internal policies, compliance performance reports, and preventative or corrective measures for irregularities or non-compliance.
Work settings
Banks and financial services organisations · Charities and not-for-profit organisations · Education institutions · Energy, utilities and renewable-energy companies · Health and social care organisations · Manufacturing, pharmaceutical, property, retail, technology and transport organisations
Compliance Manager
The profile uses this title interchangeably with compliance officer, but it does not define a distinct Lead-level responsibility set.
Read the range
Three points, one pay distribution
For a Lead Compliance Manager, compare whether the post covers policy monitoring and reporting, and whether it also includes audits, investigations or crisis planning. These are scope questions, not automatic salary bands.
25th percentile
One quarter of employees earn below this figure.
Median
Half of employees earn below this figure and half above it; it is not the arithmetic midpoint of the displayed range.
75th percentile
One quarter of employees earn above this figure.
Location
Regional salary benchmarks
Supplementary benchmark figures are available for the listed UK regions, including London, Scotland, Wales and the English regions. Use them as regional reference points, not as a quote for a particular employer.
Regional 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile salary estimates
Region
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
East
Not published
£44,887
Not published
East Midlands
Not published
£42,887
Not published
London
Not published
£59,149
Not published
North East
Not published
£43,913
Not published
North West
Not published
£52,497
Not published
Scotland
Not published
£52,513
Not published
South East
Not published
£48,188
Not published
South West
Not published
£48,267
Not published
Wales
Not published
£41,808
Not published
West Midlands
Not published
£50,294
Not published
Yorkshire and The Humber
Not published
£47,982
Not published
Location can affect pay, but this remains a country-level occupation benchmark rather than a local offer estimate.
Beyond salary
Salary versus total compensation
Compare the offer on the same annual-pay and working-hours basis as the benchmark. Separate fixed salary from any conditional cash, then check whether benefits are stated separately and what rules govern them.
Fixed salary
Check the contracted annual amount, hours and whether the role is genuinely full time before comparing it with this benchmark.
Variable cash
Ask whether bonuses, commissions, overtime or shift premiums are guaranteed, target-based or discretionary, and when they are paid. These can form part of gross cash earnings, but they are not the same as fixed salary.
Benefits
Check the separate terms for pension contributions, private medical cover, leave and any other benefits. Payments in kind are outside the benchmark's gross-earnings measure.
Offer review
How to evaluate your Compliance Manager offer
What is the contracted annual salary, and what weekly hours or working pattern does it cover?The comparison is meaningful only when the offer and benchmark use the same hours and annual-pay basis.
Which parts of the package are fixed, and which depend on a bonus, commission, overtime or shift premium?Conditional cash should not be treated as guaranteed salary when you assess the offer.
What compliance scope will you own: policy updates, audits, investigations, regulatory reporting or crisis plans?The title covers a broad occupational profile, so the actual duties determine how closely the role matches your target scope.
Which pension, health cover, leave or other benefits are offered, and on what terms?Benefits are separate from the benchmark's gross cash measure and need their own comparison.
Questions
Compliance Manager salary FAQs
Source
About this salary benchmark
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. The figures cover Quality assurance and regulatory professionals (2482) and full time employee jobs. Updated 15 October 2026. This broad occupation benchmark may not match every Compliance Manager vacancy.
Put the benchmark to work
Build your Compliance Manager CV for the roles you want.
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your CV around the experience that supports your target level.
