jobfacts

Hospital porter

Hospital porters — SOC 2020 9262

Hospital porters perform various manual tasks in hospitals to assist nursing and domestic staff with the care of patients.

Also calledPorterDomestic porterWard porterPortering supervisorGeneral porterNight porterand 3 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,4002025 Provisional
People in the job25,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month27↓ 17%on last year · 408th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time hospital porters earn, 2025
£29,400 typical£25,600lowest 20%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,600
25%£26,100
Median£29,400
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,400
London!£31,500
Scotland!£28,700
East of England!£28,600
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,400
London£31,500 (small sample)
Scotland£28,700 (small sample)
East of England£28,600 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,600
  • 2024 £27,200
  • 2025 Provisional£29,400
↑ 25% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 27 jobs for hospital porters are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202629
Jul 202624
Jun 2026Not published
May 202629
Apr 202636
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202619
Jan 202632
Dec 202510
Nov 202535
Oct 202530
Sept 202530
Aug 202523
Jul 202532
Jun 202526
May 202526
Apr 202534
Mar 202528
Feb 202533
Jan 202555
Dec 202423
Nov 202429
Oct 202440
Sept 202436
Aug 202457
Jul 202443
Jun 202426
May 202450
Apr 202438
Mar 202434
Feb 202434
Jan 202441
Dec 202333
Nov 202335
Oct 202344
Sept 202335
Aug 202337
Jul 202336
Jun 202377
May 202366
Apr 202362
Mar 202388
Feb 202374
Jan 202384
Dec 202287
Nov 2022114
Oct 2022122
Sept 2022112
Aug 2022102
Jul 2022110
Jun 2022108
May 2022132
Apr 2022136
Mar 2022138
Feb 2022159
Jan 2022161
Dec 2021163
Nov 2021116
Oct 2021109
Sept 2021126
Aug 202186
Jul 202186
Jun 202178
May 202169
Apr 202173
Mar 2021100
Feb 202158
Jan 2021118
Dec 202074
Nov 2020103
Oct 202086
Sept 202082
Aug 202050
Jul 202043
Jun 202073
May 202097
Apr 2020271
Mar 2020200
Feb 202060
Jan 202069
Dec 201956
Nov 201975
Oct 201964
Sept 201951
Aug 201941
Jul 201968
Jun 201955
May 201977
Apr 201941
Mar 201975
Feb 201960
Jan 201964
Dec 201851
Nov 201860
Oct 201844
Sept 201854
Aug 201843
Jul 201841
Jun 201865
May 201852
Apr 201848
Mar 201865
Feb 201859
Jan 201879
Dec 201787
Nov 201759
Oct 2017104
Sept 201772
Aug 201765
Jul 201783
Jun 201783
May 201760
Apr 201757
Mar 201781
Feb 201759
Jan 201775
Is there a shortage of hospital porters?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, online job advert density, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
19%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other elementary services occupations, which includes hospital porters. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London12
Scottish Borders6
North Somerset3
West Lancashire3
Basingstoke and Deane2
Chorley2
Norwich2
Oxford2
Swindon2
Watford2
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of hospital porters
n/p
n/p
n/p
27%!
33%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–5427% (small sample)
55–6433% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!15%
Higher education below degree!6.4%
A levels or equivalent!25%
GCSEs or equivalent!35%
Other qualifications!13%
No qualifications!14%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent15% (small sample)
Higher education below degree6.4% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent25% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent35% (small sample)
Other qualifications13% (small sample)
No qualifications14% (small sample)

Main employers: hospital activities (88%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (7.7%), other human health activities (5.9%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
15%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 35%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job by applying directly.

Volunteering

Volunteering in the NHS is a good way to get work experience in healthcare. This can be helpful when you apply for jobs or training.

Apply directly

You can apply directly to get into this job. Work experience in a healthcare setting will be useful, although not essential.

You'll normally need a good standard of literacy and numeracy. Some employers may ask for GCSEs in English and maths, or equivalent qualifications. Customer service experience can also be useful.

It might help if you have a manual handling or health and safety certificate, although your employer will train you on these when you start.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

You would be expected to have an understanding of how the NHS values would apply in your work.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a hospital porter from Health Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for hospital porter. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • lifts, escorts and wheels patients between hospital wards
  • assists with the delivery of meals, laundry, medical supplies and post to the wards or theatres
  • moves hospital equipment and furniture
  • collects and disposes of refuse from wards and other departments
  • assists with unloading and delivery of supplies

Skills

  • clean glass surfaces
  • follow organisational guidelines in the cleaning industry
  • maintain the cleanliness of the toilet facilities
  • perform cleaning activities in an environmentally friendly way
  • clean furniture
  • clean surfaces
  • handle chemical cleaning agents
  • maintain cleaning equipment
  • maintain customer service
  • maintain inventory of cleaning supplies
  • manage routine waste
  • carry out pressure washing activities
  • clean building floors
  • clean particular areas manually

Knowledge

  • cleaning industry health and safety measures
  • cleaning techniques
  • personal protective equipment

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary administration and service occupations, a group of 26 jobs that includes hospital porters.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 48,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351.5 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.